the fate of ophelia (rojie’s version)

LINK: the fate of ophelia (rojie’s version). Best viewed through the link.

The eldest daughter of a nobleman
Ophelia lived in fantasy
But love was a cold bed full of scorpions
The venom stole her sanity
And if you’d never come for me (Come for me)
I might’ve lingered in purgatory
You wrap around me like a chain, a crown, a vine (Chain, crown, vine)
Pulling me into the fire

I’ve always loved Shakespeare, so when Taylor Swift dropped The Fate of Ophelia, I was instantly hooked. The fact that she not only wrote the song but created a music video of her version of Ophelia’s story gave me sheer joy. Don’t ask me how many times I’ve watched the music video…

In Shakespeare’s, Hamlet, Ophelia’s story ends in tragedy. Her innocence is manipulated, her love exploited, men gaslighting her and her sanity questioned. She reached a point where she could no longer endure anymore. She surrenders and drowns, both literally and emotionally… under the weight of everyone else’s expectations.

In Taylor’s version, Ophelia gets to live. She is a survivor, not a victim. She’s given a choice, she’s no longer sinking but staying afloat. Ophelia is rescued and reborn. The lifebuoy in the music video was such a clever and poignant touch, almost as if Taylor was throwing her a second chance at life.

The closest I felt like Ophelia was documented in my runaway era. Ophelia was silenced and swept away by the forces around her: her father’s control, Hamlet’s cruelty, society’s expectation, and abandoned by the world. Does this sound familiar? It was devastating and dark time for me, it left me empty and questioning my worth. I wanted to crash and burn and let the exhaustion swallow me whole. Emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, I was drowning.

It took me years just to begin to recover from it all. And if I’m gonna be honest, I don’t know if I’m completely healed. But like Taylor’s Ophelia, I decided to choose myself. My parents didn’t raise a quitter. I reached for my lifebuoy — resilience, my strength, and whatever you want to call it… and I held on for dear life.