As Helena learns of Lysander and Hermia's plan to run off and be happy, she instantly gets jealous and agonizes over her heartbreaking situation with Demetrius, the man who loves an already happy Hermia and not her. While by herself, Helena realizes love is flawed and has a mind of its own.
Citation:
“Helena: Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind; / and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind. / Nor hath Love’s mind of any judgment taste. / Wings, and no eyes, figure unheedy haste” (1.1.240-243).
Explanation:
In William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Helena indicates how frustrated she is with the blindness and unpredictability of love, believing that Cupid’s impulsivity caused the failure of her love life. The use of the clause “Love looks not with the eyes but with the mind” signifies that Helena believes appearances and beauty shouldn’t be the qualities that
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She says this because, in Athens as a whole, Helena is seen as someone just as beautiful as Hermia; however, not to Demetrius because his eyes have been “blinded” by love. The clause “ and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.” refers to the reason why artists portray the god of love with no sight. Helena suspects that Cupid’s inability to see while he flies around with his arrows caused her misfortune because without sight he is unable to see who he shooting. The words “Nor hath Love’s mind of any judgment taste” show that the mind of a person in love can lack judgment and often act irrationally. Helena is referring to Demetrius and how his mind is so in love with the idea of Hermia that he doesn’t realize how much better having Helena, someone who loves him back, would be. The last words of this citation “Wings, and no eyes, figure unheedy haste” imply that Cupid’s
Helena is first introduced storming past Hermia and Lysander, being quick to accuse Hermia of stealing Demetrius’ love from her. Helena’s lengthy response, use of exclamations, sarcastic and whiney tone, and admitted jealousy, portray her perfectly. In fact, the audience better comes to understand the character in her following monologue containing phrases such as: “…how happy some o’er other some can be! Through Athens I am thought to be as fair as she”; “…he hailed down oaths that he was only mine… heat from Hermia…dissolved, and showers of oaths did melt”; “I will go tell him of fair Hermia’s flight…if I have thanks, it is a dear expense.” This shows that Helena isn’t just a jealous friend, but a hurt girl with low self-esteem; she is desperate to have love and happiness again to extent of giving Demetrius what he wants at the expense of her friends’ wellbeing. Despite the late hours, dangers of the night, and Demetrius’ annoyance with her, Hermia expresses her desperation and relentless love for him by proclaiming “…you [Demetrius] draw me, you hard-hearted adamant”, “I love you the more”, and “… spurn me, strike me…only give me leave… to follow you”. Humorously enough, even when Demetrius does not grant Helena permission, she still devotedly follows him. Due to the constant flow of insults and abuses from Demetrius, Helena’s character is pushed to the point where she wallows in self-pity and despair as well as further compare her darker, less attractive complexion to Hermia’s. When Lysander awakens under a love spell and professes his undying love for her, she runs away in distress believing he is implementing a cruel joke on her. When Demetrius follows in the same love-struck manner, she becomes exasperated and falls further into her self-pity. Helena’s tone even become satirical towards the two men and Hermia which not only offends
Love is complicated emotion for people. It can make its victims feel an abundance of sadness, jealousy, and joy. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, two different characters, Helena and Hermia, both tied together by love, portray the challenging obstacles that love can create. Helena’s difficulty is being in love with a man who does not love her and Hermia’s problem is loving a man who she is forbidden to love. Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, characters face obstacles they have to overcome to be happy.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream could have easily been a light-hearted, whimsical comedy. Complete with a magic forest and a kingdom of fairies, it is an iconic setting for amorous escapades and scenes of lovers. But Shakespeare’s writing is never so shallow; through this romantic comedy, Shakespeare postulates an extremely cynical view of love. A Midsummer Night’s Dream becomes a commentary on the mystery of love, and lovers in general emerge shamed. Especially in the episodes among the four young Athenians, the lover is painted as a fickle creature, always changing his or her mind, and love as a passing phenomenon. Love is not an unfathomable, kind emotion, but it is ironically cruel,
For example, she follows Demetrius into the woods even after he threatens to beat her. She says, “And even for that do I love you the more. I am your spaniel. And, Demetrius, the more you beat me, I will fawn on you. Use me but as your spaniel—spurn me, strike me, neglect me, lose me. Only give me leave, unworthy as I am, to follow you. What worser place can I beg in your love — and yet a place of high respect with me — than to be usèd as you use your dog?” (2.1.187-195). Helena is telling Demetrius that even if he beats her, she will still love him. She says that she will accept him beating her, even being happy. This shows that Helena is very desperately longing for Demetrius even though he threatens her. Helena never truly gets over Demetrius because in the end of the play he loves
In this point in the play we find Helena begging to be loved by Demetrius. She constantly follows Demetrius around but he is madly in love with Hermia a long with Lysander. Hermia is the daughter of Egeus and he demands she marries Demetrius even though she is in love with Lysander. Even though Helena knows Demetrius does not love her she will forever try to win him over. Demetrius tries to tell Helena that he loves Hermia.
“O, take the sense, sweet, of my innocence! Love takes the meaning in love's conference.” Lysander's quote, “The course of true love never did run smooth,” is proven throughout the play as three couples face challenges and hardships as time goes on, that no love is easy and that anyone would do anything they can to keep the love they have. In “A Midsummer Night's Dream,” there are many examples of rough love, as seen with Hermia and Lysander when Lysander stops loving Hermia, when Helena love Demetrius but he does not love her back and with Titania and Oberon, as they argue over the changeling boy.
In this play, love causes Helena to become a fool, her unbreakable love for Demetrius leaves her in misery and against her best friend, Hermia, Helena’s worst traits are also exposed as she reveals herself to be selfish and rude. Her blinded eyes could not see the terrible things Demetrius did to her as she still followed him as she says, “I am your spaniel. And Demetrius, the more you beat me, I will fawn on you.”(2.1.188-189) Although Demetrius will never see Helena’s’ true beauty and her exasperated love for him as he says to her, “Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit, for I am sick when I do look on thee.”(2.1.196-197) Helena’s heart tells her to stand by him and never let him go. But when she becomes jealous towards Hermia, she turns her back on her while telling Demetrius that Hermia and Lysander have run away. To be with Demtrius, Helena will do anything, and even to reveal her dark and egocentric side.
Although he tries with all his might to win the love of Hermia, his greatest efforts are not good enough to satisfy her needs nor strokes her interest. The same can be said for, however, when referring to Helena pathetic attempts to win the heart of the one she wants; that one is none other than Demetrius. When Helena in informed of Hermia and Lysander’s plan to escape to the wilderness and to marry each other against Egeus’ will, she goes as far as spoiling their plans to Demetrius in hopes of proving her dedication and love to him. This is a perfect example of untrue love.
Helena talked to Hermia “ Hermia I think you are right, they must be under a love spell, but who would do such a thing?” Hermia angry “ Whoever is doing this is going to be in so much trouble because I am not happy I am really mad madder than a shark.”
The reader of the book starts to realize that this when Demetrius seeks “Hermia’s eyes, so I [Helena], admiring of his qualities” (Shakespeare 1.1.233-234). Helena gets it in her head that there is something about Hermia that makes Demetrius love Hermia over Helena. Helena is then desperate to gain whatever fine qualities that Hermia has. However, Helena does not control the identity crush and laments “what wicked and dissembling glass of mine made me compare with Hermia’s sphery eyne?” (Shakespeare 2.2.101-102).
Barrera 4 Elizabeth Barrera English 144 Professor Miller 06 October 2015 Fantastical Love The repetition of “eyes” and judgment” throughout the text of Midsummer Night’s Dream plays a significant role in the characters’ lives. “Eyes” and “judgment” are used to describe love and control. The larger issues that Shakespeare wants us to notice in repeating these terms again and again are that though we may know what is reasonable and what isn’t, love will make us do irrational things and cloud our thoughts. In a sense, when people are in love, everything is seen in perfection and flaws are ignored—reasonable or not, love blinds the “eyes” and “judgment” is lost.
She realizes that it would break Hermia’s heart and ruin their friendship. During the large fight that erupts after the potions have been placed on the wrong people, Helena tells Hermia that “I evermore did love you, Hermia, did ever keep your counsels, and never wronged you” (3.2.323-324). She even confesses that she did tell Demetrius that Hermia and Lysander were planning to escape Athens. As Helena progresses through the play, we begin to see the paradox that Shakespeare has created through the character of
She may not intend to be, but it is not something that she could help or prevent from happening. She is madly in love with Demetrius, yet he loves Hermia. It is an overwhelming and crushing feeling to be subject to such rejection. Helena has suffered so long, she is willing to do anything to get attention, even scornful attention. Desperation leads to unwise decisions when you let feelings decide, and this is what Helena does when she tells Demetrius about Hermia and Lysander’s plans to elope in the woods that night. Of course, this plan gets her nothing from Demetrius, save a “get lost” so to speak. He tells her, “Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit; For I am sick when I do look on thee.” (lines 211-112) He is cruel and has no sympathy. Not all rejection is this direct, but the subtle things can make just as great of an
In the play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Helena says that love is blind. This foreshadows how Demetrius and Bottom act. When he is talking, he says that he can play different roles, “In that case if I can wear a mask, let me play Thisbe too!” (1.2.42). This connects with love is being blind because Bottom thinks he is good enough to play 2 roles in the play. Demetrius says that he loves Helena by saying, “O Helena, goddess, nymph, perfect divine! To what, my love, shall I compare thine Eyne.” (3.2.137). The human condition shown is love. They are blinded by love because of the flower.
In the play a Midsummer Night’s Dream, Helena states that,“Though she be but little, she is fierce!” With this quote Helena is insulting as well as complementing her. This can relate to today’s people. The height margin today is not as great as it was,. This is true as well, many people don’t see the big parts in little people.