Ophelia: The Forgotten Character In Shakespeare’s, Hamlet, Ophelia is a character that illustrates fragility, innocence, and dependency. As the daughter of Polonius, a servant to the King, Ophelia is forced to obey her father’s orders and choose between the love of her life and her obedience to her father. The choice Ophelia makes is very detrimental to the other characters in Hamlet. According to Margaret Webster, “Ophelia . . . is serving a definite dramatic purpose. If she had been a woman of character and understanding, . . . there would be no tragedy of Hamlet” (102). This is certainly a good description