A Midsummer Night’s Dream reinforces the idea of wanting what we can’t have and wanting what other people want. This idea was first seen in the play, The Taming of the Shrew. Lucentio wanted Bianca because he saw that all of the other men wanted her. This theme has come up again in regards to Hermia and Helena. Helena is madly in love with Demetrius, to the point that she heavily dotes on him. Demetrius knows that she wants to be with him and he is not at all interested. Demetrius instead wants to be with Hermia. Why? Because he sees that other men want to be with her as well. Also, Hermia has no interest in him. This makes the game more exciting. People like to engage in the “chase” when going after someone that they want to be with. It makes things more exciting. Hermia does everything opposite to try and get Demetrius to stop loving her, but he just loves her more. She says things like, “I frown upon him, yet he loves me more… I give him curses, yet he gives me love…The more I hate, the more he follows me” (I.1. 194, 96, 96). This turns into the game that people like to play today. When you like someone, you are mean to them or act like you don’t care about them. This makes things more exciting, and gets the other person to try and chase you. Demetrius takes all of Hermia’s curses and hatred and turns it into an exciting game. Helena does not understand how this game works. She pours herself all over Demetrius, taking away the excitement and mystery. Helena wants to learn how to win him over so she asks Hermia for help. She needs to learn that people want what they can’t have, and Demetrius knows that he can have her whenever he wants.
