is't possible, a young maid's wits

Should be as moral as an old man's life?

Just what I'd like to know, Laertes! This part of the story has never set well with me. It doesn't seem likely that Ophelia would go mad because Polonius was killed ~ after all, Laertes and Hamlet survive the deaths of their respective fathers, and Ophelia and Polonius had, at best, a strange, uneasy relationship.

I really wonder if it was caused by the thought of Hamlet murdering someone ~ anyone. Her beloved Hamlet first goes insane and then commits murder; the thought's overwhelming and she can't handle it.

Still, it's hard for me to swallow. I realize that a lot of things happen in Shakespeare's stories that wouldn't happen in real life, but Ophelia's insanity has to be at the top of my list of things that don't seem right.