# Hela — Poetry character guide

> Hela in Poetry by Matthew Arnold.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0137-ii-journey-to-the-dead

## Snapshot

The stern queen of Niflheim who holds Balder's soul and weighs the gods' grief against her own ancient grievances.

## Who they are

Hela rules the cheerless realm where Hermod must ride to plead for Balder's return, and she receives him with the cold dignity of one who has long been cast out. Her refusal is not mere cruelty: she remembers how the gods cast her serpent brother into the sea and how her race has gained small bliss from heaven. She matters because she turns the poem's mourning into a negotiation, forcing the gods to reckon with the price of their own privileges.

## Relationships

### [Balder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_16_se/characters/balder)

_psychological_

Hela, the goddess of death, holds Balder captive in the underworld, creating a relationship of power and tragic inevitability.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_16_se/characters/hela
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_16_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/poetry_16_se/characters