Ophelia Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama "Hamlet". She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet. As with virtually all "Hamlet" characters, Ophelia's name is not Danish. It first appeared in Jacopo Sannazaro's 1504 poem "Arcadia" (as "Ofelia"), probably derived from Ancient Greek ὠφέλεια ("ōphéleia", "help"). In Ophelia's first speaking appearance in the play, she is seen with her brother, Laertes, who is leaving for France. Laertes warns her that Hamlet, the heir to the throne of Denmark, does not have the freedom to marry
Ophelia Paquet Ophelia Paquet Ophelia Paquet was a Tillamook Indian woman involved in a famous Oregon miscegenation court case in year 1919. The case's issue was whether Ophelia Paquet could inherit her deceased Caucasian husband's estate in the U.S. state of Oregon. Her case exemplifies the role that marriage has in the transmission of property and how race can affect gender complications. The U.S. state of Oregon maintains that "it shall not be lawful within this state for any white person, male or female, to intermarry with any negro, Chinese, or any person having one fourth or more negro, Chinese, or Kanaka