Who Is Helena In A Midsummer Night's Dream

“None, but your beauty: would that fault were mine!” Who has not ever compared themselves to someone else? Whether it is through one’s beauty, intelligence or social skills, one often finds a fault in oneselves. This is what pushes Helena to reclaim Demetrius’ love from Hermia. She shows that like in many situations, there are two sides to love. Firstly, she continues to stay loyal to Demetrius even after facing rejection. She also reminds us of love’s arbitrary nature. Finally, she teaches us that with love, one must be willing to take risks and face the outcomes. While many characters in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, express the virtuous side of love, Helena highlights the reality of love by conveying the challenging aspects

Demetrius provides multiple reasons for Helena to move on. He informs her numerous times that he does not love her, yet she does not depart from him. Does that make her adamant or does it confirm that love comes with commitment? In addition, Demetrius is insensitive and abusive towards Helena. For example, he apprises that she makes him nauseous when looked at, and threatens to leave her to the beasts. However, she considers it as a challenge rather than backing out: “I’ll run from there and hide me in the brakes, And leave these to the mercy of wild beasts.” (Act 2, Scene 1, lines 227-228). Aside from staying devoted to Demetrius, she values her friendship with Hermia as she does not accept Lysander’s love when he was under the influence of the potion. She repeatedly tells him that his one true love is Hermia. Evidently, remaining true to her lover does not occur without the painful

While there was a time when Demetrius loved her, that time is bygone as he is enamoured with Hermia now. Helena painfully watches her lover fall for her best friend, swayed not by reason but by appearance. As a result, she is familiar with the agony of loving someone because she experiences one sided love. For that reason, it causes her to be envious of Hermia and become obsessed with reclaiming Demetrius’ love. This makes her act out of character, portraying one of the major themes in the play that love causes one to act irrationally. Consequently, she reveals Hermia’s plan to elope to Demetrius. She then follows him into the forest, despite knowing the consequences: “If I have thanks, it is a dear expense: But herein mean I do enrich my pain, To have his sight thither and back again.” ( Act 1, Scene 1, lines 249-251). Additionally, this play was set in a time where men were made to “woo,” while women must passively wait for their dream lover to regard them. By chasing after Demetrius into the forest, she becomes the pursuer rather than the pursued, thus breaking a gender stereotype. Unquestionably, Helena highlights the challenging aspects of the nature of