Ophelia begins the play as a relatively happy go lucky
girl, attached to the court through her father, but kills herself midway through the
play, driven insane by the various powerful forces acting upon
her.
I would look at the incident in which Polonius tells
her that Hamlet cannot be so choosy as a man not the crown prince, that he cannot even
choose which cut of meat to eat are the terms he uses, and so she cannot be so open to
him, etc. Eventually he forbids her to have any further correspondence with him and she
obeys. This forceful cessation of her love affair is one of the things that pushes her
over the edge.
I would argue that likely the second is the
"get thee to a nunnery speech" from Hamlet after she returns to him "remembrances"
according to her father's orders. She still loves Hamlet but he appears to be
absolutely mad. His rage at her for something she had little control over is perplexing
at least and maddening at worst.
Her father's death at
Hamlet's hand is the final event that appears to send her completely into
madness.
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