Hamlet+1.3

4.)"This above all: to thine ownself be true,/And it must follow, as the night the day,/Thou canst not then be false to any man" (1.3.84-86). This is Polonius's fatherly advice given to his son Laertes as he departs for France. This phrase spoken to Laertes directly contrasts the advice that Polonius gives to his daughter, Ophelia. While he tells Laertes to be true to himself, he orders Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet, regardless of whether she wants to or not. If Ophelia truly does love Hamlet then refusing to see him would prevent her from being true to herself. Polonius tells his son to always be true to himself, but he prevents his daughter from doing just that.

6.) It seems to me that Laertes and his sister Ophelia have a close and honest relationship. Laertes seems protective of his sister and does not want to see her get hurt and thus, he advises her to be careful of Hamlet. Unlike their father, who orders Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet entirely, Laertes only advises her to be careful. He tells her, "Perhaps he loves you now,/And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch/The virtue of his will; but you must fear,/His greatness weighed, his will is not his own,/For he himself is subject to his birth" (1.3.17-21). He wants his sister to be happy; however he tells her to be cautious because he does no want her to get hurt.

5.) In this scene Ophelia seems like the typical subservient and submissive female, willing to comply with her brother and father's wants for her. She does not protest when her father and brother suggest that she should not see Hamlet. She tells her father, "I shall obey, my Lord" (1.3.145). Even though she may not agree with her family's opinion, she complies with her father and brother's request and says that she will do what they advise.