Helena (All's Well That Ends Well)
Play
Summary
The orphaned daughter of the famous physician Gerard de Narbonne who cures the ailing King of France using her father's secret remedy and claims as her reward the hand of the reluctant young Count Bertram. When he flees to Florence and sets her impossible conditions for a true marriage, she pursues him across Europe, engineers the bed-trick substituting herself for Diana, and ultimately fulfills every condition — making her one of Shakespeare's most active, resourceful, and morally contested heroines.
Notable Quotations
"Our remedies oft in ourselves do lie, / Which we ascribe to heaven." *(I.i)*
"I know I love in vain, strive against hope; / Yet in this captious and intenible sieve / I still pour in the waters of my love." *(I.iii)*
Cross-references
- All's Well That Ends Well — the play
- Comedies
- character_bertram — the husband she wins and pursues
- character_countess_rossillon — her guardian and champion
- character_king_france_awtew — the king she cures
- character_diana_awtew — her instrument in the bed-trick