The relationship that Hermia and Helena have is not one that I would wish to have with my childhood best friend. I say this because once a man was thrown into the mix, there was immediate disruption in their relationship. Another reason I wouldn’t want this relationship with my childhood friend is because of the love triangle, if you can call it a triangle you may want to call it a square that is going on. Hermia is in love with Lysander, Helena is in love with Demetrius they were also once engaged but Demetrius is in love with Hermia and Hermia’s father wants them to be married. So as you can see not the ideal situation to be in. Once under the spell than both of the men are in love with Helena, which complicates things even more because she thinks they are mocking her. If I was her I would think they same thing because one minute your chasing one guy and you wake up the next day and that same guy and the guy that is in love with your best friend are chasing you, I wouldn’t know what to think either.
They way in which Helena describes the relationship between herself and Hermia we can see that they were very close and had a strong bond or a homosocial relationship. For example, “ We, Hermia, like two artificial gods/Have with our needles created one flower,/Both on one sampler sitting on one cushion, Both warbling of one song, both in one key,/As if our hands, our sides, voices, and minds/Had been incorporate. So we grew together,/Like to a double cherry: seeming parted,/But yet an union in partition,/Two lovely berries moulded on one stem./So, with two seeming bodies but one heart.”(3.2.204-213). If you notice in her description on their friendship , she uses repetition of the word “one” which really emphasizes the closeness of their relationship and the immensity of their bond. In the conclusion of her speech she asks Hermia how she could join the men and scorn her , “To join with men in scorning your poor friend?”(3.2.17). Even though that is not what is really going on I would think the same exact thing if I were Helena, I mean in this situation how could you not. At the same time I feel as though she is a little hypocritical because earlier in the play in Act I she wasn’t hesitant to tell Demetrius about Hermia and Lyslander’s plan to escape and a true friend wouldn’t do that, or at least I hope my friend wouldn’t , “I will go tell him of fair Hermia’s flight./Then to the wood will he tomorrow night/Pursue her, and for this intelligence/If I have thanks it is dear expense./But herein mean to enrich my pain,/To have his sight thither and back again.”(1.1.246-251). Here she wasn’t afraid to throw her friend under the bus to better herself. She thought this would help her win Demetrius over.
3 comments:
I didn't even spend too much time thinking about the relationship between Helena and Hermia until I read this post. We spent some time discussing it in class while that whole "love square" was happening, but what about the aftermath? Some good points were brought up about how they might have felt personally. Maybe I was a little quick to assume that since the four lovers got what they wanted they were happy, but were they really? We don't hear too much from them in the final act, I wonder what they were thinking? Or since they are quiet, and Shakespeare didn't use them much in the end, it's safe to believe that everything turned out alright. It's pretty interesting to think about.
I really liked how you coined the term "frenemies" to describe Helena and Hermia's relationship. How their friendship dissolved so rapidly, and perhaps more importantly if they ever truly rekindled, leaves the play so open ended that it begs to have these questions asked. I think that their "frenemy" dynamic can also be held accountable for how the women in the play are shown; either silenced (like in Act V) or overly emotional and opinionated.
Nice reflections, and I agree that there is a distinct "frienemy" characteristic to their relationship! Why does Shakespeare show us this kind of friendship, do you think? We said in class it highlights the role that men have in disrupting female friendship. I agree with Jared, though, that the end leaves us wondering whether they will patch things up. Have we lost the possibility for a "happily ever after" ending?
Post a Comment