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The way that I perceived Helena when reading Act One at first is very, very different from the way that I started to perceive Helena while watching the two different interpretations of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.
What I understood about Helena first when reading Act One was that she was a dear friend of Hermia’s, and I understood this right away because Hermia refers to her as “fair Helena” first when Helena enters. Hermia also mentions that she and Lysander are running away to the spot that Helena and Hermia used to “empty their bosoms of their counsel sweet”, meaning they used to share secrets, which implies that they are close friends. Because of this context, I assumed that when Hermia and Helena were having the whole exchange about Demetrius that they were just being good friends and discussing their love lives and advice. I was a little bit confused at the end when Helena decided to divulge Hermia’s plans to Demetrius, but I did not think much of it because I figured she was doing it out of love. Besides that, I saw her as pretty normal.
The two interpretations of the play made me think differently. Both actresses that played Helena portrayed her as being very distraught over the situation and a little bit crazy. The Helena in the Shakespeare Globe interpretation was all over the place. In the scene where the two girls were talking about their experiences with Demetrius, Helena comedically shouts out about how she wishes she could be Hermia so that Demetrius would love her; this is in contrast to Hermia, who seems very calm in comparison. The Helena in the other, more “modern” interpretation seemed lovesick and very obsessive over Demetrius, as shown in scenes like where she followed him around the bar, and wrote love poems about him.
Now, when rereading Act One, I perceive Helena’s long rambles and little spouts of shouting about Demetrius as a little bit crazy and obsessive.The monologue where she talks about how beautiful Hermia is is weird and obsessive, too. Because of the interpretations I saw, I will definitely think of her and what she says as different and more obsessive when I read the play going forward. I also understand that she is probably supposed to be comedically funny and crazy.
I don’t think any of the interpretations is necessarily “better” or “more correct”, however I enjoyed how the more modern version the most because it captured the essence of Helena’s dilemma in a very dramatic, relatable way. -
Helena is such an interesting character, in part, because she arrives late. The audience has had time to feel bad for Hermia and to start piecing together what they think of Demetrius and Lysander…and then Hermia shows up maybe in love with Demetrius! Of course, if you’re careful you can tell that she and Demetrius have history (the Dromgoole version emphasizes this). You call her obsessive (I’ll be very interested to see what you think after Act II), and in the Dromgoole version she certainly seems it in that first scene. I wonder what you think of how she describes how Demetrius used to be in 1.1.242-5?
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When reading act one, Helena’s first appearance seemed intense as she came in bitter and jealous of Hermia when she said “Call you me fair? That fair again unsay”. What I understood from this was that Helena was angry due to Demetrius choosing Hermia’s beauty over her. Later on, she started to seemingly praise Hermia’s traits, but quickly turned negative due to her jealousy and spoke about how she wanted those to be like her when she said “The rest I’ll give to be you,”. What I perceived was that she hated Hermia because Demetrius ended up loving Hermia instead and how she wanted to be loved by Demetrius so much that she would want to be Hermia herself. It looked like her emotions started to calm down when Hermia and Lysander left, but her negativity just grew as she kept comparing her own traits to Hermia’s and how Demetrius ended up leaving her. To be honest, it felt like Helena was indirectly planning her own loss when she thought that Demetrius would pay attention to her again if she informed him about Hermia’s escape, but I thought that he would just go for Hermia and ignore her afterwards, just to leave her in tragedy. To me, her character seemed as if all her actions were focused on gaining Demetrius’s favor.
Likewise, from Bennett’s interpretation, the modern Helena seemed more bitter, unreserved and toxic as she talked about how Demetrius loved Hermia and how it was from her beauty straightaway. Meanwhile, when she described about how she wanted his love, she seemed less obsessive than in the play and more drowned in her sorrows as she had negative thoughts after reading her own poem to the crowd. To me, it seemed like she had a revelation when she thought that she needed to tell Demetrius about Hermia’s escape and how that would get back his attention to her.
In Dromgoole’s interpretation, rather than with any malice, Helena seemed to be depicted more about jealousy and her first few lines sounded as if she had sarcasm. From my perspective, she seemed to be a bit hysterical and as she was speaking about how Demetrius lost his love for her in her monologue, the way she talked was sorrowful and invoked sympathy even though Dromgoole’s interpretation had comical atmosphere to it.
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The relationshi between Helena and Hermia has often been the subject of criticism, particularly by feminist critics seeking to show how gendered expectations for social roles sometimes create alliances between men but breaks them between women.
In the section you identify, I’ve always found it interesting that Helena doesn’t say she’s not as “fair” as Hermia (in fact after Hermia leaves, Helena tells the audience that throughout Athens she is thought just as beautiful (1.1.234). Crucially, she complains that “her” fair doesn’t attract Demetrius. The back and forth between Hermia and Helena is always kept within the context success with Demetrius. Hermia frowns at Demetrius and Helena wishes her smiles worked on Demetrius as well as Hermia’s frowns. Helena doesn’t want to be like Hermia, but wants to have the same affect on Demetrius that she has.
I always feel bad for Helena, too. As I wrote above she seems to know she’s beautiful (and smart and worthy, in fact in a way that Demetrius/Lysander are also similar), and she seems to feel foolish that she loves Demetrius when he’s basically the onely one who won’t have her. Hence her whole speech on how love is blind.
Helena is tortured by her love but we seem to treat her as making the choice on her own so people often think of her as foolish. In a way, thought, we might also think of her as similar to Hermia. After all, Hermia is also willing to give up an awful lot (friends, family, respectability, etc.) for a love. Why is Hermia often thought to be heroic and Helena thought to be shameless? Maybe there are actually much deeper similarities between the women and how they have come to understand their own values.
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Helena doesn’t seem to catch anybody’s eye.
Not Demetrius’ or my own. Helena was not the character I had too much interest in while reading the physical play. She does not stand out much or have too much of a personality. It appears that she defines herself from her relationships with others. She’s obsessed (“dotes on”) Demetrius and is the childhood best friend of Hermia. In my reading I got a little bit of a “jealous best friend”/”girl next door” vibe from her. She seems to be the one always in shadow of Hermia maybe while they were growing up. And now that they’re older Hermia has two men in love with her, one she could marry and one she can’t and he picks the more difficult. Helena is jealous of Hermia’s beauty and attention she gets from Demetrius which she doesn’t even want while Helena craves it. I do think it was a bit odd that we only got to hear about Helena’s love for Demetrius but did not see them interact like we saw Lysander and Hermia together. She was the odd one point- purposely of course- to compare her melancholy to the wonderful plans between Lysander and Hermia. Helena does mention that in Athens she and Hermia are known as both being of equal beauty, and since they were friends growing up I would believe their families are close as well. I really imagine too much of a difference between her and Hermia, they both wanted a man they can’t have. Helena I think is more relatable because when the audience looks to her, they all remember when love wasn’t smooth or easy or reciprocated. Its like a childhood crush on someone you tell yourself is out of your league.
In Bennet’s MND, we get more of a taste into Helena’s obsession. As a pre-warning I have to make clear that I hate modern takes of old english or Shakespearean stories. They make me sick and uncomfortable and it feels very unpleasant to me. If they were to modernize Helena I did not imagine it being in that way at all. They made her a scriptwriter, poet and very emotional and sensitive. This all seemed odd to me because they made Hermia a movie star, cover of “Vanitie Faire”, on the red carpet and this glamorous person but somehow portray her and Helena as being friends. They seem to be from opposite worlds, more like a princess and a pauper story. Its hard to imagine them having a childhood together or even really having any relationship. Not having Helena be common to Hermia “in fairness” and status I think adds tension to the Hermia triangle because if Lysander is a tattooed, motorcycle-riding photographer and Demetrius is a suit and tie, corporate business man its hard to see why Demetrius would pick Helena. The movie actually does show more of Demetrius and Helena’s relationship which was refreshing but the new perspective made me not want to take anyone side or what anyone to end up together. I just better for Helena, even though she’s ratting out her friend for her benefit, the movie portrays her in such a relatable and common way that I aligned myself with her a bit and even felt some pity. I like that character they created but not as suppose to be Shakespeare’s Helena.
Dromgoole’s take is a bit more of my taste, a traditional authentic style that I can appreciate. It was also amazing to see the globe again. This Helena aligned a bit more with my with my imagination of the character but there’s still a weird emotion component for me. Bennet’s Helena was very emotional and nerdy and seemed awkward and Droomgoole’s Helena had a more obvious side of her obsession but I wanted my Helena to have more personality and yes show the obsession but not in a deranged way or dramatic sense (this is a drama play but I mean more in the emotional sense). Both productions I believe show Helena as seeking attention rather than someone who just wants to be loved back. While reading the lines along with Dromgoole’s Helena, I thought I would get something more besides what I had on the page but I realized that while hearing it was different it didn’t bring more to the Helena that I wanted to know more about.
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You’re not the only one who wants to see Shakespeare presented in a certain way. Personally, I’m not particularly bothered by “modern” interpretations. Shakespeare’s productions, no matter when they were set, were usually costumed with contemporary dress. Mcuh like the Dromgoole version, your Duke Theseus is dressed in what would have been the “modern” dreass of Shakespeare’s time. I don’t see a big jump to using our own modern dress, then. Although shifting locations (especially to America) is not something Shakespeare would do.
I also can’t help myself by note that Shakespeare is not “old English.” While his English may seem awfully old fashioned, it’s considered modern English (if you remmeber, we’re calling this the “Early Modern Period”). Chaucer, who is writing about 150 years earlier writes in an English that we consider “middle English.” It’s almost modern and odern readers can learn how to read it fairly easily (The first lines of the Canterbury Tales go like this: “Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote/ The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote,/ And bathed every veyne in swich 3 licour, Of which vertu engendred;”). Beowulf is often called the first surviving epic written in Old English and you’ll see that it’s not at all legible to modern English speakers.
One point that I think is important to clarify: Demetrius loved Helena first and if, as Helena tells us (and you note), she is as fair as Hermia, I don’t think it’s fair to characterize Helena as jealous of being in Hermia’s shadow. She seems not particularly frustrated with Hermia as she is frustrated that she cannot get what she wants (Demetrius). Hermia’s also not having a particularly good time when Helena arrives (remember, she’s just been told she’ll either die or become a nun), so I don’t see Helena as jealous of Hermia’s position, other than that Hermia has what she wants: Lysander.
There is a similarity, then, in how Lysander pursues Hermia and how Helena pursues Demetrius.
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As I was reading Act 1 of A Midsummer Night’s dream, the character that stood out to me the most was Helena. In my point of view Helena was portrayed as jealous. As soon as I read the line “ Call you me “fair”? That “fair” again unsay. Demetrius loves your fair. O happy fair!” <i>(1.1.181-182) </i>I automatically assumed she was envious of Hermia’s looks and appearance and wanted Demetrius all to herself. She was jealous that he saw her as this mesmerizing individual that he couldn’t see in Helena. She was just complaining to Hermia about how she has it better. Although, as I kept reading, it seemed like Hermia trusted her because as said before they would share secret in the place Hermia plans to run away with Lysander, however, as the play progresses, I see that Helena plans to tell Demetrius all about their plan just to get on his good side. She also seemed creepy and obsessive towards Hermia’s appearance. The way she was describing her seemed a little hysterical and over the top. Overall in the reading she gives off a very desperate, jealous character. When watching the modern version of the movie, Helena seems calmer and more toned down then in the written play. She portrays as more of a girl who is heartbroken and writes all her feelings about Demetrius in her poems. The modern Helena seemed more spiteful, she presented herself as more toxic and fake towards Hermia. As for Dromgoole’s interpretation, Helena seemed all over the place and manic. She just randomly blurts out how it’s unfair that the love she gives is not enough and her looks are not enough. Overall Helena envies there happiness
Overall all 3 versions show Helena in the same matter to me. She just seems manic and desperate for Demetrius love. I think that overall the different interpretations do not stack against my reading, they all further develop the idea of Helena being extremely lovesick.
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Looks like you’re in good company with your suspicions about Helena. She’s often taken by people to be jealous of Hermia. As you mention, Lysander tells us that Helena and Hermia (and Lysander) are all friends from childhood. You might expect that, too. If they’re all rich and powerful enough to be around the Duke’s palace, they’re probably running in the same circles.
What seems important to me is to identify precisely what Helena is jealous of. She doesn’t seem to want to be the same as Hermia, but she does want Demetrius’ attention. Demetrius used to like Helena of corse. We’re told that by Lysander and it’s confirmed by Theseus and Helena (Theseus even suggests that he was concerned by how much Demetrius was lavashing on attention on Helena–the implication is that he always was going to break her heart). Considering her monologe creates a cupid who is a childish blind foodl, she clearly doesn’t think Demetrius chooses Hermia for any logical reason (or for why she like Demetrius, even. Maybe she’s disgusted in herself for liking him, even!)
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The passage on Helena from 2.2.89-99 seems to encapsulate the character of Helena perfectly. Left alone and still tormented by Demetrius, Helena falls back into her own trap of comparing herself to Hermia, leading into self-loathing. Helena spends this monologue despising herself for her inability to measure up to Hermia’s beauty and ability to keep a lover, regardless of whether or not that’s true. Here, in contrast to what was said in the previous act, Helena does not even to bother to praise herself. Instead, she says “I am ugly as a bear” (2.2.94) and curses herself for even beginning to compare herself to Hermia, saying “What wicked and dissembling glass of mine/ Made me compare with Hermia’s sphery eyne!” (2.2.98-99). This statement proves that behind Helena’s jealousy for Hermia is a deep sense of negative self-worth, and she, here, blames herself for not being able to woo Lysander. Alongside of this is Helena’s infatuation with the concept of love and being in a relationship. Helena says “Happy is Hermia, wheresoe’er she lies,/ for she hath blessed and attractive eyes” (2.2.90-91). This statement describes two of Helena’s beliefs: that Hermia must be happier than Helena because she is beautiful, and that Hermia is happier because she has someone who loves her. It is possible that for Helena’s, the chase for Demetrius only makes her desire for him stronger, and only makes Helena idealize and romanticize the idea of being with Demetrius. Helena herself even says “I am out of breath in this fond chase!” (2.2.90). However, she does still admit that the more she chases after Demetrius, the less she seems to be graceful (Most likely meaning graceful in Demtrius’s eyes). Overall, this passage seems to be the most ‘Helena’ because it centers around Helena’s jealousy of Hermia that becomes a rant about self-worth while remaining blind to the possibility of Demetrius’s lack of interest in Helena.
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This speech always gets to me. It’s comically over-blown (bears? really?) but it’s also suggests that perhaps she thinks of Demetrius as a monster (he threatens to harm her, is cruel). Even someone as horrible as he runs from her. It’s also such a difference from before when she seems more confident. It’s as if we actually start to see Helena’s spirit break.
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In Act 2 of A Midsummer Nights Dream, Lysander “falls in love” with Helena due to a spell the fairies cast on him. When Lysander wakes up and confesses his love to Helena, she states “Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born? When at your hands did I deserve this scorn?….But you must flout my insufficiency?…I thought you lord of more true gentleness..” (2.2.123-134). I think this monologue of Helenas is very representative of her character. She is asking Lysander why everyone is always making fun of her, she is saying she doesn’t deserve this, and she complains that Lysander is focusing on the fact that she is not enough for Demetrius to love her. She also goes on to explain to Lysander that she thought he was much nicer than to “make fun of her.” I think this represents who Helena is because up until now, we have only seen her being negative towards the whole situation. In a previous scene, she gets offended when Hermia calls her “Fair Helena,” (1.1.180) and tells Hermia that she is the only beautiful one. We see Helena refuses to accept anything nice from any of the characters in this play, and she seems to be so down on herself, and a little bit over dramatic. Later on, Helena describes what she thinks love is. This also relates to when she accuses Lysander of making fun of her, because she is giving off a negative impression. She explains that she thinks love is like a child, because she explains that Cupid is blind, and doesn’t even know who he is shooting at, so the love is all by chance. Helena is explaining this because she is upset that Demetrius loves Hermia, and not herself, so she is giving off a negative impression. Because of all the different monologues I have read from Helena, when I read the passage of how she reacted to Lysander loving her, I was not surprised by her reaction. I thought it showed her negativity in regards to love, which we have seen in previous scenes as well.
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In Act 2, Scene 2, Helena’s monologue on lines 89-99 reveals a major characteristic of her; jealousy. In this monologue, Helena expresses this jealousy by negatively comparing herself to Hermia. For example, Helena says “Happy is Hermia, wheresoe’er she lives, for she hath blessed and attractive eyes. How came her eyes so bright? Not with salt tears; If so my eyes are oft’ner wash’d than hers”. In these lines, Helena not only praises Hermia’s features, but also complains about her features. To understand this, it is important to know the situation that Helena is in, which is the man Helena is in love with (Demetrius) doesn’t love her but loves Hermia instead. This is where Helena’s jealousy for Hermia comes from, it roots from Demetrius. Her love for Demetrius also reveals another characteristic of bad decision making. Helena has been chasing Demetrius’ love forever and has continuously failed. No matter how many times Demetrius ignores or tells her he doesn’t want her she still keeps going after him, which shows her bad decision making. Instead of moving on, she keeps going back to Demetrius.
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I think it’s important to clarify what Helena is jealous of. Is it Hermia exactly? I’ve always thought that what makes Helena most angry is that Hermia doesn’t even like Demetrius. We hear Hermia say how she treats Demetrius (compare it to how Demetrius treats Helena) and Helena contrasts her attempts to be good to Demetrius.
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In act one, Helena is one of the last characters introduced, she plays little role in what is going on between the King, Hermia, and Lysanders problem, but she is quick to show feeling about herself. She finds little to no interest in anyone except for herself. In her monologue in act one scene one from lines 226 to 251 she speaks only on her problems and how others are causing it. She also speaks upon her own failures of one of the fairest woman on the land. She shows self hate for the fact that she is unable to capture the attention of the one man she has interest in. This said interest is shown on lines 229 to 231 which states,” he will not know what all but he do know, and as he errs, doting on Hermia’s eyes, so I, admiring of his qualities.” This admiring of qualities shows interest, but her talk of Hermia shows that this interest is unrequited. Then she then later speaks on a plan to follow Hermia in a attempt to gain information that would bring Demetrius interest away from Hermia and back to her. This just explains more thoroughly what type of person Helena is and, that is a person who is slightly insecure and self centered in my opinion.
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Perhaps it is due to her sheer frustration regarding absolutely everything that has occurred so far, or perhaps it is due to her lack of a close confidant to help her release this frustration into a healthy conversation. For whichever reason, Helena’s monologues tend to be particularly expressive and representative of her personality. In Act I, While Hermia and Lysander revel in their forbidden love and Demetrius focuses solely on chasing Hermia, Helena is forced to watch events unfold from a position from which she is privy to the details of what is unfolding, yet still not quite a participating character. Her monologue on page 8 lines 226- 251 not only expresses her bitterness toward the entire institution of love, but also transforms her into an active participant in the story. Helena’s plan to take Demetrius with her to follow Lysander and Hermia into the woods, is even more telling than her upset rambling. She recognizes the harm she will likely cause, and that the benefit she herself will receive will be minimal and temporary. However, she is so desperate to once again be the recipient of the love she had just scorned, that she makes the decision in an instant. This choice not only makes her an active character in the play, but also conveys to the reader the characteristic that is the most “Helena”. Although she rambles on and manages to confuse herself about her very own feelings with circular meanings and rhyming words, her motives are always clear to the reader as well as those around her. Her jealousy, bitterness and above all, her insecurities, are so evident to all besides her. This vulnerability is the element most prominently felt during Helena’s speech, and is typical of her lines throughout the play.
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We learned about Helena’s love for Demetrius in Act I when she says that she and Demetrius have a history together, where he loved her first, saw Hermia, left Helena, and now loves Hermia. In Act II, however, we can sense Helena’s desperation as she follows Demetrius into the woods, looking for Lysander and Hermia. Demetrius asks her why she loves him so much if he doesn’t love her back. Helena then starts a monologue in which 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 used as you use your dog?” (2.1.202-210)
This monologue describes Helena’s personality very well. She is desperate for Demetrius to reciprocate her love, and she doesn’t even care if he continues to mistreat her. She says that he can be cruel to her and abuse her like an owner might do to his dog, and she will keep on loving him and coming back to him. Helena isn’t necessarily obsessive, although the power of her words are extreme. She just loves Demetrius and is hurt that he doesn’t love her back. Being stubborn as she is, she doesn’t care about making a fool out of herself or ruining her reputation. She is experiencing a tough love story that is one-sided and unrequited- something that a lot of people can painfully relate to because at one point in our lives, we may have loved someone that wasn’t interested in us. Still, we might have told ourselves that we would do anything for this person because we cared about them, and this is what Helena feels for Demetrius.
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It’s interesting to think about how this would look if the genders are reversed (as Helena actually mentions a few lines later). Men are often encouraged to “give chase” and think of themselves as heroically overcoming the woman’s defenses (rather like Theseus and Hippolyta). Why then do we view it differently from Helena?
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In act 1 of the Midsummer Nights Dream, Helena I would say to me is a really complex character from the emotions she gives off from her words. We all know that she has a great amount of lust for Demetrius, but Demetrius doesn’t feel the same for he is in love with Hermia who is in love with Lysander. Helena shows a great amount of jealousy towards Hermia, always comparing herself to Hermias looks and attributes, even at some points it feels as if she is downgrading herself thinking her looks isn’t worthy of Demetrius love. during a conversation between both Helena and Hermia, Helena says, “Call you me fair? That fair again unsay. Demetrius loves your fair, O happy fair! Your eyes are lodestars, and your tongue’s sweet air”(1.1.181-183). In these lines you can tell that Helena doesn’t believe that her appearance is comparable to Hermias, if it was then Demetrius would have been fond of Helena as well, she speaks on Hermia’s eyes as if they were lodestars and her having a sweet singing voice, you can tell that she is insecure of her attributes and idolizes Hermia’s qualities more than she does hers, showing signs of envy. In another example, Helena says, “My ears should catch your voice, my eye your eye, My tongue should catch your tongues sweet melody”(1.1.188-189). From these words, Helena shows how desperate she is in wanting Hermia’s qualities, in order to impress Demetrius, from this response, it tells me a lot about Helena as an individual. She is so obsessed with a guy to a point if she were able to change everything about herself she would. It also feels as if Hermia’s qualities are playing games on Helena’s emotions, which isn’t Hermia’s fault and Helena knows that most probably, but her lust for Demetrius and his love for Hermia play a huge role on how Helena responds throughout the play. Another example would be, “O, teach me how you look, and with what art, You sway the motion of Demetrius’ heart”(1.1.192-193). In this line, Helena wants to learn Hermia’s ways as she looks at it as a form of art, which that art is the reason why Demetrius is attracted to Hermia. From all these lines I pointed out, we can say Helena is a character that stands out, her emotions are scattered all over the place, some of the phrases said within her lines are critical to Helena for who she is a person and how she speaks. She always seems to be distraught and have some sort of arrogance towards Hermia when it comes to her looks and features. I’m curious to see how her character develops throughout the play, to see if there is eventually a shift in her character and if her word evokes a different type of emotion.
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I never get the sense she WANTS Hermia’s qualities. When Hermia says she frowns on Demetrius, Helena doesn’t say she wants Hermia’s frown, she says she wishes Hermia’s frowns could teach her (Helena’s) smile.
I usually feel Helena is frustrated that Demetrius like Hermia even thought shes mean to him and here’s Helena trying to be nice to him. Who wouldn’t choose the girl who is being nice? Of course, she’s making the same choice…
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