"Through Athens I am thought as fair as she.
But what of that? Demetrius thinks not so.
He will not know what all but he do know.
And as he errs, doting on Hermia's eyes,.
So I, admiring of his qualities.
Things base and vile, holding no quantity,.
Love can transpose to form and dignity.
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,.
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.".
These are Helena's words as her heart throbs for Demetrius. She wants Demetrius to love her, but he loves Hermia instead. Her reaction is best put in this definition of love and attraction. I think of many love songs inspired by not having the man or woman of your dreams and how love takes on an entirely new perspective due to that unhappy, empty feeling. "Can't have you" by the Bee Gees, perhaps? Helena's definition of love here definitely has a bite to it. The truth as we interpret it can definitely be skewed by our feelings. She is very much so caught up on how Demetrius doesn't notice her true beauty. I can think of many times in my life where I felt the most insecure, and I quickly turned to my physical attributes. I can remember myself thinking, "Maybe I'm not strong enough or my muscles aren't big enough." "Maybe she doesn't like my hair," and things of that nature. Helena takes a different approach to her self-examination. She feels that she is on the same level as Hermia and should be noticed and adored as she. Helena definitely takes a more macho approach to her feelings. She even goes as far to say that he "errs" as he loves Hermia instead of her. Although spiteful, this is a truthful, realistic response.
Diving further into that point, Helena also remarks how although she has this reputation of being fair and beautiful, it doesn't matter because the man she is trying to impress doesn't view her in that way. "But what of that?" Demetrius thinks not so." This reminds me of something out of the movie Mean Girls with Lindsay Lohan--as if the whole world revolves around getting the attention of the starting quarterback and that is all that matters.
