Helena thinks that such treatment would be fitting for a wife, but she also dilutes it undertones of unusual sex practices. In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, bestiality is not unheard of considering the fairy Queen Tatiana falls in love Bottom despite his ass’s head. As Melissa E. Sanchez researched for her article “‘Use Me But as Your Spaniel’: Feminism, Queer Theory, and Early Modern Sexualities”, according to radical feminists, if Helena is a lesbian then she thinks a heterosexual relationship is supposed to be one of “hostility” (495). Unlike Hermia, Helena has not reached full sexual autonomy with her desires, and willfully subjects herself to whatever desires Demetrius might have for her.
Even when he loosely threatens her
…show more content…
Lysander over and over repeated, “One heart, one bed, two bosoms, and one troth,” and “Two bosoms interchainèd with an oath – / So then two bosoms and a single troth” (II, ii, 48-56). Helena used “double cherry” and “two lovely berries molded on one stem; / So, with two seeming bodies but one heart” (III, ii, 209-212). Both of them discuss how two separate bodies will become one whether in a romantic sense like love and marriage or in a physical sense like sex. Though one can argue that Lysander’s speech was one of a more licentious nature, he does make a similar promise like Helena’s when he explains, “…that my heart unto yours is knit, / So that but one heart we can make of it” (II, ii, 53-54). Whatever either of them are offering and promising to Hermia, it is indistinguishable to each …show more content…
/ I scorn you not. It seems that you scorn me” (III, ii, 220-221). Even she misinterpreted Helena’s actions, not recognizing the depths of her feelings. At the short reply, though, Helena just breaks down further and as the scene progresses so does their friendship deteriorate. It is not put to rights until the love-spell on Lysander is lifted, forcing the four into couples ready for marriage. In the final scene of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the newly weds alongside newly married Theseus and Hippolyta watch the play being performed by the machinals. Theseus, Demetrius, and Lysander actively make snide comments throughout the performance while Helena and Hermia are uncharacteristically quiet. They have now fully slipped into their roles as subservient wives, which explains why now Helena can easily accept how Demetrius is in love with her now. So long as Demetrius acts in the dominate role as Helena believes a husband must, she will believe that their love is
An important passion shown in this story is the passion of friendship from Helena. Lysander and demetrius were both deeply in love with Hermia, but suddenly they became slaves for Helena, under the spell of a love potion. This antagonises Helena and she blames it all on Hermia and her cruel joke. She says to Hermia, “The sisters’ vows, the hours that we have spent, when we have chid the hasty-footed time for parting us,-o is all forgot” (III.II.199-201)? Helena asks her if she has forgotten about their friendship, about the vows they took to be like sisters and never leave each other. This shows that although Hermia may have forgotten their friendship, Helena will always remember because friendship is really important to her. Friendship is a bond Helena feels really passionate about and takes very seriously. Another quote that shows Helena’s passion for friendship is “ Both warbling of one song, both in one key, as if our hands, our sides, voices and minds have been incorporated”(III. II. 207-208). This represents that Helena took their friendship sincerely and she believed in them and nothing could break their bond. Her last bit of her anger com...
Lysander tells Theseus that Demetrius "Made love to … Helena, And won her soul.” Helena says that before Demetrius looked upon Hermia, "He hail'd down oaths that he was only mine.” In an attempt to win back some of Demetrius's affection, Helena tells him of Hermia's plan to meet in the wood and elope with Lysander.
In act two scene two Lysander continues to insult Hermia. For example in the book it states “ Content with Hermia? No, I do repent…” (2.2.118-120). This shows that Lysander wants Helena’s love, but he is trying to hard to get it. In act three scene two Helena finds that both Lysander and Demetrius are “mocking” her. For example in the book it states “ ...I pray you,though you mock me, gentlemen.” (3.2.314). This shows that Helena doesn’t believe that Demetrius and Lysander “love” her. Oberon and Lysander find it impossible to control love.
Infatuation causes Helena to lose all sense of dignity, as can be seen when in the woods, she desperately pleads with Demetrius to ?but treat me as your spaniel?. Here, Helena also becomes irrational, obsessed with pursuing Demetrius, though it is obvious that Demetrius is fixated on winning Hermia?s hand in marriage. Helena?s infatuation also causes her to see things from a skewed perspective, for she falsely believes that when she divulges Hermia?s plans for eloping with Lysander, Demetrius? love for Helena will rekindle. As the audience, we know that the most probable course of action for Demetrius upon hearing such news is to pursue Lysander and Hermia, or to report them to Theseus or Egeus. Clearly, infatuation has clouded Helena?s ability to think clearly, and she sees things in her own idealistic way.
In "A midsummer nights dream" Helena, is rather cynical about love. Because she has always been turned from, especially by her own love, Demetrius, she is sceptical when she is loved. Helena subsequently sees Lysander on the ground and shakes him awake; unwittingly becoming the first woman he sees when he opens his eyes. Lysander immediately falls in love with Helena, and tells her that he deeply loves her.
The first scene of A Midsummer Night’s Dream introduces a tangled web of lovers. Hermia presents herself for judgement as she refuses to marry Lysander, the man of whom her father approves, as she is infatuated instead with Demetrius. Meanwhile her friend Helena is besotted by Demetrius, but he loves Hermia. The scene plays out like a soap opera with dramatic relationships galore, but Shakespeare establishes greater depth with the help of allusions. The most significant references in this scene appear when Hermia and Lysander speak privately for the first time. In their brief conversation, Hermia alludes to Cupid, Venus, and Dido. The first two are gods of love, and Dido is a queen who burned herself on a pyre after being abandoned by her lover. Shakespeare uses each of these mentions of mythology to make the point that the affair between Hermia and Lysander is no passing fancy. However, when Helena enters and converses with the star-crossed lovers she makes no mention of mythology as she discusses her unrequited love for Demetrius and resulting jealousy of Hermia. The absence of allusions in Helena’s speech accentuates the divide between herself and her friend. Barbara A. Mowat speaks eloquently on this concept in the Folger Library edition introduction. As Ms. M...
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, penned by the acclaimed author William Shakespeare, demonstrates erratic relationships in the form of a romantic comedy. The play takes place in ancient Athens where Theseus, duke of Athens, and his fiancé, Hippolyta, prepare for their grand wedding. During the preparations, Theseus must settle a dispute between a man named Eugeus and his daughter, Hermia. Hermia desires to marry a charming young man by the name of Lysander, however, her father forces her to wed Demetrius. Throughout the story, Hermia and many other women, battle with their love affairs. Through these chaotic love affairs, the predominant female characters show their strengths as well as their weaknesses through various events in the play. Two
Throughout the events which unfold in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare delivers several messages on love. Through this play, one of the significant ideas he suggests is that love is blind, often defying logic and overriding other emotions and priorities. Helena loves Demetrius unconditionally and pursues him despite knowing that he loathes her; conflict arises between Helena and Hermia, childhood best friends, over Demetrius and Lysander; and because she is in love, Queen Titania is able to see beauty and virtue in the ass-headed Nick Bottom.
The hilarious play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare, tells the twisted love story of four Athenians who are caught between love and lust. The main characters: Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius are in a ‘love square’. Hermia and Lysander are true love enthusiasts, and love each other greatly. Demetrius is in love with Hermia, and Helena, Hermia’s best friend, is deeply and madly in love with Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander try to elope in the woods because Egeus, Hermia’s father, disapproves of Lysander.
...d to the idea of love the two are, as illustrated by Lysander’s flowery words of love, it is easy to see that they have little to no experience being in a real relationship, especially a serious one. Even during the first scene of the first act, Lysander tells Hermia, “Ay me! For aught that I could ever read / Could ever hear by tale or history / The course of true love never did run smooth.” (Midsummer Night’s Dream 1.1.132) Even if Lysander does fit into this “marriageable age” bracket of mid thirties, his descriptions of the idea of love show that he is rather inexperienced in the area.
Humans wish to be loved by each other and to feel love and attraction from a significant other. In William Shakespeare’s plays, primarily A Midsummer Night’s Dream, love is one of the major themes. Due to the theme of love in the plays, most literary elements such as metaphor are also centered around love. In Act 1, Scene 1, lines 76-78, Theseus says to Hermia, “But earthlier happy is the rose distill'd Than that which, withering on the virgin thorn, Grows, lives, and dies, in single blessedness” (Shakespeare 1269). Through this metaphor, Theseus recognizes Hermia’s purity by his description of the distilled, or pure, rose. Theseus expresses to Hermia that he believes she should marry Demetrius. If she does this, then she would not have to either be executed or become a nun. Hermia’s father also believes that she should marry Demetrius, yet she is in love with Lysander. By disobeying her father, Hermia would be subjected to the consequences of execution or joining the sisterhood of the nuns. Theseus uses the metaphor of the virgin thorn to portray what Hermia’s life could look like due to her choices. If Hermia were to choose to not marry Demetrius, she would live a life of bleak and uneventfulness as a nun or die a meaningless life. Still, Theseus gives her the advice to choose between being happy or to live on in sorrow and unhappiness. In Act 1, Scene 1, lines 128-131, Lysander says to Hermia, “How now my love? Why is
The relationship between Demetrius and Hermia is problematic, in that Demetrius is seeking the affections of Hermia, while she is in love with Lysander. However, Hermia’s father approves of Demetrius and tries to force her to marry him, but Hermia refuses because of her love for Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1.1.22-82). Lysander points out the flaw in the situation through this comment, “You have her father 's love, Demetrius –/Let me have Hermia 's. Do you marry him,” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1.1.93-94). The second flawed relationship is between Lysander and Helena, as a result of an enchantment put on Lysander that made him fall in love with Helena. Helena does not want the affections of Lysander, but rather the love of Demetrius, and believes that Lysander is taunting her. In addition, this relationship creates tensions because Hermia is in love with Lysander (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.2.109-140). Both relationships are not desirable due to a lack of mutual admiration and the creation of non-peaceful and unsatisfying
Hermia and Helena's relationship has changed greatly after the intervention of Puck with the love potion. Once best friends, they have become each others enemies, and all for the love of Lysander and Demetrius.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the main conflict is between love and social relations. The play revolves around the magical power of love which transforms many lives. As a result of this, it gets the reader’s emotionally involved through ways of reminding us of love’s foolishness and capabilities, as well as violence often followed alongside of lust. This play shows passion’s conflict with reason. For example, the father presented in the play Egeus, represents tradition and reason while Hermia represents passion for love and freedom. Egeus wants Hermia to marry Demetrius and accuses Lysander of “bewitching” Hermia with love charms and songs. This is one way love’s difficulties are presented in the play between father and daughter. Additionally, Helena recognizes love’s difficulties when Demetrius falls in love with her best friend Hermia. Helena argues that strong emotions such as love can make extremely unpleasant things beautiful. This is another way the play presents love’s difficulties between lovers and capricious emotions.
Demetrius, Helena, Lysander, and Hermia are the for young teens of the story. At the beginning of the play it is Lysander and Helena who are madly in love, and are planning to to escape from Athens to elope. Helena is in love with Demetrius, and Demetrius cared for Helena and liked her a lot but was not in love with her. As soon as Demetrius sees Hermia he immediately stops having any feelings for Helena whatsoever and is deeply in love with Hermia. Demetrius thought that he had fallen in love at first sight, but Helena was determined to show him differently. Demetrius: ³ Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit,/ For I am sick when I do look on thee.² Helena: ³And I am sick when I look not on you.² (Act II, sc. i, lines 218-220) This piece of dialogue shows how much Demetrius is now in love with Hermia from just seeing her, and how disgusted he feels when he looks upon Helena who he used to care about. Helena is simply just expressing how much she is love with Demetrius and how bad she feels that he is treating her in such a manner of hatred.