Discussion Topic
Comparing and contrasting Hermia and Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, with a focus on feminist perspectives
Summary:
Hermia and Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream can be contrasted from a feminist perspective as representations of different responses to patriarchal control. Hermia defies her father's wishes to marry for love, showcasing independence, while Helena's pursuit of Demetrius highlights dependency on male approval. Both characters reflect the struggles and limitations placed on women in a male-dominated society.
How do Hermia and Helena compare in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream?
In the beginning of the play, the biggest difference we see between the two
female characters, Hermia and Helena, is that one is confident while the other
lacks confidence. Hermia is a bold, confident woman because she is loved by the
man she loves; in contrast, Helena not only lacks confidence, but often acts in
desperation because the man she loves has suddenly rejected her.
We especially see Hermia's confidence and boldness in the very first scene. When Duke Theseus argues in favor of her father that Demetrius is a "worthy gentleman" for her to marry, Hermia boldly retorts, "So is Lysander" (I.i.54). We even see her apologize for her boldness later. Another way in which she acts with confidence and boldness is with respect to Lysander's request to lie beside her in the woods. Hermia is conscientious enough of what virtue requires and confident enough of Lysander's love to...
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reject his request and tell him to "[l]ie further off" (II.ii.45). In rejecting Lysander, Hermia is preserving her chastity until their wedding day, which she considers a virtuous thing to do, as we see in her lines:
Lie further off, in human modesty;
Such separation as may well be said
Becomes a virtuous bachelor and a maid. (58-60)
However, if Helena were in Hermia's same shoes, she might be so desperate
for love that she would threaten her virtue.
We see Helena's lack of confidence and desperation in the very first scene.
When Hermia addresses her best friend as "fair," Helena's response is to pout
and ask how she could be called fair when Demetrius loves Hermia's fairness,
not her own, as we see in her lines, "Call you me fair? That fair again unsay.
/ Demetrius loves your fair. O happy fair!" (I.i.184-185). In fact, Helena is
so enamored of a man who has broken her heart that she makes the decision to
tell him Hermia's and Lysander's plans to runaway, even though she will
probably get no other reward for it than simple thanks. Helena is so desperate
for his love that she even runs after him into the woods, which endangers her
maiden chastity, as Demetrius points out himself:
You do impeach your modesty too much
To leave the city and commit yourself
Into the hands of one that loves you not. (II.i.218-220)
Hence, we see that the greatest difference between the two women is that one is confident and bold because she is loved by the man who loves her, while the other lacks confidence and is desperate.