Who Is Helena In A Midsummer Night's Dream

Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream brings to light numerous themes that are quite relevant to modern times. One such theme is the difficulty of love, which includes the hardships it can bring. Although all of the main characters help to shape this theme, one in particular is Helena. She faces more than one hardship of love, therefore making her the character to develop the theme the most.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare detailed the story between warring characters. From couple conflicts to love quadrilaterals and the interference of outsiders, the story played out as a comedy, with Helena on the receiving end of a running joke. Introduced in Act One as the jealous friend of Hermia, as she was in love with Demetrius, who decided to marry Hermia despite Hermia’s love for Lysander. Hermia appears rather guilty as she confirms her distaste to Demetrius to her friend. However, her father disapproves of her relationship with Lysander. Despite her co-dependent aspirations, Helena exemplifies progressive ideals that counter the societal norms of Midsummer’s era.

Initially in love with Hermia, he uses rudeness to ward off Helena's "spaniel" affection, being very ruthless towards the feelings of Helena: “I'll run from thee and hide me in the brakes And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts” (Demetrius, 2.1.234-235). He cares nothing even for her life and just absolutely crushes her dear emotions. It always seems that he is usually taking advantage of the situations he is in, like when he tries to pursue Hermia due to Lysander's absence, but uses harsh words. “I had rather give his [Lysander] carcass to my hounds . . . And if I could, what should I get therefor (Demetrius, 3.2.66,80)? A privilege never to see me more. And from thy hated presence part I [so.] See me no more, whether he be dead or no” (Hermia, 3.2.81-83). Demetrius displays his awful characteristics with such demoralizing words and complete disrespect for Lysander. He will desire any hopes of attaining her affection. She scorns him after hearing these words, never wanting him to see her again.

The love for Helena appeared out of nowhere. He did not develop the passion for her, it happened in one day. True love needs true passion, not passion from a potion. Love is not something that is material; it is felt from the heart, not a potion. Demetrius’ and Helena’s love is forged

At one time, Demetrius loved Helena, and then he fell in love with someone else. Initially, Demetrius had given his love to Helena: “He hailed down oaths that he was only mine, / And when this hail some heat from Hermia felt, / So he dissolved, and showers of oaths did melt” (MND 1.1.243-245). Helena loved Demetrius, and he promised to be with her forever. However once he met her friend, Hermia, Demetrius left Helena to chase after her friend. Helena’s jealousy of Demetrius’ love drives her to think about what he really wants. Helena believes that Hermia’s beauty is why Demetrius desires her. She tells Hermia, “Demetrius loves your fair”, and she goes further to say, “Were the world mine, Demetrius being bated, / The rest I’d give to be to you translated” (MND 1.1.182, 190-191). Her jealousy of Demetrius’ love has turned into jealousy of Hermia’s beauty. Helena obsesses over having Demetrius back to the point that she continuously follows him around. Demetrius is tired of Helena chasing him: “Do I entice you? Do I speak you fair?” (MND 2.1.199). Demetrius does not understand why she tries so hard to be with him when he does not even compliment her. Demetrius threatens Helena to leave him alone: “I’ll run from thee, and hide me in the brakes, / And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts” (MND 2.1.227-228). At this point, he is beyond exhausted with Helena, and he will do anything to get away from her.

It is important that in our lives we are able to understand the difference between the ugly and the true. William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream captures love in such a literal, yet whimsical sense, which is why it is able to stay relevant even in this day and age. The bad love of Demetrius and Helena showcases the dark side of love, the side of love that isn’t really love at all.

After being unengaged to Demetrius, an Athenian man, she looks for love in Lysander, her best friend’s soon to be husband. One can conclude that Helena acts very foolish because of love and will do anything to have it because of her endless longing for Demetrius and jealousy over Hermia.

In this story, Helena shows the blinding power of love by her actions towards Demetrius and her opinions about women’s role in love. Helena is very persistent in her actions towards Demetrius. She won’t give up even though he doesn’t reciprocate the same feelings. He, in fact, tells her many times of his hate towards her, but Helena doesn’t back away.

In Athens, women had very little rights. Womens fathers were the ones who got to choose whom they married, and that caused trouble for the lovers. Hermia’s father, Egeus, strongly believed in this rule. At the beginning, Egeus decides that he wants Hermia to marry Demetrius, which is good for Demetrius but bad for Hermia. Hermia, daringly refuses her father’s wishes, so they seek the help of Theseus, the Duke of Athens. Theseus listens to their situation, and being the authority in the situation, tells Hermia: “Either to die the death, or to abjure for the society of men. Therefore, fair Hermia,... if you yield not to your father’s choice, you can endure the livery of a nun...”(24). This shows how authority, in this case the law, gets in the way of “the course of true love…”(28). Egeus’s decision to have Hermia marry Demetrius does not only affect Hermia but also affects Helena. When Hermia’s father chooses Demetris to be her

Demetrius is pleading with Hermia to comply with her father’s wishes, and marry him, and also demanding Lysander to hand her over to him. The verbiage used in the line such as referring to Hermia as a title, shows that he does not view her as an equal. Demetrius wants Hermia to disregard her own wishes, and marry him because he is rich. Theseus also shows this way of thinking, as stated by the line, “To whom you are but as a form in wax, by him imprinted and within his power,” (1.1.49-50). He is explaining to Hermia that she is not her own person, free to make her own choices, but a figure to be shaped by her father or husband.

From this scene, we can tell that Helena is jealous of Hermia being with Demetrius because Helena herself loves Demetrius, yet Hermia actually loves Lysander. Because Helena is jealous of Demetrius’ love for Hermia, Hermia tells Helena of her plans to run away with Lysander, and Helena sees this as a

In Midsummer Night's Dream Helena can be portrayed as needy, persistant and self-conscious which is demenstrated in her pursuit of Demetrius, who disregards and is uninterested in Helena making her insecure about herself. In this desperate pursuit of Demetrius Helena shows she is very needy. This need for Demetrius's affection is obsessive and drives Helena. Her need for Demetrius's love is very important because it drives her decisions through much of the story. This obsession Helena has with Demetrius makes her not want to leave his side.

In the beginning of the book, Demetrius really wanted to marry Hermia and Hermia's’ father wanted her to marry him too. But Helena had her sights on Demetrius. But Demetrius thought that Helena was ugly and did not like her. After Helena told him Hermia and Lysander were going into the woods where they would get married, he wanted to follow to try and stop them from getting married. So, he is the type of guy that is really insistent on getting what he wants.

Demetrius woke up and fell instantly in love with Helena, but Puck made a mistake with the flower he also put Lysander's eyes too so he fell in love with Helena too. Demetrius and Lysander got into a fight over Helena, then Hermia and Helena start to fight and for each other and it is a big mess. In our time if a man is dating another person… and they see someone else that means that they are cheating on him or her. In the play, “A Midsummer Night's Dream” Demetrius and Lysander are fighting each other and the Helena and Hermia are also fighting.

Her reality of love is questioned because there is no significant reasoning to why she loves Demetrius. So, her love is viewed as pure lust. The more she tries to chase Demetrius, the more he will distance himself from her--their love is based on just honest disinterest. Also, she is a fixed character of gender reversal by pursuing love more aggressively than a woman in her era is suppose to because they are meant to be chased, not be the chasers: “We cannot fight for love as men may do:/ We should be wooed, and were not meant to woo”(2.1.241-242). When Helena talks about the difficultness of fighting for love between men and women, she explains that women are not “meant to” have the power or strength to continously to fight for love like men because that chase should be the men’s role. Helena’s perspective can be illustrated as her love not having the same worth as if Demetrious were to chase her. Also, it shows Helena as a paradox of the non-tradition of chasing men but needing the tradition to design the worth of love. Likewise, Helena is persistent in chasing Demetrious until he loves her back. Her perspective of love is viewed as being childish, blinded by love. She attempts to seduce him in multiple occasions but he continously dismisses her and Helena uses comical language to tell him that she will never give up on him: “I am your spaniel, and, Demetrius/ The more you beat me I will fawn on you”(2.1.203-204). Shakespeare explores the subjectivity of the character’s different views of reality when it comes to understanding