Male Domination in A MIdsummer Nights Dream Essay

Egeus tries to make Hermia marry someone that she doesnt love. If she rebels, he will have her killed. Hermia and Demetrius are two lovers that are being forced to love and marry each other, but the feeling isn’t mutual. Egeus wants Hermia, his daughter, to marry a man she does not love. The consequences of her rebellion results in death.

Exerting the type of power that is influenced by malicious intentions can cause one to make decisions that are not beneficial to others. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is written within a time period and setting that favors men instead of woman. In other words, men have all the authority to control the events that occur in their own lives as well as the lives of others whom are considered insignificant. The plot displays the catalysts that ignite many characters’ desire for control that is misused by higher status people. Shakespeare’s use of characterization demonstrates how the wanting of control causes the characters to act irrationally through the misuse of power. Shakespeare’s use of setting, plot and characterization causes the ordeals

William Shakespeare starts with a seemingly unresolvable conflict in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The main characters are lovers who are either unrequited in their love or hassled by the love of another. These lovers are inevitably paired. How does Shakespeare make this happen? He creates many subplots that, before long, are all snarled up into a chaotic knot. So, what actions does Shakespeare take to resolve these new quandaries? He ends up trusting a single key entity with his comedy. It’s only then that he introduces a special character into his world: a mischievous fairy whom is known by the name of Puck. Puck is the catalyst for all these subplots and, indeed, for the entirety of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Try to take Puck

In the first part of the play Egeus has asked the Duke of Athens, Theseus, to rule in

Hermia’s statement describes what it feels like to be verbally harassed and forced into marriage. This proves that gender roles were a big issue at the time and women were greatly affected by the laws. Theseus shows no pity for his daughter and does not care about the decisions that she is forced into making. He gives Hermia three options to choose from:

In the play, A Midsummer’s Night Dream begins with Theseus, Duke of Athens, preparing for his marriage to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, with a four-day festival. Egeus, a citizen of Athens, goes to see Theseus with a complaint against his daughter: although Egeus has promised Hermia in marriage to Demetrius, who loves her, Lysander has won Hermia’s heart and refuses to obey her father and marry Demetrius. “Theseus speaks to Hermia, warning her to

Theseus only allows Hermia three options: to die, to obey her father’s wishes and wed Demetrius or to become a nun. The law was is an obstacle because it prevents Hermia and Lysander from being together.

This quote really sets the tone and the atmosphere for the entire play because it allows readers to create a time line of events and essentially immerse within it. This quote is stating that four days will quickly come and go, the days will turn into nights, and the dreaming that occurs during one’s slumber will allow the time to pass even more quickly. Because of Hippolyta’s unique circumstances, it is easy for one to assume that this quote was merely said because of her unconventional and rapid marriage to Theseus. Theseus is the Duke of Athens, and it has been previously mentioned that Hippolyta is the Queen of the Amazons. Upon the beginning of the play, it is known that Theseus has just defeated and returned from a battle with the Amazons. As victor, his spoils include, among other things, marrying Hippolyta. While Theseus is expressing his undying love for his future wife, Hippolyta obviously does not return the sentiments. It is possible that this quote is Hippolyta’s way of merely cursing the effect of dreams because they are ultimately shortening the time that she has left as an unmarried woman. Because she is not in love with Theseus, and is just a victim of an arranged marriage, her dreams permit each day come and go with ease, yet ultimately make the

He needs her too, so he wins the boy for himself to make her feel inferior. In other words, Titania gave up something that she loved to make her husband happy. This is seen in everyday life, women give up their wants to make their men happy. Titania's sacrifice for Oberon cost her to lose both her Indian boy and his mother, her women lover. When men don't make women happy, they turn to their friends for what they need, whatever it may be. (Scott 370-373) Male domination not only exists between husband and wife, but also between father and daughter. Theseus will not allow Hermia to marry Lysander. Theseus wants her to marry Demetrius. Egeus, a ruler, will force Hermia to become a nun unless she marries Demetrius. In retaliation to his demands, Lysander and Hermia run away together. Hermia is scolded by Egeus for being in love with the man she chooses. This suggests that men cause women to feel forced and obligated to do as they say. (Scott 373) Another example of male domination is the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. Theseus' first wife was frail and yielding, and he divorced her. Hippolyta has been a warrior, and Theseus' victory over her makes her unable to resist. By conquering the female warrior and marrying her, he fulfills his need for the exclusive love of a woman while satisfying his homoerotic desires. Close bonding fulfills this homoerotic desire with a male companion, such as Demetrius and

Through Helena Shakespeare created a woman so pitiful and wretched that he openly mocked the modern sixteenth-century women who allowed themselves to be treated in such a manner. Had a man been the monarch of England when this play was written, the bard might have been more discrete in his support of feminism. Luckily, Queen Elizabeth was fond of autonomous women and showed little animosity towards such mockery.

This demonstrates how there is money and power involved in the story. Egeus, Hermia’s father, removes all of her power. Egeus has her power and controls his daughter, Hermia. In the story, Egeus arranges her marriage with someone whom she doesn’t love, and he doesn’t let her marry who she loves, Lysander. Not only that, but also shows how money also is being used in the story.

3. Egeus wants to complain to Theseus about his daughter Hermia. Egeus wants her to marry Demetrius but she is in love with Lysander. He wants her to choose either Demetrius or death.

The relationship between Theseus and Hippolyta represents ideal, mature love, and contrasts with the other lovers’ relationships with in the play. Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazon, is engaged to Theseus, Athenian duke. Occasionally, they disagree about certain issues, but due to their mature personalities, they are able to confront and resolve their problems. They understand the terms of their relationship, and they know where they stand. Hippolyta is the former leader of the Amazons- a tribe of fierce warrior women whose only connection with men came when it was time to kill or time breed. She is therefore unmoved by Theseus “wooing” her. Their relationship matures throughout the course of the play. At the end of Act 4, as the sun rises,

In Athens, women had very little rights. Womens fathers were the ones who got to choose whom they married, and that caused trouble for the lovers. Hermia’s father, Egeus, strongly believed in this rule. At the beginning, Egeus decides that he wants Hermia to marry Demetrius, which is good for Demetrius but bad for Hermia. Hermia, daringly refuses her father’s wishes, so they seek the help of Theseus, the Duke of Athens. Theseus listens to their situation, and being the authority in the situation, tells Hermia: “Either to die the death, or to abjure for the society of men. Therefore, fair Hermia,... if you yield not to your father’s choice, you can endure the livery of a nun...”(24). This shows how authority, in this case the law, gets in the way of “the course of true love…”(28). Egeus’s decision to have Hermia marry Demetrius does not only affect Hermia but also affects Helena. When Hermia’s father chooses Demetris to be her

The men are the authority figures in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, male dominancy not only exists between couples, but also between father and daughter (i.e. Egeus and Hermia): “As she is mine, I may dispose of her/ which shall be either to this gentleman or to her death, according to our law.” Hermia’s entire existence is ‘puppet mastered’ by a powerful man, as demonstrated by Egeus’s selfishness toward his daughter Hermia. The word ‘dispose’ connotes throw, to get rid of, using this to say what he will do to his daughter means that there is a clear male superiority here as Hermia here is basically an object. Further objectification is shown when Egeus says ‘She is mine’.