British Feminism in the 19th Century and Ophelia : Concerning Anna Jameson’s Characteristics of Women, Moral, Poetical and Historical

Anna Brownell Jameson’s Characteristics of Women, Moral, Poetical, and Historical was the first book to examine Shakespeare’s female characters at length and consider women as a legitimate category of Shakespeare criticism. Taking into account her figure as a feminist, this article explores the relationship between British feminism in the 1830s and Ophelia, the heroine of Hamlet. In her book, Shakespeare’s female characters are classified into four categories depending on their characteristics. Ophelia is labeled as Characters of Passion and Imagination. “Passion” and “Imagination” were traditionally considered as the masculine characteristics in the Western philosophy and aesthetics. In the context of feminism, they were essential elements to succeed in love. Considering these contexts, these characteristics are weak especially in Ophelia because she is an extremely passive heroine. Her passiveness seems to contradict with feminism. However, Jameson accomplished her aim in the depictions of Ophelia’s girlhood and a love relationship with Hamlet. It is typical for a feminist to put importance on these elements. Using a method typical for feminism, she developed her opinion through Ophelia. Overall, Ophelia’s passiveness is a preferable subject for Jameson to maintain her opinion as a feminist