In Act II.2 of Troilus and Cressida, Priam and Trojan force deliberate the value of continuing a war that can be stopped with the simple return of Helen. It seems like an easy fix: countless lives salvaged with one simple act of retuning Helen to her rightful place. Hector’s eloquent argument (1.2.8-25, 1.2.164-193), however, is overlooked by Troilus’s claim that there is more to Helen than meets the eye. Troilus argues for passion rather than objective reason, claiming that if the Trojans were to make every war decision based on what would minimize physical harm, “manhood and honor should have hare hearts (1.2.47-48).

What is most interesting about this excerpt of the play for me, however, is the way Helen is addressed in conversation. Even as the closest individual to a “voice of reason,” Hector deems Helen no more than a tradeable good in the face of war. As a champion of reason, Hector dwells on “value,” which is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as the “worth or quality as measured by a standard of equivalence.” In this case, Helen’s value for Hector is less than the extension of the war, which above all will cost lives. For Hector, the numerous lives lost for the keepsake of Helen, a single life, simply does not add up. He further argues that “value” cannot be assigned by personal desire or preference, but rather must take into account the “estimate and dignity” and ultimately, its intrinsic value and objective merit apart from private connections.

The “estimate and dignity” of Helen, or alternatively, the war, is a strange concept to consider, especially because it begs the question of what constitutes the “dignity” of a tradeable item. While the obvious meaning of “dignity” in this context is simply “worth,” and this word is likely used instead of “value” because of the rhyme scheme, the more accessible definition of dignity refers to human dignity, or the idea of self-respect and pride. And while the “estimate” of value potentially means a “probable quantity” (OED), it also carries the meaning of judgment, which points the situation back to a sense of right and wrong. Despite an initial connection between Helen and human dignity, I can’t imagine this is a concept that even crosses the mind of Troilus or even Hector as they continue their heated debate. Even in the absence of Helen’s situation, Troilus seems to view all women as property at best in his following analogy of a wife. Troilus simply counters Hector by reasoning that if he “takes” a wife according to his “election… led on in the conduct of [his] will” (1.2.61-62), it would be less than honorable to retreat from the relationship after the fact.

Dignity to Troilus, then, refers to the honor of keeping one’s word, regardless of a decrease in intrinsic value. Ultimately, Helen as a person, as a woman, and as a queen is meaningless in the Trojan front. Rather, her worth and “value” is measured by her “dignity,” which capitalizes more on the Trojan honor, not personal dignity The word further serves as a window to examine whether or not Helen or the war is dignified. Troilus would certainly argue that because the war is dignified as it stands for the Trojan honor, Helen is dignified as a worthy reason to continue the fight. Ironically, in this interaction, Troilus and Hector both minimize the dignity of the Queen, Woman, and Wife Helen to maintain the dignity of the War.