A Midsummer Night's Dream Relationships Essay

The book has some moments when things went well for the characters after they sought to control someone. Oberon and Titania had been fighting for a while and part of the reason was because Titania wouldn’t give him the changeling boy. “ I then did ask of her, her changeling child which straight she gave me.” Oberon is now satisfied because after putting the potion in Titania’s eyes, she gave him the changeling child with no hesitation. Still in the end section of the play, things are finally coming to good terms, for one the lovers are getting married. “ Sing and dance trippingly… will we sing and bless this place.” This is the scene where they are celebrating due to the success of getting the couples together.Which included controlling Lysander to get him to love Hermia again. As you read A Midsummer Night's Dream, you might notice that there are more downfalls than victories when it comes to control. Although some might look at the broad picture being drawn, if you dig deeper you will notice that Shakespeare makes known that controlling isn’t possible. Even though in the play Oberon seemed to have it his way, in reality things don’t always turnout that way, especially when dealing with

Oberon conjures up a plan in order to get a young child away from Titania, queen of the fairies, whilst doing this he is met with two of our other characters, Helena and Demetrius, “A sweet Athenian lady is in love/ with a huge disdainful youth. Anoint his eyes with the flower as well,” (II.i.268-269) in this point of the story Oberon encounters Helena who is trying to get the attention of Demetrius, who is completely ignoring her. This displays his need to place forceful authority because he is trying to controls Demetrius’s love, by putting him under a spell and making him fall in love with Helena. Unlike Egeus though, Oberon takes control over more than just one character, we see this in act 2 scene 1 lines 83-85 which says “Having once this juice,/ I’ll watch Titania when she is asleep/ And drop the liquor of it in her eyes,” out of the two Oberon would have to be the most controlling, because he in these three lines it shows yet another character Oberon is controlling. In this line though he is attempting to manipulate Titania in order to get the young changeling boy. Thereupon showing that in the face of love, control still will not

In conversation with Puck, he declares “The next thing then she waking looks upon, Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull, On meddling monkey, or on busy ape, She shall pursue it with the soul of love.” Due to his hunger of power, Oberon tricks Titania into giving him the Indian Boy. This shows that he concerns himself more with having greater power over Titania than caring and loving her. In addition to that point, Oberon gives no reasons as to why he desires custody over the Indian boy, leaving the readers to assume that above all else, he wants to demonstrate his power over

Furthermore, the lines earlier shows Oberon’s plan to control and submit Titania to his will. His plan to make her fall in love with animals by using a potion indicates that he wants to embarrass Titania. He wants to use his power to manipulate her feelings. He craves the control that he did not have earlier in the play when Titania did what she wanted to do. Therefore, his desire to gain control results in the changing of Titania’s fate. Titania’s actions are based on Oberon’s power. Likewise, Oberon gains satisfaction by executing his plan which empowers him and gives authority. Further, not only does Oberon make plans to control Titania, but he also becomes the cause of the conflict among Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia, and Helena. Oberon’s decision to meddle in their affairs directly impacts their fate as they become powerless over their situation. Oberon’s overwhelming sense of entitlement for utter control affects the events that transpire in their lives. Specifically, Oberon’s interference changes how two of the main characters, Lysander and Hermia interact with each other. Their mutual attraction to each other is altered as a result of Lysander’s will becoming influenced by Oberon. Thus, Lysander professes his love for Helena. Then, Hermia verbally attacks Helena:

The above shows that Titania and Oberon share a relationship that is inseparable. They swallow their pride and come back together, planning to even bless the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta even though those were the other two in the affairs. Hippolyta proceeds to call Oberon ‘my Lord’ and Oberon calls Hippolyta ‘my Queen’. This shows that their love is still prevalent. ‘True love’ is the baseline in the play and is the primary form of love.

Oberon says “When I have the juice of that flower, I’ll trickle some drops of it in on Titania eyes while she’s while she is sleeping. She’ll fall madly in love with the first thing she sees when she wakes up-- even if its a lion, a bear, a wolf, a bull, a monkey, or an ape.” Oberon came up with a plan, he decided to make his wife fall in love with an ugly and disgusting animal or beast just so he could get revenge and get the small Indian boy from Titania. Oberon is willing to hurt his wife just to get his way and what he wants. In the end, he did get the Indian boy, but he and his wife also reconnected, he did not expect this nor wanted it to happen.

Oberon’s wife, Titania, has a child he wants, which leads him to messing with magic and love in order to get his way. We can see these actions throughout the story. Such actions are evident first, when he is arguing with Titania,

When Oberon attempts to force Titania to give him the changeling child, she goes against patriarchal norms of women submitting to men when she refuses to give it to him. Her refusal is direct when she says, “Set your heart at rest. The Fairyland buys not the child of me. His mother was a votaress of my order, […] And for her sake I will not part with him” (2.1.107-108,123). She defies Oberon’s expectation that she will listen to him and tries instead to keep a promise she has to a friend of hers. This deviation from patriarchal norms shows that Titania is a strong female character who has the power to combat a man’s wishes and make her own decisions. Her

In A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare characterizes Oberon to show how much impact he has on the characters. While Oberon is focused on obtaining the changeling boy, he helps Helena by making Demetrius fall in love with her. Oberon also impacts the play by fighting with the Queen, Titania, over a boy and slowly destroying the forest which he was enthroned to protect. Throughout the play, Oberon intentionally tries to ruin Hermia and Lysander’s plan to go to his aunt’s house. Is Oberon jealous?

Oberon says; “Why should Titania cross her Oberon? I do but beg for a little changeling boy to be my henchman”(2.1.122-124). Oberon does not get why Titania would disobey him. He has always known her to do what he wants. Oberon wants Titania to stay, but cannot agree with letting her keep the boy.

Titania and Oberon are in love because of what Oberon goes through to make sure he keeps Titania’s love. When Titania got the Indian prince, Oberon wanted to get rid of it immediately.

By the time Theseus reappears at the end of the play, however, he and Hippolyta seem genuinely and mutually happy together, and he presides over a magically resolved triple wedding in which everyone gains their heart's desire. Hippolyta is the Amazonian Queen and, is set to marry Theseus. Hippolyta is not heavily involved in the play but does sound impatient to get married to Theseus. Titania is the Queen of the fairies and is a delicate creature, fond of elegant song and dance and provides a train of equally lovely spirits. When she first appears in the play, she is angry at her "husband," Oberon, who is continually demanding that she give him one of her attendants, an "Indian Boy" whose mother had been one of her worshippers and has past away.

Theseus rules by trying to make everyone happy while abiding by the old Athenian law. Theseus says, “Look you arm yourself to fit the fancies your father’s will.” (1.1.117-118) In this scene, Theseus is telling Hermia to marry Demetrius or to get ready to die. Egeus says that she is his property by the Athenian law. This causes Hermia to run away with her love, Lysander. At the end of the play, Theseus says, “Egeus, I will overbear your will.” (4.1.182) He is telling Hermia’s father that the law will be void for this marriage. This tells that Theseus will override it for the happiness of the four lovers. Oberon rules in a way where he is happy even if it sacrifices someone else's happiness. He will do mischievous things and blackmail others, including Titania, for his own satisfaction or gain. Oberon says, “Give me that boy, and I will go with thee.” (2.1.143) Here, he is telling Titania that if she doesn’t give him the boy, he will not dance with he at Theseus’s and Hippolyta’s wedding. They are supposed to dance at the wedding to tell them that they bless their marriage. Oberon is blackmailing her so that if she doesn’t give him the boy, they won’t dance, thus giving the couples the impression that they don’t bless them. Also, right after he squeezes the love flowers juice on Titania’s eyelid, Oberon says, “Wake when some vile

Oberon demands, “How can you stand there shamelessly talking about me and Hippolyta, when you know that I know about your love for Theseus? And weren’t you the one who made him cheat on all of his other girlfriends, like Aegles, Ariadne, and Antiopa? (Shakespeare II.ii.76).

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