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A Midsummer Night's Dream - Love, Lust and their Extremes
When a man or woman falls in love, they take on a subconscious responsibility; the vow that they will do and say anything to get the lover back. Today humans are capable of luring, seducing, stealing, stalking, and in the immeasurable love that many feel they may even commit the act of murder. In doing these actions, one devotes himself to the relationship, in the sense that he is proving that he is passionate and cares for his significant other. The feeling that a significant other, or a spouse would do anything to a certain extent can be spine tingling. In the beginning of the play Lysander possibly risks losing Hermia to the wishes of her father, Egeus.
“As she is mine, and I may dispose of her;
Which shall be either too marry this gentleman
Or to her death, according to our law.” (I.i. 41-43)
Hermia risks death from the malevolence of Egeus. She is devoted to Lysander in such a way that never seeing her father again and running away with Lysander to get married is the better alternative than to be put to death or marry Demetrius. In the play A Midsummer Nights’ Dream, both Hermia and Helena go to certain immoderate acts to keep their love for Lysander and Demetrius.
As one starts to read the play, he realizes that Helena is completely fixated on Demetrius, and that Demetrius is in love with Hermia. After Lysander and Hermia flee Athens together, Helena admits to Demetrius that they have run off together. He, Demetrius, without any ado, ran to the woods in search of Lysander and Hermia. Helena, from her own will, trails behind Demetrius watching him with adoration. As they walk in the forest, Demetrius degrades and humiliates Helena, while she answers his spiteful replies, with love and affection.
“Tempt me not the hatred of my soul,
For I am sick when I look on thee.”
“And I am sick when I look not on thee.” (II. i. 211-213)
Helena goes to an extreme, in taking all the flagrant comments imparted by Demetrius. Taking the abuse from another is an extreme that lovers go through even today, while one debases another he or she will in all probability take the verbal exploitation and still love him. As Helena indulges the maltreatment, she still fawns over Demetrius and meets his every whim, except when he asks for her to get lost in the forest. “I’ll run from thee and hide me in the brakes And leave thee to the mercy of the wild beasts.” (II.i. 227-228) Helena’s understanding of love was most likely derived from the amount of love given to her as a youth, and also the way the love was publicized. Helena felt that it was customary for a woman to be put down and for the women to stand by him through his horrible comments and through his atrocious replies.
Hermia has more of a traditional understanding of love. Hermia [next page]