A Midsummer Night's Dream · Character

Helena

Athenian woman who loves a man who hates her, and chases him into the wood armed with information and self-loathing.

major

Also known as Helena Good Hermia, gentle Helena, This Helena, Helena of Athens, Helena Ay, Fair Helena, Helena So methinks, Helena Lo, Helena O

First appearance: act i

As a major figure in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Helena is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Laments Demetrius's love for Hermia and decides to inform Demetrius of Hermia and Lysander's escape plan.

In the storyScene IOpen this moment free

See Helena in Scene I Book page

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Helena opens the play comparing herself unfavorably to Hermia — 'I am as ugly as a bear' — and closes Act I deciding to betray her friend's escape for one more glimpse of Demetrius. Her pursuit of a man who spurns her is both comic and genuinely painful, and her long lament about love's blindness ('Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind') is the play's sharpest diagnosis of its own subject. She sets the chase in motion.

Continue beside the text

The fuller portrait of Helena sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Helena in act i

Character Web

11 connections

A slice of how Helena sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Romantic
Friendship
Psychological
Other

Character groups

Lovers and Rulers
Protagonist

+6 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This scene is the dramatic climax because it represents the peak of the "play-within-a-play" crisis, where the…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

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Relationships

Demetrius
romantic · ambivalent
Demetrius is initially cruel to Helena but later, under the love potion, becomes… How this plays out →
Hermia
friendship · ambivalent
Lysander
romantic · ambivalent
Oberon
psychological · positive
Theseus
social · positive

Demetrius
Demetrius is initially cruel to Helena but later, under the love potion, becomes obsessively devoted to her.
Hermia
They are childhood friends who become bitter rivals over the affections of Lysander and Demetrius.
Lysander
Lysander, under the love potion, briefly abandons Hermia to pursue Helena.
Oberon
Oberon observes Helena's plight and orders Puck to help her, making him a manipulative benefactor.
Theseus
Helena is an Athenian subject of Theseus, present at his court.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Helena in act i

In the story

Helena appears across 5 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Scene I
Laments Demetrius's love for Hermia and decides to inform Demetrius of Hermia and Lysander's escape plan.
Scene I
Desperately follows Demetrius, declaring her unwavering love even as he spurns her.
Scene II
Helena laments her ugliness compared to Hermia, discovers Lysander asleep, and is bewildered when Lysander awakens and declares his love for her, which she interprets as mockery.
Scene II
Believes Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius are mocking her.
Scene I
Wakes and finds Demetrius now devoted to her.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Helena unlock in the free preview.

See Helena in act i

See Helena in Scene I