Hermia, in William Shakespeare’s, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is a young lover who faces difficulty with her relationships. Born in Athens, Greece, this upper-class young woman has reach the age of courtship. Intrigued by Lysander, Hermia wishes to wed him. In the opening scene, it is noticeable that Hermia’s passions conflict with her father's wishes. Egeus insists his daughter marry Demetrius, a young man of nobile stature. Hermia refutes this proposal, and chooses bliss with Lysander. This conflict is complicated when Hermia’s love interest, Lysander, undergoes a spell, leaving the beautiful and fair Hermia confused and angry. Despite the trials faced, identities are restored and love prevails for Hermia and Lysander. Although the story ends positiviely, Shakespeare allows Hermia to display a multitude of emotions: loyalty, fury, and despair. For example,
“My good Lysander, I swear to thee…To-morrow I will meet thee” (I.i.175-185)
“My nails can reach unto thine eyes” (III.ii.1346)
“I understand not what you mean by this" (III.ii.1276)
Hermia and Fairies by John Simmons, 1861
Hermia’s love for Lysander is not in her hands. Samuel Hemingway discusses the madness of love shown in the play, which is humorously “entirely under the control of the fairies".1
The fairness which so often described Hermia is not necessarily present in Act 3 Scene 2, or the lines shown above. The control which the fairies possess is responsible for the change of character we can observe. This is the first experience of a rowdy Hermia. Prior to Lysander’s love-poisoning, Hermia was an emblem of femininity, possessing fairness and danitiness which unfortunately changes after Lysander’s love is no longer reciprocated.
Her character eventually evolves into her original femininity. Hermia’s development in the play mimics the essence of both Roman and Elizabethan culture. Hermia portrays the stock character, one who is in love with a man contrary to her father’s choice and despite his wishes, pursues him tenaciously. Hermia fits the traditional, love-struck daughter, that will loyally stand by her significant other. An element of naivety and bliss create the aura which surrounds Hermia. As typical to a RomanTheatre comedy, by the end of the story, each pair is successfully adjoined and celebration is the overall mood. Hermia’s desires are fulfilled.
Shakespeare's Origin for Hermia
Shakespeare’s choice for the name “Hermia,” J. Tobin suggests, may reference “Aristotle’s mistress [who] is often paired with Helena, the whore”.2 Like Aristotle’s mistress who is replaced by Helena, Hermia is a woman in love with Lysander; yet, supernatural events lead Lysander to become preoccupied with her best friend, Helena. Fairy King Oberon discusses the dilemma; Puck has dropped “love potion” on Lysander instead of Demetrius:
King Oberon, Josiah Robinson, slipping poison into Lysander's eye in West Texas A&M University
“What hast thou done?
Thou hast mistaken quite and laid the love-juice on some true-love’s sight” (III.ii.1123-1124)
Here, the mystical element of mistaken identity influences all emotions of the characters. Similarity is found between the helplessness of Hermia and the helplessness of Aristotle’s mistress. Both women are at the mercy of the newly found lovers. Particularly in, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the role of Lysander’s love and Helena’s friendships influence Hermia’s character.
Various references to previous Shakespearean and mythical plays, such as The Psyche Myth, seem to have influenced Shakespeare’s creating Hermia. Hermia’s dilemma of complying with her father’s wishes juxtapose the Psyche Myth in which Psyche must marry a serpent. James A. S. Mcpeek refers to this serpent as “a bridal of death”.3 Ironically, Hermia encounters and resists a serpent much like the one Psyche experiences. In both instances, the Serpent represents a promise of their demise.
1905 Oil Painting of Psyche, John Williams "Waterhouse"
"Methough a serpent eat my heart away" (II.ii.810)
For Hermia, this serpent represents her heartbrokenness caused by Lysanders rejection of her. The “serpent” eating at her heart is really sorrow caused by her heartbreak. If Lysander continues to reject Hermia and cling to Helena, she will experience the same “nuptial of death” Psyche claimed; her love will ruin her. Another explanation of the serpent is found in Cesare Ripa’s, Iconologia. Both “Cordoglio” and “Dolore” are entrapped by a serpent. Raymond B. Waddington views this serpent, in regards to Hermia, as “the cares and travails that gnaw at [her] heart” and also “the potential self-destructiveness of emotional affliction”.4 Hermia’s love for Lysander has manifested into a source of turmoil, taking the form of a serpent.
Similarly, as Maurice Hunt claims, Ovid’s, Metamorphosis, is a reference “Shakespeare certainly drew upon” while composing A Midsummer Night’s Dream.5 The greatest theme between the pieces is love; yet, loss of identity and submission to another realm occurs as well. As Hunt continues, “The dark wood is a [magical realm]”.5 The “dark wood” is run by fairies much like Ovid’s characters are at the mercy of Roman gods, like Cupid. These fairies dictate the mood of the entire scene, many times altering the attitudes of the characters. The mild Hermia “abruptly acts out [in] repressed savagery”.5 This change of character is seen in the follow line:
“For thou, I fear, hast given me cause to curse” (III.ii.1079)
Hermia's Relationship with Other Characters
Hermia and Egeus
In hopes that his daughter will adhere to traditional paternal advice, Egeus, Hermia’s father, offers his daughter three ultimatums in the first scene of the play: marry Demetrius, join a nunnery, or die.
“Stand forth Demetrius. My noble lord, this man hath my consent to marry my daughter” (I.i.28-29)
“You can endure the livery of a nun” (I.i.75)
“She shall be either to this gentleman or to her death” (I.i.47-48)
Although the opening 132 lines of A Midsummer Night’s Dream revolve around Hermia, Hermia only speaks during thirteen of those lines. Egeus expresses his blessing of the union between Hermia and Demetrius but despises her interactions with Lysander, claiming he “turned her obedience…into stubborn harshness” (I. i. 41-42). While tensions rise between father and daughter, Hermia resists reflecting her passions towards Demetrius. Hermia’s resistance towards her father gives way to her own decision: marry Lysander whom she truly loves. However humorous, Shakespeare shows the difficulties which may arise should a daughter sway from her father’s blessings.
Hermia and Helena
Hermia’s greatest friend quickly becomes her greatest rivalry. Helena wishes to obtain Demetrius’ glance although, before the potion, he only has eyes for Hermia. She wishes to “gain the feminine shape” that Hermia has in order to “bewitch Demetrius”.5 Both women are “victims of male promiscuity,” meaning both men are adamant in the pursuit of his lover.2 When roles reverse in the midst of the story, trickery and deceit make way. The potion episode enhances the animosity between the two girls; neither one trusts the other or the men around them. Hermia expresses to Helena:
“It seems that you scorn me” (III.ii.1260)
“You thief of love!” (III.ii. -1330)
“How low am I, thou painted maypole?” (III.ii.1344)
The aggression which arises between the girls exposes their flaws. Helena states that the two girls were “like two artificial gods” (III. ii. 1243). Unfortunately, their artificiality and anger makes them “goddesses lovely but not genuinely divine in potency”.5
Hermia and Lysander
In the beginning of the play, Hermia and Lysander are lovers who cannot be separated. Once Lysander is subjected to the world of fairies, his intensions are no longer towards Hermia. In this instance, he rejects her:
“I do hate thee and love Helena” (III.ii.1328)
Regardless of Lysander’s betrayal in loving Helena, Hermia remains faithful in her pursuit of him. Right before amends, when the lovers “collapse from exhaustion,” Hermia’s “last conscious thought is a prayer for Lysander’s safety”.4 This displays not only Hermia’s loyalty, but the captivation Lysander has on her emotions. Raymond Waddington states in his article that her loyalty and persistence allows her to pass the test of love “more impressively than her companions”.4
Criticism
Hermia Lacking Depth
Although Harold Bloom discusses A Midsummer Night’s Dreamas Shakespeare’s “first undoubted masterwork, without flaw, and [one] with overwhelming originality and power,” the lovers in particular, lack true character development.6 While they account for the play’s plot, “The lovers are of no definite time or place,” meaning that these characters lack uniqueness which is found in other works.6 If the viewer also finds this to be true, it may be believed that “love” is the main character of the play. If not for love, the lovers would have shallow personalities and little purpose. Because Hermia is the emblem of femininity and betrothal, it can be understood that she is, ultimately, the greatest representation of love in this piece.
Hermia's Loss of Identity
According to Hunt, this magical piece displays a “Shakespearean spiritual paradox; he who would find a better self must first completely lose his everyday identitiy”.5 Although Hermia remains loyal, such as when she “prayed” for Lysander’s safety, Hermia loses her identity by agressively becoming the “savage”:
“You juggler! You canker-blossom!" (III.ii.1329)
If not for love, the Shakespearean characters would not function in the harmony Shakespeare intended. They would possess the savagery displayed in this episode. After identities are restored, the piece concludes with the matrimonies. This confirms Hunt’s discussion that “the best [identity] that the characters can with certainty achieve is the ideal identity that comes from marrying”.5
Hermia as a Universal Woman
Although it is argued that the characters lack identity apart from love, McPeek suggests that Shakespeare’s intensions were just that. He claims, “Shakespeare was not interested in creating character, but in giving a composite impression of woman, [a] universal woman in all her variety”.3 In this instance, Shakespeare’s goal was to create a relatable woman, one “not particular to time and place,” as Bloom noted. Despite this truth, Bloom does declare that “Hermia has considerably more personality than Helena”.6 While it may seem that Hermia’s character lacks depth, the critics’ general consensus is that Hermia is vital for humor and the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Performances
Organization and Communities
While high school theatre clubs often produce A Midsummer Night’s Dream, companies involving paid actors, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and the Royal
Shakespeare Company, continually put on Shakespearean plays for communities to
see. As noted on the RSC website, “In it’s original performances, A Midsummer Night’s Dreamwas presented in daylight on a simple thrust stage of an Elizabethan playhouse”.7
2006 performance directed by Terrence O'Brien, photo by Walter Garshchagan.
Film Productions
A film entitled, A Midsummer Night’s Dream was produced in 1935 by Henry Blanke.
Olivia de Havilland played Hermia, her first stage character.
Olivia de Havilland as Hermia, 1935
A more recent production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was from 1999, written and produced by Michael Hoffman. Hermia was played by Anne Friel. The greatest discrepancy between this film and Shakespeare’s original is that the 1999 production’s setting is Tuscany, as opposed to Athens.
A Midsummer Night's Dream movie poster, 1999
One adaptation, the film produced in 1968 by Peter Hall, received astounding
reviews by critics. In the 1968 film, Hermia is played by Helen Mirren, a seasoned actress in Shakespearean plays. While Harold Bloom did enjoy the 1968 rendition, he claims, “every production of [A Midsummer Night’s Dream] that I have been able to attend has been a brutal disaster”.6 As Bloom notes, the film was not released to cinema theatres, instead, it is “happily available on videotape".6 In some way or another, Hermia is a relatable character; a universal image Shakespeare strove to
convey.
A Midsummer Night's Dream film, produced by Peter Hall, 1968
References
Hemingway, Samuel B. “The Relationship of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Romeo and Juliet.” Modern Language Notes 26.3 (1911): 78-80. JSTOR. Web.
Tobin, J. J. M. “The Irony of ‘Hermia’ and ‘Helena’.” BostonStateCollege. 154. JSTOR. Web.
McPeek, James A. S. “The Psyche Myth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Shakespeare Quarterly 23.1 (1972): 69-79. JSTOR. Web.
Waddington, Raymond B. “Two Notes Iconographic on A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” English Language Notes (1988): 12-16. JSTOR. Web.
Hunt, Maurice. “Individuation in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” South Central Review. 3.2 (1986): 1-13. JSTOR. Web.
Bloom, Harold. Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. New York: Riverhead Books, 1998. Print.
Hermia's Character
Hermia, in William Shakespeare’s, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is a young lover who faces difficulty with her relationships. Born in Athens, Greece, this upper-class young woman has reach the age of courtship. Intrigued by Lysander, Hermia wishes to wed him. In the opening scene, it is noticeable that Hermia’s passions conflict with her father's wishes. Egeus insists his daughter marry Demetrius, a young man of nobile stature. Hermia refutes this proposal, and chooses bliss with Lysander. This conflict is complicated when Hermia’s love interest, Lysander, undergoes a spell, leaving the beautiful and fair Hermia confused and angry. Despite the trials faced, identities are restored and love prevails for Hermia and Lysander. Although the story ends positiviely, Shakespeare allows Hermia to display a multitude of emotions: loyalty, fury, and despair. For example,Hermia’s love for Lysander is not in her hands. Samuel Hemingway discusses the madness of love shown in the play, which is humorously “entirely under the control of the fairies".1
The fairness which so often described Hermia is not necessarily present in Act 3 Scene 2, or the lines shown above. The control which the fairies possess is responsible for the change of character we can observe. This is the first experience of a rowdy Hermia. Prior to Lysander’s love-poisoning, Hermia was an emblem of femininity, possessing fairness and danitiness which unfortunately changes after Lysander’s love is no longer reciprocated.
Her character eventually evolves into her original femininity. Hermia’s development in the play mimics the essence of both Roman and Elizabethan culture. Hermia portrays the stock character, one who is in love with a man contrary to her father’s choice and despite his wishes, pursues him tenaciously. Hermia fits the traditional, love-struck daughter, that will loyally stand by her significant other. An element of naivety and bliss create the aura which surrounds Hermia. As typical to a RomanTheatre comedy, by the end of the story, each pair is successfully adjoined and celebration is the overall mood. Hermia’s desires are fulfilled.
Shakespeare's Origin for Hermia
Shakespeare’s choice for the name “Hermia,” J. Tobin suggests, may reference “Aristotle’s mistress [who] is often paired with Helena, the whore”.2 Like Aristotle’s mistress who is replaced by Helena, Hermia is a woman in love with Lysander; yet, supernatural events lead Lysander to become preoccupied with her best friend, Helena. Fairy King Oberon discusses the dilemma; Puck has dropped “love potion” on Lysander instead of Demetrius:- “What hast thou done?
Thou hast mistaken quite and laidthe love-juice on some true-love’s sight” (III.ii.1123-1124)
Here, the mystical element of mistaken identity influences all emotions of the characters. Similarity is found between the helplessness of Hermia and the helplessness of Aristotle’s mistress. Both women are at the mercy of the newly found lovers. Particularly in, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the role of Lysander’s love and Helena’s friendships influence Hermia’s character.
Various references to previous Shakespearean and mythical plays, such as The Psyche Myth, seem to have influenced Shakespeare’s creating Hermia. Hermia’s dilemma of complying with her father’s wishes juxtapose the Psyche Myth in which Psyche must marry a serpent. James A. S. Mcpeek refers to this serpent as “a bridal of death”.3 Ironically, Hermia encounters and resists a serpent much like the one Psyche experiences. In both instances, the Serpent represents a promise of their demise.
For Hermia, this serpent represents her heartbrokenness caused by Lysanders rejection of her. The “serpent” eating at her heart is really sorrow caused by her heartbreak. If Lysander continues to reject Hermia and cling to Helena, she will experience the same “nuptial of death” Psyche claimed; her love will ruin her. Another explanation of the serpent is found in Cesare Ripa’s, Iconologia. Both “Cordoglio” and “Dolore” are entrapped by a serpent. Raymond B. Waddington views this serpent, in regards to Hermia, as “the cares and travails that gnaw at [her] heart” and also “the potential self-destructiveness of emotional affliction”.4 Hermia’s love for Lysander has manifested into a source of turmoil, taking the form of a serpent.
Similarly, as Maurice Hunt claims, Ovid’s, Metamorphosis, is a reference “Shakespeare certainly drew upon” while composing A Midsummer Night’s Dream.5 The greatest theme between the pieces is love; yet, loss of identity and submission to another realm occurs as well. As Hunt continues, “The dark wood is a [magical realm]”.5 The “dark wood” is run by fairies much like Ovid’s characters are at the mercy of Roman gods, like Cupid. These fairies dictate the mood of the entire scene, many times altering the attitudes of the characters. The mild Hermia “abruptly acts out [in] repressed savagery”.5 This change of character is seen in the follow line:
Hermia's Relationship with Other Characters
Hermia and EgeusIn hopes that his daughter will adhere to traditional paternal advice, Egeus, Hermia’s father, offers his daughter three ultimatums in the first scene of the play: marry Demetrius, join a nunnery, or die.
Although the opening 132 lines of A Midsummer Night’s Dream revolve around Hermia, Hermia only speaks during thirteen of those lines. Egeus expresses his blessing of the union between Hermia and Demetrius but despises her interactions with Lysander, claiming he “turned her obedience…into stubborn harshness” (I. i. 41-42). While tensions rise between father and daughter, Hermia resists reflecting her passions towards Demetrius. Hermia’s resistance towards her father gives way to her own decision: marry Lysander whom she truly loves. However humorous, Shakespeare shows the difficulties which may arise should a daughter sway from her father’s blessings.
Hermia and Helena
Hermia’s greatest friend quickly becomes her greatest rivalry. Helena wishes to obtain Demetrius’ glance although, before the potion, he only has eyes for Hermia. She wishes to “gain the feminine shape” that Hermia has in order to “bewitch Demetrius”.5 Both women are “victims of male promiscuity,” meaning both men are adamant in the pursuit of his lover.2 When roles reverse in the midst of the story, trickery and deceit make way. The potion episode enhances the animosity between the two girls; neither one trusts the other or the men around them. Hermia expresses to Helena:
The aggression which arises between the girls exposes their flaws. Helena states that the two girls were “like two artificial gods” (III. ii. 1243). Unfortunately, their artificiality and anger makes them “goddesses lovely but not genuinely divine in potency”.5
Hermia and Lysander
In the beginning of the play, Hermia and Lysander are lovers who cannot be separated. Once Lysander is subjected to the world of fairies, his intensions are no longer towards Hermia. In this instance, he rejects her:
Regardless of Lysander’s betrayal in loving Helena, Hermia remains faithful in her pursuit of him. Right before amends, when the lovers “collapse from exhaustion,” Hermia’s “last conscious thought is a prayer for Lysander’s safety”.4 This displays not only Hermia’s loyalty, but the captivation Lysander has on her emotions. Raymond Waddington states in his article that her loyalty and persistence allows her to pass the test of love “more impressively than her companions”.4
Criticism
Hermia Lacking DepthAlthough Harold Bloom discusses A Midsummer Night’s Dreamas Shakespeare’s “first undoubted masterwork, without flaw, and [one] with overwhelming originality and power,” the lovers in particular, lack true character development.6 While they account for the play’s plot, “The lovers are of no definite time or place,” meaning that these characters lack uniqueness which is found in other works.6 If the viewer also finds this to be true, it may be believed that “love” is the main character of the play. If not for love, the lovers would have shallow personalities and little purpose. Because Hermia is the emblem of femininity and betrothal, it can be understood that she is, ultimately, the greatest representation of love in this piece.
Hermia's Loss of Identity
According to Hunt, this magical piece displays a “Shakespearean spiritual paradox; he who would find a better self must first completely lose his everyday identitiy”.5 Although Hermia remains loyal, such as when she “prayed” for Lysander’s safety, Hermia loses her identity by agressively becoming the “savage”:
If not for love, the Shakespearean characters would not function in the harmony Shakespeare intended. They would possess the savagery displayed in this episode. After identities are restored, the piece concludes with the matrimonies. This confirms Hunt’s discussion that “the best [identity] that the characters can with certainty achieve is the ideal identity that comes from marrying”.5
Hermia as a Universal Woman
Although it is argued that the characters lack identity apart from love, McPeek suggests that Shakespeare’s intensions were just that. He claims, “Shakespeare was not interested in creating character, but in giving a composite impression of woman, [a] universal woman in all her variety”.3 In this instance, Shakespeare’s goal was to create a relatable woman, one “not particular to time and place,” as Bloom noted. Despite this truth, Bloom does declare that “Hermia has considerably more personality than Helena”.6 While it may seem that Hermia’s character lacks depth, the critics’ general consensus is that Hermia is vital for humor and the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Performances
Organization and CommunitiesWhile high school theatre clubs often produce A Midsummer Night’s Dream, companies involving paid actors, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and the Royal
Shakespeare Company, continually put on Shakespearean plays for communities to
see. As noted on the RSC website, “In it’s original performances, A Midsummer Night’s Dreamwas presented in daylight on a simple thrust stage of an Elizabethan playhouse”.7
A film entitled, A Midsummer Night’s Dream was produced in 1935 by Henry Blanke.
Olivia de Havilland played Hermia, her first stage character.
A more recent production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream was from 1999, written and produced by Michael Hoffman. Hermia was played by Anne Friel. The greatest discrepancy between this film and Shakespeare’s original is that the 1999 production’s setting is Tuscany, as opposed to Athens.
One adaptation, the film produced in 1968 by Peter Hall, received astounding
reviews by critics. In the 1968 film, Hermia is played by Helen Mirren, a seasoned actress in Shakespearean plays. While Harold Bloom did enjoy the 1968 rendition, he claims, “every production of [A Midsummer Night’s Dream] that I have been able to attend has been a brutal disaster”.6 As Bloom notes, the film was not released to cinema theatres, instead, it is “happily available on videotape".6 In some way or another, Hermia is a relatable character; a universal image Shakespeare strove to
convey.
References
Lines from A Midsummer Night's Dream provided my www.opensourceshakespeare.com