Midsummer's Night Dream: Helena

If you don't know the story of Shakespeare's Midsummer's Night Dream and you want to, look at the wikipedia entry.  I'll summarize what is relevant to my post.

The play opens with Hermia, a princess, ordered by her father, a king, to marry Demetrius, but Hermia is in love with Lysander. Hermia and Lysander escape into the nearby fairy forest to avoid Hermia's marriage to Demetrius. Demetrius is not in love with Hermia but he is in love with the idea of being married to a king's daughter so he chases Hermia and Lysander into the fairy forest.

Hermia actually is besotted with Demetrius so she runs after him as he runs after Hermia.

Fairies in this forest enjoy making mischief. There are many fairy layers to the tale. Again, I will recount what is relevant to my comment here.

King Oberson is angry with his wife, Queen Titania. Fairy King Oberon, Fairy Queen Titania. So he order Puck, his fairy servant and all around mischief maker, to sprinkle some special fairy dust on Titania that will cause her to fall in love with the first being she sees upon awakening. Then he turns one of the fairies into half man, half donkey's head, and arranges so the first being Titania sees upon awakening is the man who is has the head of an ass (like most men -- I'm kidding, yucka yucka, a joke. .. sort of a joke). I see metaphor in that man with the head of an ass. But this is Shakespeare, rife with metaphor, symbols and layers of meaning.

Then Oberon comes upon Helena, Demetrius, Lysander and Hermia. He sees taht Helena and Lysander are in love. He sees that Hermia is in love with Demetrius and he also sees that Demetrius only has eyes for Hermia. Poor Helena. Oberon orders Puck to sprinkle fairy dust on Demetrius so when he awakens, he will see Helena and fall in love. Puck misunderstands his orders and sprinkles fairy dust on both Lysander and Demetrius. When they awaken together, the first being they see is Herlena and both are besotted with her.

Helena is very upset by this, believing the young men are making fun of her.

Then Hermia comes along and is pained to see her beloved Lysander has shifted his affeiton to Helena.

Oberton becomes aware of the error, plus he may be mischievous but is not ultimately very unkind. He had had his fun, seeing his beloved Queen Titania in love with a man with the head of an ass. When he realizes that Puck sprinkled the fairy dust on both the young men, he orders Pucky to undo the dust on Lysander. Oberon decides to leave the fairy dust on Demetrius so all the young lvoers can end their time in the fairy forest with a lover they love. So Hermia ends up with her Lysander, Helena wings her Demetrius. All's well that end's well, more or less.

But who would want a guy who only loved one because of fairy dust?   Helena didn't care but she didn't know. If she had known Demetrius only loved her because of that fairy dust, would she ahve still wanted him?

Probably. The heart wants what the heart wants.

I don't want a man through fairy dust. I want a man to see me, really see me, love me and love me, really love me. No fairy dust. No potions. No wealth, no house to covet. Just me.

Another fairy tale in the making.