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
The River Ophelia are “successful” only at a surface level. Some scholars have called "The River Ophelia" a feminist text. "The River Ophelia" received a divisive response from Australian critics. It was reviewed in various prominent Australian newspapers, such as "The Sydney Morning Herald", "The Age" and "The Australian". Some praised it for its sardonic and satirical approach to the lives of privileged young white university students and yuppies in Sydney's upper-class suburbs, while others dismissed it as being too obscene, violent and sexually explicit. Critic Don Anderson called the novel a "marriage between Helen Garner and the Marquis de Sade". Some critics