Millais's Ophelia seems to correspond to spring as shown in the painting which presents water flowing, flowers and plants blossoming. Spring signifies freshness and gentleness just like Ophelia. Her existence in the play was to show youth and innocence. Ophelia is the only part of the painting that is now dead. She has deteriorated mentally after the blow of her father’s death and Hamlet’s rejection. In addition, if you notice the expression on her face she expresses emotions of sorrow.
In my opinion, Shakespeare wanted to show that Ophelia was a delicate flower in the beginning, and later, wilted due to her grief. I believe Ophelia was struck with so much trauma that she couldn’t take it and committed suicide. Despite the fact that Gertrude betrayed Hamlet by marrying Claudius, she was Hamlet’s mother and still loved him. Therefore, she wouldn’t murder Ophelia. Gertrude heard from a couple of commoners of Ophelia’s death.
Ophelia was confused because out of nowhere Hamlet declares that he does not love her, and with her brother leaving to France and then her father dying, she felt as if she was abandoned. In my mind, Ophelia would be represented similarly to Franco Zefferelli’s version because she seemed really fragile but later, she tragically turned to madness.
