Ophelia: The Forgotten Character Ophelia is Polonius' daughter. According to M.M. Reese (108), her name is generally thought to be derived from the Greek word apheleia, meaning "innocence." This is certainly a good description of her outlook on life, every bit as ingenuous as her brother's. It may not, however, apply to her sexual activity: The intensity of her feeling for Hamlet suggests that something more than a flirtation has gone on between them, and as Evans Smith points out, the lewd "St. Valentine's Day" song that she sings in her madness must have been learned somewhere, tho