As a person who has a hard time reading/comprehending the work of Shakespeare, I found it humorous that I was able to immediately understand Helena’s situation. In simple terms, she had a “crush” on someone that did not return the sentiment. I think most of us have had that kind of experience at some point in our lives. I believe that Shakespeare included this trope because it easily related to people regardless of social class.

Early on in the play all I knew about Helena was that she was in love with a man (Demetrius) that loved someone else. I felt even worse when Helena was talking to the woman (Hermia) that her crush loved. An example of this pity parade could be seen when Hermia calls Helena fair. “Call you me fair? That “fair” again unsay. Demetrius loves your fair; oh, happy fair (1.1, 181)!”  This scene can also be translated into modern terms. For example, let’s say you had a crush on someone and would do anything to be with them, but that person ended up liking one of your friends. I would venture to guess that you would be pretty jealous. Even if that friend complimented you on your looks, it wouldn’t mean much to you because they ended up with the person you liked.

As act I and II carried on, my opinion became conflicted. To put it frankly, I came to learn that Demetrius is the modern day equivalent to an “asshole.” In Shakespeare’s time, men were supposed to be chivalrous and honorable when it came to women, but Demetrius was the opposite. “Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit, For I am sick when I do look on thee (2.1, 211).” For most people when their crush tells them that looking at them makes them sick, they’d know it’s a good time to back off. All Helena did was talk about how much she loved Demetrius without saying any specific reasons why. We don’t even know a lot of the background that got these characters to this point, but what we do know is that Demetrius’s behavior might suggest that there’s more to Helena than just some pitiful woman. Who knows, maybe they dated once before and she cheated on him. One of her more outlandish responses to Demetrius was that, “The more you beat me I will fawn on you (2.1, 204).” I would say that this shows the signs of an abusive relationship, but they were never in one to begin with (From what we currently know). “I’ll run from thee and hide me in the brakes, And leave thee to the mercy of wild beasts (2.1, 227).” Even after Demetrius plainly states that he does not care whether or not she lives or dies, she still wishes to pursue him. At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s just a masochist.

Instead of being happy for two people who genuinely cared for each other,  she wanted to sabotage their chance at love. She ratted out their plans to rendezvous in the woods in the hope that Demetrius would like her. I might not be an expert in the field of human psychology, but if she thinks that the man that just left her in the woods to fend off “wild beasts” is going to like her because she’s a snitch, then there’s definitely something wrong with her.