Midsummer Night's Dream Gender Roles

In the play, Helena is heavily portrayed as jealous, neurotic, and persistent. The girl is unconfident and insecure, as she believes her best friend Hermia, is far superior than her. “Happy is Hermia, wheresoe’er she lies,/For she hath blessed and attractive eyes.” (2.2.96-97) She describes Hermia as happy no matter what circumstance occurs, as she is considered a beautiful person. “No, no, I am as ugly as a bear,/For beasts that meet me run away for fear.” (2.2.100-101) Speaking to Demetrius, she continues to put herself down, and describes herself as extremely unattractive that others run away from her. It is worth noting that Helena may have been confident in the past, but when Demetrius made the switch from her to Hermia, she lost that confidence, and felt as if she was not good enough. She

Shakespeare uses language to explore the controversial gender roles. His use of two distinctively opposing female

These words and the entire alliance between Demetrius and Helena have the subtext of a sexually sadistic and masochistic relationship (Greene et al. 151). This correlation leaves little in Helena to be admired by feminist critics. Her only intelligent scene in the play spawns from her discovery of the Athenian lads' infatuation with her as she screams, "Can you not hate me, as I know you do/ But you must join in souls to mock me too?" (III.ii.149-150).

In William Shakespeare's, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, When love is forced gender roles are stereotypical, and when love is natural stereotypical gender roles are not followed as strictly. When love is forced in the play, the gender roles become stronger and more apparent. Egeus picks Demetrius to marry his daughter, but she has fallen in love with Lysander, who also loves her. Because Egeus is unable to get Hermia to agree to his plans, he heads to Theseus to ask for Hermia’s options, and Theseus responds, “Either to die the death or to abjure forever the society of men. Therefore, fair Hermia, question your desires, Know of your youth, examine well your blood, whether, if you yield not to your father’s choice, you can endure the life of a nun” (Page 3 line 65-70).

Since the beginning of history, it has been a topic of great debate about which gender, male or female, is superior. Up until about the 20th century, the majority of people believed males were the dominate gender, creating extensive issues relating to sexism. Patriarchy was a problem in William Shakespeare’s time and influenced not only some of his writings, but also many other authors at the time. Shakespeare’s

All throughout history, males have always been the dominant gender. Men never let the females have certain rights and would consider the women to be objects or possessions. This sexism can be seen all around society and has established one of the most famous works of literature, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Shakespeare uses the contradicting settings of the woods and Athens to show how women try and break out of the role society has forced them to play. During the Elizabethan Era, the society was patriarchal.

There are many differences in the way others view and treat men and women. For example, some hold the idea that men are superior to women, and women are incapable of performing certain tasks, such as being in charge and making their own choices. In William Shakespeare ’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of the main characters, Hermia, has issues with her father over her marriage. Her father wants her to marry one man while she wants to marry another and threatens to have her killed if she does not marry the man of his choice.

In “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare, we are introduced to many characters. There are many “main” characters and an example of two would be Helena and Hermia. In many ways the two women are very similar. However, throughout the play, we notice several ways they differ. For starters, they are the same gender and they happened to grow up together.

Women’s roles, during the time of William Shakespeare, were very unfair and strict, but now, in the 21st century, women are able to do just about everything men can do. In Shakespeare’s time, women were treated unequally and cruel. They were there to serve their husband, care for children, and that is basically it. From that time women’s roles have changed drastically. Women today are seen as more of a human and are treated like one too.

The portrayal of women is a prominent theme of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Elizabethan women in this play do not have the right to choosing their spouses. In the beginning of the play, Hermia’s father, Egeus, has arranged a marriage for Hermia only based on his own interest, but Hermia obeys her father's will because she's in love with Lysander. Egeus argues to the king “I beg the ancient privilege of Athens: / As she is mine, I may dispose of her, / Which shall be either to this gentleman” (Shakespeare, 1.1.42-46).

Shakespeare may be the most known playwright of all time, however, you may be surprised at how many unfair stereotypes this very famous writer incorporated into his plays. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a comedy play written by William Shakespeare in the late 1500s that portrays events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to the extravagant Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons. Such events included Demetrius jilting Helena at the altar and falling in love with Helena’s rival instead, Hermia. However, Hermia is in love with Lysander, not a disdainful youth known as Demetrius. According to feminist theory, the theory that focuses on gender inequality. A Midsummer Night’s Dream would not be considered a feminist empowerment play because throughout the play Shakespeare portrays women as timid/easily frightened. He shows men having more power than women, and perpetuates the unfair stereotype that all women must act a certain way.

When observing gender in our society, women and men are stereotyped with specific roles. Men have always been seen as the family’s main source of income whereas the women take care of their home and children. However, Shakespeare challenges these gender roles in his play with the three female characters Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia. While all three are independent, powerful women and even lead their armies into battle, the men seem to be foolish and weak such as King Lear and Albany. Furthermore, Mira cel Batran makes a point in her essay, “Feminist Reading of William Shakespeare’s King Lear”, that although women are regarded as dependent on men, Shakespeare explains that it can be the exact opposite. The men seem to depend on the women such as King Lear depending on Cordelia and Albany depending on Goneril. Shakespeare, in his play, King Lear, portrays women who are strong and intelligent and men who are weak or overpowered by female characters, challenging the societal belief that women are inherently less than or dependent on men.

Perhaps the theme that is most recurrent in William Shakespeare's plays is that of filial relationships, specifically the relationship between daughter and father. This particular dynamic has allowed Shakespeare to create complex female characters that come into conflict with their fathers over issues ranging from marriage to independence. At the same time, the dramatist exposes his audience to the struggles women face when attempting to assert themselves in a misogynistic world. Through the daughter-father dyads portrayed in The Taming of the Shrew and A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare highlights the effects that gender constraints have on female characters while simultaneously drawing attention to the sharp contrast between both relationships.

Her reality of love is questioned because there is no significant reasoning to why she loves Demetrius. So, her love is viewed as pure lust. The more she tries to chase Demetrius, the more he will distance himself from her--their love is based on just honest disinterest. Also, she is a fixed character of gender reversal by pursuing love more aggressively than a woman in her era is suppose to because they are meant to be chased, not be the chasers: “We cannot fight for love as men may do:/ We should be wooed, and were not meant to woo”(2.1.241-242). When Helena talks about the difficultness of fighting for love between men and women, she explains that women are not “meant to” have the power or strength to continously to fight for love like men because that chase should be the men’s role. Helena’s perspective can be illustrated as her love not having the same worth as if Demetrious were to chase her. Also, it shows Helena as a paradox of the non-tradition of chasing men but needing the tradition to design the worth of love. Likewise, Helena is persistent in chasing Demetrious until he loves her back. Her perspective of love is viewed as being childish, blinded by love. She attempts to seduce him in multiple occasions but he continously dismisses her and Helena uses comical language to tell him that she will never give up on him: “I am your spaniel, and, Demetrius/ The more you beat me I will fawn on you”(2.1.203-204). Shakespeare explores the subjectivity of the character’s different views of reality when it comes to understanding

Women have a specific role throughout the Elizabethan society and are known as inferior. In Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Nights Dream, women are told how to act by men, that reveals superiority towards men. This is portrayed by the characters-Hermia, Helena, and Titiana throughout the play. These characters were represented as powerless and blind because they fail to receive what they what and are told what to do countless amounts by the men in the play. Women's’ inferiority in the play makes it impossible for them to achieve true happiness attributable to the superiority the men in the play believe they have.