Ophelia
Ophelia is a very important character in the play. She is the love of Hamlet's life and a possible part of his madness. This play has been interpreted in many different ways but Ophelia is always a prominent figure.
Beauty is one of Ophelia's many qualities. Hamlet tends to harp on this characteristic; he greatly loves her beauty. We also see Ophelia to be both loyal and intelligent. Her loyalty, however, leads to the majority of her problems. She is so loyal to her father that she can't be loyal to herself and or her feelings for Hamlet. Age is another defining characteristic, it can alter the feeling of the story. For instance, we see in the Mel Gibson version that Ophelia is seemingly younger than in the Kenneth Brannaugh version. Knowing this I don't feel so bad for Ophelia and Hamlet in the Gibson bersion because thier love seems more juvenile.
Love is one of the great questions in Hamlet. Ophelia's love exists on many levels. First, we see her love for Hamlet. This has been questioned as to the strength of it. We question it with age again, and we also tend to wonder about Ophelia's chastity. In the Brannaugh version we know that Ophelia is not a virgin, this makes their love seems stronger and their relationship closer. The other aspect of love