A Midsummer Night's Dream - A Feminist Perspective . Even though I didn't go all the way, I offered as much flesh as I dared. If the suburbs can create such sexual angst, imagine the desire sparked by moonlight, fairies, and a warm summer night. In Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, Helena represents the frenzy of young love fueled by rejection and taken to masochistic extremes. As the lovers delve deeper into the fantastical world of the starwoods, the Greek virtue of moderation disappears. Emotions intensify until they reach a melodramatic tone. Helena, in particular, descends into a primal and desperate level of passion. She pleads for the attention of the “inflexible and hard-hearted” Demetrius (II. i. 195). Adolescent vulnerability, virginal desire and a teenage crush combine with the romance of an unobtainable object. Demetrius' hostility only strengthens Helena's desire to degrade herself. Shakespeare chooses the language of pain and humiliation to express Hele....

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