Father/Daughter Relationship in Literature

POLONIUS, THE VAZIER AND THEIR DAUGHTERS

In this paper, I shall compare and contrast the relationship of Polonius from Shakespeare's Hamlet and his relationship with his daughter, Ophelia, to that of the Vizier from The Thousand and One Nights with his daughter, Scheherazade.

Let us begin with Hamlet. Polonius is the chief minister to Claudius, the new king, and Ophelia is Polonius' daughter.

In act one, scene three, Polonius tells his daughter that she may no longer see Hamlet. "I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth have you so slander any moment leisure as to give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet" (Shakespeare). Polonius knows that Ophelia cares for Hamlet, but demands obedience and insists on making decisions about her life. Ophelia, who does not have a mind of her own ("I do not know, my lord, what I should think") and despite her love for Hamlet, caves in out of respect for her father and says, "I shall obey, my lord." Later, after she tells him, "as you did command, I did repel his letters and denied his access to me," Polonius concludes, "That hath made him mad" and tells the king and queen his theory of Hamlet's madness (Shakespeare).

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Category: Literature - F