Helena
Play
Summary
Helena is a young Athenian woman in hopeless, undignified love with Demetrius, who has transferred his affections to Hermia. Tall, pale, and self-deprecating, she reveals Hermia and Lysander's elopement plan to Demetrius hoping to win his favor. In the enchanted wood, after Puck's love-juice causes both Lysander and Demetrius to pursue her, she is convinced they are mocking her and responds with wounded fury and pathos. She delivers the play's most beautiful statement about love's irrationality.
Notable Quotations
"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, / And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind." *(I.i)*
"We, Hermia, like two artificial gods, / Have with our needles created both one flower, / Both on one sampler, sitting on one cushion." *(III.ii)*
Cross-references
- A Midsummer Night's Dream — the play
- Comedies — genre
- character_hermia — her closest friend, whose happiness she envies
- character_demetrius — the man she loves who does not love her (until enchanted)
- character_lysander — who is temporarily enchanted to pursue her
- character_puck — whose misapplication of the love potion torments her