This she does, but Bertram runs away with no intention of consummating the marriage and with Helena in pursuit, is tricked by Helena (disguised as a prostitute) into sleeping with her and eventually accepting her as his wife.

Modern productions of All's Well That Ends Well invariably interpret Helena as a strong-willed woman, although in eighteenth century adaptations of the play usually made Helena passive and docile. We have no record of any full text productions of the play in the nineteenth century which may be in part due to attitudes in Victorian England towards Helena's unladylike characteristics.

The Countess of Roussillon is another of Shakespeare's female characters from All's Well That Ends Well that has attracted the attention of modern audiences. George Bernard Shaw described her as "the most beautiful old woman's part ever written". RSC actors who have played the Countess have included: Barbara Jefford, Dame Peggy Ashcroft (photo 1) and Edith Evans (photo 2).

"In Trevor Nunn's production, Harriet Walter gave a religious edge to the sexual longing she expressed in soliloquy and she fondly touched material objects as if they held a tangible residue of Bertram's dear presence."
[Keith Parsons & Pamela Mason Shakespeare in Performance, eds, Salamander, 1995 from chapter on ‘All's Well That Ends Well’ by Susan L. Powell]