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Helena is primarily defined by her relationship to love, but unfortunately that love is lacking. The unhappy experience of unrequited love seems to have penetrated to her very core. Although attractive, tall, and willowy, she questions her own virtues because being unloved makes her feel unworthy of love.
It\'s true that Demetrius originally loved her, and she has cause for being upset that he now seems to care for Hermia. But Helena is a prime example of the ill effects of \"doting\" too much: she loses respect for herself and, consequently, some of ours for her. Her running after Demetrius seems foolish and shallow to many readers. Do you think she is a prime target for some feminist consciousness-raising? She\'s throwing herself away for a man you have reason to believe isn\'t all that worthy.
Helena is so used to being rejected that she might not be able to recognize real love if it came her way. When both Lysander and Demetrius turn their loving gazes on her, she can only suspect that they\'re making fun of her. Though you know she\'s right to doubt their sincerity, what would have happened if one of them were sincere? Even at the end, she feels that Demetrius is hers, and yet somehow is not. Since he\'s the one holdover with charmed eyes, she\'s more correct than she knows. Neither she nor Hermia speaks in the last act. Perhaps they\'re both wondering about what they\'ve gotten, having gotten what they supposedly wanted.
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