Ophelia was very sheltered from the ways of the world by
both her father and her brother. Hamlet had been in love with her because of her
purity, innocence, and virtue but when she accepts her father's bidding above his
(which, in the time period this was written was the proper thing to do unless Hamlet was
her husband which he was not), he takes out all his mommy issues on her and calls her a
whore to her face among other things.
This is of course
devastating to her because she was very much in love with him and couldn't figure out
why he would suddenly turn on her in such a terrible way, but she still defends him and
loves him even during this. We can see how painful it was for her in this
exchange:
Hamlet: ...I did love you
once.
Ophelia: Indeed, my, lord, you made me believe
so.
Hamlet: You should not have believed me...I loved you
not.
Ophelia: I was the more
deceived.
When Hamlet kills her father, she doesn't seem
able to handle that Hamlet has not been kind to her family (including herself), but too
fragile to stop loving him or join in the plotting, she instead loses her mind and
drowns (whether it was suicide or not is up for interpretation).
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