Helena von Lahnstein

Dr. Helena von Lahnstein is a fictional character of the German soap opera Verbotene Liebe (Forbidden Love). The character has been played by Renée Weibel since October 5, 2009.^[1]

Creation

Introduction

With the arrival of Sebastian von Lahnstein in November 2007, it is mentioned that he had two other siblings. They are referred to as the twins, without letting the audience know their gender. The twins get mentioned several times over two years, when Helena arrives at Castle Königsbrunn and gives one of the twins a face and a name. With her appearance it has been declared that she has a twin brother named Tristan (Jens Hartwig). Before Helena comes to Königsbrunn a box with Asian art has been sent to the Lahnstein family. While wondering what is in the box, Helena opens the door and is welcomed by her brother Sebastian and younger sister Rebecca. When the butler of the aristocratic family looks a little bit lost at the situation Elisabeth von Lahnstein is the first to introduce Helena as Sebastian and Rebecca's sibling.

Personality

Helena is described as a happy and cheerful person.^[2] She studies archeology at the University of Heidelberg and comes after a long time abroad to meet her siblings at Königsbrunn. From the beginning it is mentioned that she is extremely close to her twin brother Tristan and cannot be anywhere long without him.^[3] The relationship between brother and sister seems almost incestuous. It is mentioned by Rebecca that Tristan and Helena can not be without each other and that they forget the world around them when they are together. Not long after Helena's arrival she has to call Tristan and tell him that she misses and loves him. When it is mentioned that Tristan is spending time with Tanja, Helena seems almost jealous and tells Rebecca that it will not last for long anyway.

Storyline

Background

Helena was born to Ludwig von Lahnstein and is one of his five children. Ludwig married a maid, Madeleine, which upset his father deeply. This leads to Ludwig being disowned and his brother Johannes becoming the heir to the Lahnstein fortune. Ludwig, his wife and his children leave Königsbrunn, while Johannes tries to stop his brother and giving him his heritage. But an angry Ludwig leaves and breaks off contact with his family. It has been mentioned that Ludwig and his family moved abroad. When Ludwig and his wife both die, Ludwig's good friend Adrian Degenhardt takes care of his children. He finances their education and becomes a surrogate father to them. Helena and Tristan travel abroad, while Sebastian and Rebecca have been staying in the United States, before the family reunite after years at Castle Königsbrunn.

The Arrival

Helena has not been to Königsbrunn since she was a little girl. She's welcome by Rebecca and Sebastian, and wants to spend as much time as possible with her sister since it has been a long time since they last saw each other. Helena discovers that Rebecca has been lying about her job,^[4] and actually she has money troubles and is unemployed. Helena tries to comfort Rebecca, when Elisabeth mentions an article about Helena's latest success in her career; leading Rebecca to be jealous of her sister's success.^[5]

Helena quickly falls in love with Andi Fritzsche and they become a couple. Their relationship survives several tests, behind of most of which is Tristan, who can't accept that his sister is close to another man. However, they break up for good after Helena discover Andi had a drunk one-night stand with Jessica Stiehl, who had previously accused him of rape trying to break them up.

Later, Helena hits Philipp zu Hohenfelden with her car and is sentenced to do community service in a Düsseldorf hospital, where she meets Andi's brother Daniel, and they start a relationship. After several months, however, Daniel falls in love with Jessica and breaks up with Helena, who decides to return to Cambodia and resume her archaeological studies. It's been hinted that after Daniel breaks up with Jessica and leaves Düsseldorf they reunite in Cambodia.

Notes