The Hamlet Project

I’ve almost always interpreted this scene as an overprotective father attempting to extract some information on his mostly virtuous son – but reading this line today, reading “another scandal” as an actual scandal, rather than a fictional one just put on him by Reynaldo – I suddenly have a lot of questions about Laertes’ virtues. Has he already run into scandal? Is this fictional one that Polonius is suggesting to Reynaldo the second one Laertes might have? There is a suggestion from Ophelia that Laertes might need to watch out when he preaches, given his own moral standing.
I like the idea of a scandal in Laertes’ past, I confess. It makes him more interesting if, when we meet him, he’s just begun recovering his reputation from a mishap. He becomes a sort of prodigal son making his first journey back out into the world. His return to France becomes a much more significant event than a simple kid going back to a life abroad. It’s a kid with a real need to prove himself again, to truly get permission to leave. It’s a kid who has something to prove to his father – even when his father’s dead.
“Another scandal” might be quickly dismissed but if it’s weighted with the image of Laertes splashed all over the tabloids for getting caught with a prostitute, for example, it makes both Polonius’ trust and suspicion a lot more interesting.
Certainly Laertes is a guy who ACTS first and thinks later.
First, start a coup – THEN reconsider.
First, go after the king, then poison your sword for the prince.
Kill the prince, then confess your crime.
Another scandal.