The Uncontrollable Mnemonic Fragments within Consciousness Reflecting Ophelia’s and Lady Macbeth’s Disturbed Minds

Abstract

Memory plays an important role in most of Shakespeare’s plays. Shakespeare delves into the dark realms of human consciousness to reflect the disturbed minds and gnawing consciences of his characters with a profound psychological insight into the human psyche. Time, memory, madness and death seem to be the basic issues dealt with in his canon. My paper will address the uncontrollable mnemonic fragments within the human consciousness which reflect past traumas, fears and disturbances and will examine the cases of Ophelia and Lady Macbeth from a feminist reading of women.

Keywords

• consciousness
• memory
• patriarchy
• suppression
• trauma