For centuries, the story of Helen of Troy has been a combination of legendary heroines and notorious villains in Greek myth. It was the center of numerous dramas and tales, discussion and arguments. Yet, what if Helen, the representation of ideal of beauty, the face that launched hundreds of ships and caused thousands of deaths, was not actually at Troy? What if she was not the woman people longed and fought for? What if she had her own story to tell?
During the show “Helen,” which launched Friday at Hemsley Theater in Vilas Hall and runs until Dec. 7. In this adaptation, Helen was taken away from Troy and was placed in an Egyptian hotel room, waiting for Menelaus, her husband, to pick her up. With the grotesque characters and seemingly chaotic plotline, adaptation writer Ellen McLaughlin challenged the dominant views toward Helen, explored the meaning of being a woman and questioned the worth of beauty.
The show started with Helen standing in the middle of the stage, like a statue, holding a fly swatter. That was such an unusual and unique pose to start with, which immediately captured audiences’ attention. During the show, the sound of flies buzzing filled the theater and Helen was always busy with killing the flies. It seemed that flies had become a taboo and a curse that Helen could not bear to see or hear that she had to kill every single one and flushed them away. To her, the action became an achievement and success. The audience was left wondering why this act was so imperative to her.
Helen had stayed in the hotel room for 17 years. She never had a chance to talk to people other than the maid or stepped out of the room. She was lonely and sad. However, the routine was soon broken by the visitor, and then another and another. With each visitor, Helen had another opportunity to explore the worth of beauty and the meaning of self. Helen complained about Menelaus’ indifference and carelessness about her feelings.
This point was further emphasized by Helen’s imitation of Menelaus having sex with her because his face was emotionless and body was stiff. She called it “missionary position.” The audience burst out laughing because of the awkward movement and sarcastic tone it took while feeling sorry for her unhappy marriage. The ironic parody puts a question in audiences’ minds: besides beauty, what would Menelaus cherish and care about? The question seems cruel, but the answer is even more bitter. Later on, through the dramatic and intense meeting with Menelaus, the truth was revealed.
After Helen’s continuous request to be brought away, Menelaus furiously yelled at her, “Nobody is particularly interested in you. They want weeping, not feeling!” It turned out that Helen was not the woman people died for, that the city fell for, that the war was fought for. It was the idea of Helen, the idea of beauty that people had long sought and longed for.
Helen had been envisioning the beautiful reunion for 17 years, having been waiting and wandering day after day, the only thing Helen got was the fact that a desired Helen was not allowed to have a “self” that her soul could only be unremarkably tiny. She would never have a minute for herself. She should live just for others.
The metaphor of swatting flies was unveiled after Helen finally realized that she was never valued and respected as an individual and as a woman. The fly she always saw and heard in the hotel room was actually her inner voice, screaming “let me out!” The persistence to kill the flies was indeed the action to suppress the impetus to rediscover the “self” and to pursue freedom and independence. At the end of the show, the door of the hotel room opened, and the golden light poured in, submerging Helen with all its gleam and warmth. The restriction on Helen disappeared and she could finally live her life honestly.
“Helen” goes beyond mere narrative and aesthetic purpose and gives viewers an eternal and thought-provoking question to contemplate.
