Ophelia's Destruction

Ophelia is trapped between her father Polonius, who forbids her love for Hamlet, and Hamlet himself, who swings between tenderness and cruelty. She has no independent power in a world where men make every decision about her life.

After Hamlet kills Polonius, her sanity collapses. Her drowning — whether accident or suicide — is left deliberately ambiguous, forcing audiences to see how completely the world around her failed.