The Story of Ofeelia

You may have heard of a small play called "Hamlet," by no one other than Shakespeare himself. Well, this tragic scene (Act 4, Scene 7) is exactly what inspired John Everett Millais in 1852, when he painted "Ophelia." It illustrates so tragically the moment when noblewoman Ophelia loses her sanity after Hamlet murders her father, so much so that she falls into a river, being brought down beneath the water by her own heavy, drenched dress.

Now, if you were to google this painting, it is dark, cold, dingy (you may even say) - nevertheless, beautiful. But what is that in comparison to my "Ofeelia" mini series?

This tale and painting has inspired generations of recreations of the same story. Let me repeat that: of the same story. My story is different. Ofeelia, for me, in today's modern age, is not a victim of another's crime taken to heart. She is not a woman drowning in her sorrows in a moment of pathetic fallacy. Ofeelia is, just the same, a young woman, but drowning in bliss. Confident in her femininity, identity, forever looking for serenity. The flowers that surround her are not mournful but a celebration.

Shakespeare says in the original scene, "One woe doth tread upon another's heel, / So fast they follow." Not this Ofeelia of mine. This Ofeelia of mine is a light that simply shines. When you look at the image, the image rewrites the quote. Perhaps there are no woes, but only a glow.

So to end, I'll start with the new beginning: Once upon a time, Ofeelia met the waters of serenity.