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Act 1: Helpless
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Hamilton, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Collaboration, Disagreement, and Democracy
Stories vs. History
Ambition and Mortality
Immigration and Diversity of Influence
Honor
Summary
Analysis
Just as Angelica begins to give a wedding toast, the rest of the company shouts “rewind,” and the scene returns to the moment Hamilton enters the party where they met (right before “A Winter’s Ball”).
By showing audiences the same scene from a different vantage point (both lyrically and in the staging), the creators of Hamilton emphasize that historical narratives can be dramatically different depending on the narrator’s viewpoint.
Themes
Angelica now describes the encounter from her perspective: she, too, has fallen in love with Hamilton at first sight. “You strike me,” Hamilton says when they meet, “as a woman who has never been satisfied.” Hamilton continues to flirt, making it clear that he reciprocates Angelica’s feelings.
Case in point: while Eliza told a straightforward love story, the same moment through Angelica’s eyes proves that this is actually a love triangle. The use of the word “satisfied”—which has both sexual and intellectual connotations—also links Angelica’s ambitious outlook to Hamilton’s.
Themes
Angelica is amazed to have finally met her match. When she asks about Hamilton’s family, she realizes he has no money, but she’s impressed by his rough-and-ready attitude. But then Angelica turns around and sees Eliza—singing “Helpless”—and she realizes “three fundamental truths.” First, as the oldest sister, it is her job to marry rich. Second, Hamilton might just be using her for her money. And finally, though Eliza would never say anything, she would be devastated to lose Hamilton to Angelica.
There is a lot going on in this section, in part because Angelica thinks (and sings) at warp speed. Part of early Americans’ honor was derived from their family trees—so Hamilton, born as a “bastard, orphan” immigrant, might not be acceptable to Angelica’s father. But if her decision is in part self-protective, it is also remarkably selfless: always, Angelica will put her sister’s well-being above all else.
Themes
The song fast-forwards again, and Angelica is now in the middle of her toast (“may you always be satisfied,” she tells the newlyweds). The company repeats the phrase “be satisfied.”
Just as a scene can change its arc depending on a narrator, a word can change its meaning depending on the context. Whereas “satisfied” initially seems to be a celebratory word, by the end of the song, it has taken on tragic connotations.
Themes
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