Women In A Midsummers Night Dream English Literature Essay

Wowork force In A midsummers Night stargaze English Lit date of referenceture EssayShakespe ars distaff char professers are represented across a variety of social classes. In this essay I volition explore how Shakespeare portrays women in A Midsummer Nights Dream inclusive of several female characters in this tinker. This allows us to realise in depth, to a very limited extent, how they were do by in federation and the stereotypical authoritys Elizabethan corporation imposed upon them. I will be examining specifically the characters and portrayal of Hippolyta, capital of Montana and Hermia and how they defy the stereotypical notion of how women were treated by men.Firstly, the most obvious aspect regarding Shakespeares portrayal of women in this play is that the female sex activity is commodified. Throughout the play, women are treated like objects to be sold or traded. With reference to the background of the characters Theseus and Hippolyta, Greek mythology states that wh en Theseus, the Duke of Athens, sailed to the land of the Amazon, the Amazons offered Theseus gifts of peace. However, Theseus kidnapped Hippolyta, the sprite of the Amazonians, and forcefully made her his wife.1This resulted in the war among the Athenians and the Amazons. Theseuss action of claiming Hippolyta as a prize and a wife might show that he treats them as objects rather than human cosmoss.2This conceit is reinforced when Theseus says Hippolyta, I addressed thee with my sword, and win thy love doing thee injuries (I.i.16-17). This statement refers to how Theseus won the battle with the Amazons and in conquering the Amazons he has conquered their queen, Hippolyta, both physically and emotionally.Hippolytas lines in this play are of relatively insignificant amount and value as compared to Theseuss. For example, in the first Act, Hippolyta only console Theseus by saying that Four days will quickly exorbitant themselves in night Four nights will quickly dream onward t he time (I.i.7-8) and they will have the marriage ceremony soon. In addition, Theseus appears to be making the decisions regarding everything, ranging from their marriage to Hermias marriage. This is significant as it shows that Hippolyta is subservient to Theseus as she has undersized say in these state events despite being seated undermentioned to Theseus. In addition, Hippolytas silence could possibly show how she is unhappy about being forced into a marriage with Theseus3as shown in the 1970s BBC output of A Midsummer Nights Dream. Hippolytas silence could also be seen as a rejection of male dominance.4However, it is also significant that Hippolyta gets is given more of a fathom in the last scene later being married and this will be explored later.Another relationship that suggests the marginalizing of women is seen again amongst Egeus and Hermia. Egeus, Hermias sky pilot, has made up his mind to follow Hermia to Demetrius but Hermia refuses to do so. Egeus then brings up this cathexis to Theseus, hoping Theseus is able to help him. In doing so, Egeus is shown to regard Hermia as a commodity. Egeus says that Hermia has dour her obedience, which is due to me (I.i.37) and that since she is mine, I may dispose of her (I.i.42). These 2 lines show Egeus treating Hermia as mere suitablety5because he made her and hence Hermia ought to listen to her scrams instructions. This idea is also proven by some parents in the early septenaryteenth century such as Sir Edward Coke who whipped his daughter into marriage with a mentally unsound man.6Moreover, Theseus becomes the personification of the law in Athens as he tells Hermia to either to die the death, or to abjure for ever the society of men (I.i.65-66). According to the ancient privilege of Athens (I.i.41) a charrs father has the right to decide who she should marry and she has no say in his decision. If the woman goes against the wishes of her father, she can either be put to death or to brook a virgin forever by becoming a nun. The descend of different options given by both Theseus and Egeus only goes to support the incident that Renaissance women were constrained in the literal medium and that silence was the legality most stringently required from Renaissance women.7However, it is also through these troika women that we see the female sexual activity defying the societys treatment of women then. Hippolyta, capital of Montana and Hermia go against the food grain in their unique ways and show that despite the limitations and laws that society imposes upon them, they are able to assert themselves and show society that they have the potential to be as capable as men. Critics have said that Shakespeares portrayal of women in this manner could possibly be his own stand on how women should be treated relately as men but since he belongs to the Elizabethan era, it is still difficult to garner Shakespeares precise views on feminism and its issues just based A Midsummer Nights Dream and even if we could, it is still knotted to judge his 16th 17th century mindset based on the definitions and criteria of twentieth century feminism.8In addition, Shakespeare is based in the Elizabethan era yet he writes about the lives and attitudes of the ancient Greeks. This suggests that interpreting Shakespeares mindset from his full shebang is only reliable to a small extent. Hence, his representation of women only serves as an understanding to how he was unorthodox in the gender assumptions of his era.One passing effective method of showing that women should assert having their opinions and rights recognized by men is to have the characters in A Midsummer Nights Dream either imbibe in a power struggle or a function reversal. The very first power struggle shown in the play exists between Egeus/Theseus and Hermia. In Act 1 Scene 1, Hermia openly defies Egeuss wishes for her to marry Demetrius instead of Lysander. Through Egeuss eyes, Hermia is seen to have a stubb orn harshness (I.i.38) and she will not consent to marry with Demetrius (I.i.40). She defies Egeus despite knowing that ancient tradition grants the father power to marry his daughter off whoever he wishes to. Nonetheless, she even conspires with Lysander and agrees to his invent of leaving Athens to Lysanders widow aunt whose house is remote seven leagues (I.i. 159) and out of reach of the sharp Athenian law (I.i.162). While ladder away might seem like a nuanced and subtle determine of defiance, it is still an affirmation of Hermias rights and freedom as a woman to claim who she marries.In the same scene, she defies Theseus in both her tone and her language. For example, when Theseus tries to persuade Hermia to marry Demetrius by saying that Demetrius is a worthy gentleman (I.i.52) Hermia asserts, So is Lysander (I.i.53). In addition, when Theseus tells Hermia that she faces either a nunnery or death, she replies that My soul consents not to give sovereignty (I.i.82) and she w ould rather be a nun than having to marry Demetrius. In Hermias case, the act of women asserting themselves is almost unheard of as Shakespeare lived in a patricentric culture in which authority and privilege is particularly invested in the manpower of the patriarch of a family. This shows that women were subordinate to men.9The most obvious example of gender reversal is between Demetrius and capital of Montana. In Act 2 Scene 1, Helena reminds the audience about this role reversal by saying, We cannot fight for love, as men may do we should be wooed, and were not made to woo (II.i.241-242). This line refers to how, in this situation, Helena is playing the role of the male chasing after the female (Demetrius) through the woods and persuading Demetrius to love her. Although I acknowledge that Helena is forced to woo Demetrius due to her situation of unrequited love, it is not proper for a woman to behave in this manner in ancient Greece.This role reversal between Helena and Demetri us suggests that in Ancient Greece, women were generalize as insensible and unable to make proper judgments and hence undeniable a male guardian.10By getting Helena to play the role of men, Shakespeare creates comic relief as the audience sees it as ridiculous and absurdly funny. In addition, some members of the audience may feel sympathetic for Helena instead. Inducing sympathy and challenging the audiences perception of women could have been Shakespeares intentions to promote equal treatment regardless of gender. Nonetheless, this seemingly comic situation still holds honest to this day as we, to a small extent, still stereotype women as human beings to be wooed by men despite various organizations energy for female equality. This may be due to our genetic makeup as human beings or cultural influences about women but we do not exactly know.The final instance of a power struggle between the genders occurs between Theseus and Hippolyta. In Act 5 Scene 1, Hippolyta voices out tha t she disagrees with Theseus on the events that happened to the lovers the previous night. While Theseus says that he may never believe these veteran fables (V.i.2-3), Hippolyta disagrees and says that it must have been true because all their minds transfigured together (V.i.24) and it was more witnesseth than fancys images (V.i.25). Hippolytas verbal answer can be seen in two ways. Firstly, Michael Boyd, a tier director implied that Hippolyta has accepted Theseus as she gives her husband a kiss. This suggests that Hippolyta is simply discussing the whole issue about the lovers with Theseus. The darker way of looking at this is that Hippolyta is involved in struggles for power in a patriarchal society.11In doing so, Hippolyta empowers the female gender by going against how women were supposed to be submissive and agreeable to their husbands.In conclusion, I hope this essay demonstrates Shakespeares several conscious and subconscious libber intentions, through A Midsummer Nights D ream, in his portrayal of women as underground to the supposed virtues of marriage.12More importantly, this paper would have suggested that A Midsummer Nights Dream may be interpreted to imply Shakespeare being a proto-feminist who mute and sympathized women who were treated unfairly.