A Midsummer Night's Dream Research Paper

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In Shakespeare's play, a Midsummer Night's Dream, there are many different types of relationships between male and females. In the play, the four pairs of lovers at the beginning of the story, (Hippolyta and Theseus,Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius, Oberon and Titania) all had interesting relationships to say the least. In a Midsummer Night's Dream, women can be portrayed as the objects of men and very dependent on the men. Women in the play are also owned by their father's decision on who they would marry, because the daughter was sort of like his "possession". However, men are also portrayed as objects in this play, but in my opinion, not to the same extent. In Shakespeare's play a Midsummer Night's Dream the author was trying to…show more content…
The women basically look up to men as their superior for love, "you draw me you hard-hearted adamant!"( 2.1,202-203) and this is because of love juice and because of Shakespeare's interpretation of women through the play. One example from throughout the play was when Hermia's dad Egeus decided that as his "possession" that she would marry Demetrius instead of who she truly loved which was Lysander. Furthermore, if she would choose to not marry Demetrius which was her father's wish, she would be forced to become a virgin forever or face the ultimate penalty. Another example of a woman being an object to a man is Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Hippolyta is the Queen of the Amazons, and because her people lost the battle with duke Theseus; she was forced to be his prize and marry him. Also, Shakespeare breaks away the common modern knowledge that men pursue women, and in a Midsummer Night's Dream because of the love juice, Helena and Hermia were pursuing the opposite lover and Titania fell in love with an ass. This is one of the amusing tricks that Puck impends onto the women. I believe Shakespeare is trying to convey that women are different when it comes to love compared to their other
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