"All's Well That Ends Well"

Paper Summary:

Some form of desire drives many of the characters in William Shakespeare's, "All's Well That Ends Well". For example, the King is driven by his desire to live, Helena is driven by her sexual desire for Betrum and Betrum by his desire for notoriety, as well as his lust for Diana. This essay focuses on causal effect of Helena's sexual desires for Bertrum and how they inspire her deceitful actions throughout the play. When examining Helena's use of language, along with her actions as they are portrayed in the "Healing of the King" and the "Bed Trick," it is argued that Helena's sexual desires drive her to scheme and manipulate other characters, as well as lie, deceive, physically rape and entrap them.

From the Paper:

"If it is true that Helena had elaborately planned for the action of the play to unfold in the manner in which it did, then one must conclude that she is indeed a lying, manipulative, deceitful woman who uses a rhetorician's tongue and a virgin's allure to get what she wants in the play. Secondly, her language reveals the motive behind her elaborate, premeditated plan, which is rooted in her sexual desire for Betrum."

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