Uhhh....
They've read Hamlet right?
Ophelia is literally one of the most regressive female stereotypes you can possible imagine, existing largely just to depict what a bastard everyone else is. She's a naive, lovestruck, obsessive child with no goals or motivations outside of being with the prince, her character is defined by her relationships with her father, brother, and potential lover, and she then goes mad and kills herself (or dies accidentally, depending on how you want to read it) in grief over the above.
So you have a woman who dies tragically after having her life revolve around the goals and aspirations of men. And that's rather the point, because the entire play is about manipulation and the consequences of a lust for revenge at all costs.
Progressive!
).
