A Feminist Perspective of A Midsummer Night's Dream At the age of fifteen, my hormones went wild and I threw myself at every boy in the neighborhood. While I didn't go all the way, I offered as much meat as I dared. If the suburbs can create such sexual angst, imagine the lust aroused by moonlight, fairies and a warm midsummer night. In Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, Helen represents the frenzy of young love fueled by rejection and taken to masochistic extremes. As the lovers sink deeper into the fantasy world of the starry woods, the Greek virtue of moderation disappears. Emotions intensify until they reach a melodramatic tone. Helena, in particular, descends to a primitive and desperate level of passion. He calls for the attention of the "durable adamant" Demetrius (II. i. 195). Adolescent vulnerability, virginal desire and a teenage crush combine with the romance of an unattainable object. Demetrius' hostility only strengthens Helena's desire to degrade herself. Shakespeare chooses the language of pain and humiliation to express Helen....