Misogyny
The hatred of Helen is rooted in misogyny. The all-encompassing misogyny described by the speaker reveals itself in Greece's dehumanizing view of Helen, its contempt and criticism for her human expressions, her body, and her identity. The height of this misogyny lies in Greece's desire for not just her death, but her utter physical erasure, her becoming dust. To only love a woman who has no voice, no body, and no power is the most extreme form of misogyny one can imagine.
Mythology
H.D. uses the ubiquitous and deeply-rooted nature of myth, particularly ancient myth, to emphasize those same persisting qualities in misogyny. The way that myth infiltrates the psyche and permeates an entire culture, mirrors the way that hatred, blame, and discrimination infiltrates thought, language, and behavior. Because Helen of Troy and the Trojan war is such a familiar myth, going back thousands of years, H.D. has created the perfect metaphor for the ancient and continued mistreatment of women.
Objectification and Iconography
In this poem, the focus on Helen's individual body parts illuminates how hatred objectifies its targets. This objectification is particularly intense in the case of Helen, because she is also an icon of Greek mythology, and therefore an object all over the world in paintings, as statues, and in the mind's eye. This obsession with Helen, which manifests as hatred in this poem, and the desire to bury her, reveals the human tendency to destroy and repress when faced with uncomfortable desire.
