Patriarchy In A Midsummer Night's Dream Essay

Brady Faria
Rubin
RWW/ D period
3/14/13
Women Powerless in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy by William Shakespeare that takes place in Athens, Greece and in the forest where chaos unfolds on four lovers: Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius. In these relationships the men are in power, belittling the women. Also, in the forest chaos happens between the fairies, King Oberon and Queen Titania, because he puts a potion on her and other in which the men are in control of the society they are in. An example of patriarchy is in the relationships between Theseus and Hippolyta, Lysander and Hermia, and Demetrius and Helena when the men take control. Throughout the play the men have power over the women, as
She is in love with her old boyfriend, Demetrius, but he is in love with Hermia. Since he does not love Helena, he is mean to her as shown when he says, “For I am sick when I do look on thee.” (I.i.219) Oberon sees Helena being mistreated by Demetrius, and then he sends Puck to put a potion on Demetrius to make him woo her. Evidently he believes she is hopeless. By accident Puck puts the love potion on Lysander because he thought Lysander was Demetrius. As a result, Lysander and Demetrius fight over her as if she is a trophy, but she is a person with feelings they are making a mockery of her. Lastly, her marriage with Demetrius is not real because Oberon left the potion on Demetrius meaning that he is not really in love with Helena. Although it is not a natural marriage, Helena enjoys the “love.” The help of a man created the
He wants her to marry Demetrius but she is in love with Lysander. Her father demands Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to apply the Athenian law which states a daughter must marry the suitor chosen by her father, or else face death, but Theseus said she also has the choice of being a nun. Later in the play when she is in the forest, Lysander treats her rough by saying that he does not love her anymore and he asks Helena talking about Hermia, “Who will not change a raven for a dove?” (II.ii.121) He thinks that Hermia is a raven because she is an ugly creature. Even in Hermia’s dream he treats her poorly because the serpent eating her heart in the dream is him rejecting her. Finally, once Theseus and Egeus find the lovers in the forest, Theseus has the say in what happens in the marriage. Since Lysander receives the antidote he is in love with Hermia again, yet Demetrius still contains the potion. Now Theseus decrees that Hermia no longer has to marry Demetrius, showing that a man takes charge in her