1.3.49-56
Does Ophelia have the authority to ask her brother to follow his own advice?
The relationship between Ophelia and her brother and father follows one of a patriarchally dominant society. Ophelia should not question her brother because due to her situation, she should follow his advice, because being a male, he obviously knows what's best for her. But, one can see Ophelia's defiance to the role of a submissive female by the questioning her brother's advice. Though Ophelia lives in a patriarchal society, some argued that she should be able to question her brother's motives. Most responses related to:
"Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven," (1.3.51-52)
because it tied in the concept of practicing what one preaches. Two responses tied the quote back to everyday life emphasizing that it is hard to follow one's example if the one giving the advice does not follow his or her own advice. If I were to incorporate this quote with an answer to my question, I would say that Ophelia does have the authority to ask Laertes to follow his own advice because if she does not see him set a good example for her, how is she expected to follow his advice?