All's Well That Ends Well | Helena
In the following excerpt, Robert Ornstein examines the characters of Helena and Bertram throughout the play, focusing primarily on Helena. He finds her more complex than Bertram, though she, like he, is somewhat self-absorbed in her own desires (hers is to become Bertram's wife).
It is not easy to say why Shakespeare wanted to write a play about characters as limited and uninspiring as Helena and Bertram. A relatively straightforward dramatization of Boccaccio's tale of Giletta and Beltramo, All's Well is the only comedy that centers on a single love—or rather, a single love-hate—relationship. No Hero, Nerissa, or Celia stands by Helena's side; for most of the play she is a solitary figure who keeps her own counsel and pursues her ends without confiding them to any other person. For a time Bertram has Parolles as a companion, but he is nearly...
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