As the lover of a "mad man", Ophelia had to be feeling such an impervious pressure when her father died and what the characters have been going through. In the beginning of the play Ophelia seemed very innocent, but now as Hamlet became mad, she had the impression of being mad too. With her father dead and her ex-boyfriend crazy, Ophelia has no one to look after her. She had no one to go to for guidance and now she was confused. I couldn't blame her for going mad since I would probably go more insane if I was in the same situation.
Although, I do feel sorry for her. Ophelia was such an innocent woman until all this drama happened in Denmark. Everyone is breaking down in Denmark so obviously she would be one of the people to break down the most too. It is really sad to see her go crazy though. She doesn't deserve the death of her father and the current situation she's in. With all the madness that has happened, I feel very sorry for Ophelia.
If I was to direct the play, I would go with a somewhat different approach in relevance to a somewhat similar approach to Branaugh's version of Hamlet. At first she would break down in tears because she lost the one person who was still in her family. But, she would soon go crazy with the next level of depression.
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Anand, I agree with your feelings of sympathy toward Ophelia. I just can't help but feel like she isn't treated fairly in the play. She is somewhat pinballed around between the men in her life, and although I think they all love her, they don't seem to always act in her best interest (so I guess one could question the verity of that 'love'). Every time I read this play, I am always left wanting more for Ophelia, and perhaps that is why she has been such an artistic inspiration. I think that artists have been inspired to tell Ophelia's story through their art. Great job!
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