Title: Ophelia
Size: 2.5″ x 3.5″
Status: Not Available
I really like this ATC, so much so that I’m almost unhappy that I made it for the Swap-Bot Yellow Flower ATC swap. Of course that swap doesn’t start until March so I definitely have time to make another yellow flower inspired card so I can squirrel this one away like the selfish monster that I am. The wilted daisy in the background is from the same photo series that I used as the background for the Pompeii collage and the dress in the center is Oscar de la Renta. The borders are from the same set of washi paper that I’ve been using in so many of my ATCs this year. Once it was all finished it just made me think of Ophelia, I guess it was the contrast between the vibrant, garland-wearing girl and the utterly lifeless flower that did it for me.
I honestly don’t know how to feel about Ophelia, I don’t think it’s good though. Part of the fascination with her seems to have to do with the glorification of the “beautiful suicide” wherein the young woman ends her life, usually over love, and her corpse emerges as a symbol of innocence and serenity. In a way it feels like Hamlet wanted to drive Ophelia to suicide, as though that was one of his expressed goals, rather than breaking off their engagement, to just be so god-awful to her that she’d get herself out of the way. Not to mention how it contributes to the “madwoman” trope. I like to think of this Ophelia as a revised one, stomping off to fake her suicide so she doesn’t have to deal with the societal pressure to marry Hamlet even though he’s gone off the deep end.
~ Brigitte
