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I am undone. There is no living, none,
If Bertram be away. ’Twere all one
That I should love a bright particular star
And think to wed it, he is so above me.
In his bright radiance and collateral light
Must I be comforted, not in his sphere.
Th’ ambition in my love thus plagues itself:
The hind that would be mated by the lion
Must die for love. (1.1.89–97)
Alone onstage for the first time, Helen speaks these words of longing for Bertram, who has just left Rossillion with Lafew to go join the King of France’s court. Her language strongly recalls that of the lovesick poet, who is inspired to verse by the pain of their yearning. Such poets are conventionally depicted as young men pining for beautiful young women, but here the convention is reversed so the role may be played by a resourceful young woman. The crux of Helen’s trouble is the class disparity between her and her highborn beloved. In elevated terms, she laments her lowborn status and concludes that her love is doomed. By the play’s end, however, she will prove herself wrong.
I am Saint Jaques’ pilgrim, thither gone.
Ambitious love hath so in me offended
That barefoot plod I the cold ground upon,
With sainted vow my faults to have amended.
Write, write, that from the bloody course of war
My dearest master, your dear son, may hie.
Bless him at home in peace, whilst I from far
His name with zealous fervor sanctify. (3.4.4–11)
These words make up part of the letter Helen leaves for the Countess to find after she’s departed for a pilgrimage to the monastery of Saint Jaques. This is the first of several important letters that Helen will write in the play, and thus it references an important motif. Also significant is the form of the letter, which Helen has written in rhyming quatrains. Then there is the content, in which she announces her pilgrimage. Her idea is to leave Rossillion so that Bertram will be able to return home without her presence complicating things. However, Helen’s intentions here are ambiguous, since in the very next scene she happens to arrive in Florence, where Bertram is staying. The letter may therefore be read as marking the start of Helen’s multilayered plot to win Bertram once and for all.
Why then tonight
Let us assay our plot, which, if it speed,
Is wicked meaning in a lawful deed,
And lawful meaning in a lawful act,
Where both not sin, and yet a sinful fact.
But let’s about it. (3.7.49–54)
Helen addresses these words to the Widow as they agree to embark on a bed-trick plot. This plot will involve the Widow’s virtuous daughter, Diana, whom Bertram has been trying to seduce. Diana will agree to have sex with Bertram, but Helen will secretly take her place, thereby ensuring that her marriage to Bertram is consummated—albeit without his knowledge. Helen’s wordplay about law and sin implicitly acknowledges that the circumstances aren’t ideal and that their proposed trickery has a “wicked meaning.” However, what’s most important is that the sex performed will be “a lawful deed,” one that both seals their earlier marriage pact and enables Helen to satisfy Bertram’s seemingly impossible ultimatum.
