Why is ophelia mad in hamlet?

Answer 1

The reason for Ophelia's madness, which is introduced in Act 4 Scene 5, is never directly stated in Hamlet. Probably causes include being instructed by her father and brother to stop seeing Hamlet, with whom she had been romantically involved. After breaking up with him, she watches him apparently go mad, and bears the brunt of one of his angry outbursts.

Shortly after, her father Polonius is murdered by Hamlet himself, leaving her with no family in the area, as her brother Laertes is at school in France.

The combination of these stressful and painful situations most likely leads Ophelia into madness.

Ophelia's madness comes from not only being publicly humiliated by Hamlet but also hearing about how Hamlet murdered her father.

Answer 2

A couple of things cause Ophelia to go mad. First of all, she is rejected by Hamlet who she thought loved her. Secondly, her father, Polonius, is accidentally murdered by Hamlet. The combination of Hamlet rejecting her and the murder of her father cause Ophelia to go mad.

Answer 3

Ophelia's situation is complicated in Hamlet. She is upset by a number of things at various times in the play

1. In Act 1 Scene 3, her brother and father both tell her to give the cold shoulder to a man she likes and who likes her and who is a Prince to boot! Why should they treat her like a child all the time? Can't she be allowed to make some decisions for herself.

2. In Act 2 Scene 1 she is upset by something Hamlet did. The way she reports it to her dad, Hamlet just came into the room dressed weird and looked at her. Was that all? She must be holding something back.

3. In Act 3 Scene 1 she is forced to spy on Hamlet. He catches her at it and is very angry. Is she upset with Hamlet? Or her father? By her speech "Oh, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown" it sounds like she is most upset by the fact that Hamlet appears to her to have genuinely gone off the deep end.

4. In Act 3 Scene 2 she is subjected to horrific verbal abuse by Hamlet. She is clearly uncomfortable about this.

5. In Act 4 she finds out that the man she loves has killed her father. Her brother is away in France. She is the next of kin--she should take charge. Was she to blame for her father's death? She thinks it might be so. Should she be mad at Hamlet? Should she take revenge on him, since Laertes is away? But she loves him. And yet she has hurt him. And so it's all her fault. And so on and on.

Thinking this way can make you crazy. Which it does, of course.

Answer 4

Hamlet's behavior toward her, and the death of her father, put her into a distracted state of mind.

Answer 5

If you are talking about Brutal legend, then she goes mad because no one trusts her and she finally gets tired of it.

Answer 6

because the guy she loves, and probably had sex with, killed her father..... that isn't a good day for any girl, Ophelia took it hard and descended into madness.