# Hermia — A Midsummer Night's Dream character guide

> Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** fair Hermia, sweet Hermia, beauteous Hermia, gentle Hermia, Hermia Lysander, Hermia Methinks, Hermia Yea

**First appearance:** 0001-act-i

## Snapshot

Athenian daughter who defies her father's choice, pleads her case before a duke, and runs toward love rather than submit to death or a cloister.

## Who they are

Hermia stands accused by Egeus of being 'stubborn' and 'harden'd,' yet she answers Theseus with startling composure, asking to know the worst and choosing it anyway. Her bond with Helena — 'two lovely berries moulded on one stem' — is the play's tenderest friendship, and the wood's cruelty to it cuts deep. She drives the flight plot and gives the comedy its stake: a woman who will not be traded.

## Relationships

### [Demetrius](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/characters/demetrius)

_romantic_

Demetrius pursues Hermia at the start, but his love is rejected and later transferred to Helena by magic.

### [Helena](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/characters/helena)

_friendship_

They are childhood friends who become bitter rivals over the affections of Lysander and Demetrius.

### [Lysander](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/characters/lysander)

_romantic_

They are deeply in love, though their relationship is tested by magic and parental opposition.

## In the story

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/chapters/act-i-scene-i)

Defies her father's will and Theseus's decree, choosing to elope with Lysander rather than marry Demetrius.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/chapters/act-ii-scene-ii)

Hermia sleeps apart from Lysander and awakens from a nightmare about a serpent eating her heart, only to find Lysander gone.

### [Scene II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/chapters/act-iii-scene-ii)

Confused and hurt by Lysander's sudden rejection and the ensuing chaos.

### [Scene I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/chapters/act-iv-scene-i)

Wakes and is reunited with Lysander.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/characters/hermia
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/a_midsummer_nights_dream_se/characters