The Role Of Women In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream

All things considered, women are very underestimated when being compared to men. All women in this play were without power, a stay at home wife, without a clue and without the ability to stand on their own two feet. Whereas every male character in the play held all the power, were the bread winners, were rational and more than capable to think and be on their own. What this

Gender Tension The sex of a human being is based off of the biological and the physical aspect of a person, where as gender refers to the socially accepted behaviors for each sex. The ideology that boys should be extremely masculine and women should be perceived as weaker or more fragile has taken over the idea of the appropriate gender roles in society. With sex you are born into what you are, but with gender you are taught to be whom you are based off of the biological genitalia that was given at birth. In Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, some characters fit the stereotypical gender roles while others lean toward the opposite; this back and forth questions the socially accepted roles of society in the play.

Hermia has been promised to Demetrius by her father; however she is unwilling to marry him as she is in love with Lysander. We are introduced to this theme when they visit Thesus, the figure of authority in the play, who makes it clear that women are not to have their own identity, but instead are

In the time period of the play, women were not viewed as people, much less as equal to men. Men were held with respect and their opinions were valued. However, women were considered half a person, and they were not allowed to have an opinion. If they spoke or acted out of

The advantage a man has in an argument against a woman is undeniable; however, that does not mean the woman is completely powerless in the situation. In William Shakespeare’s play, A Midsummer Night's Dream, male characters clearly command the stage with such dominance that their voices and power seem to be more important than the females; nevertheless, in certain scenes, the females hold their own with their actions and words. In the middle of Act 1 scene, 1 Egeus rushes on stage making a commotion about how his daughter Hermia will not marry the man he chose for her to marry, but Hermia’s courage to speak up for her rights shows that women have power too. When Theseus hears Egeus’s problem, he is automatically on his side because he is male,

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.

During the time in which the play took place society frowned upon women asserting themselves.  Women were supposed to play a role in which they supported their husbands, took care of their children,

Shakespeare's works have persistently influenced humanity for the past four hundred years. Quotations from his plays are used in many other works of literature and some common phrases have even become integrated into the English language. Most high schoolers have been unsuccessful in avoidance of him and college students are rarely afforded the luxury of choice when it comes to studying the bard. Many aspects of Shakespeare's works have been researched but one of the most popular topics since the 1960s has been the portrayal of women in Shakespeare's tragedies, comedies, histories and sonnets.

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.

In the play the reader gets the truth that Hermia’s father wants her to marry Demetrius, and as a woman living in a patriarchal society, she must obey; at least that is what the reader is lead to believe. Hermia takes a stand for herself and becomes powerless in her love for Lysander. With no reasonable explanation, besides her love for Lysander, she defiantly denies her father’s attempt for an arranged marriage. Since their love for each other is so immense, they prepare for the underlying bad circumstances they are going to suffer from for not obeying the wishes of her father. Hermia’s love for Lysander means so much more to her than the property or social placeholder she would gain by marrying Demetrius. Hermia dedicates herself to Lysander, saying he is worthy of the ultimate consummation of her love. She must convince her father that Demetrius is disgraceful and immoral. At the end of the play, Hermia and Lysander are eloped, and unlike Katherine and Petruccio in TOS, they demonstrate their dedication for each other from the beginning, disregarding a few

In Athens, women had very little rights. Womens fathers were the ones who got to choose whom they married, and that caused trouble for the lovers. Hermia’s father, Egeus, strongly believed in this rule. At the beginning, Egeus decides that he wants Hermia to marry Demetrius, which is good for Demetrius but bad for Hermia. Hermia, daringly refuses her father’s wishes, so they seek the help of Theseus, the Duke of Athens. Theseus listens to their situation, and being the authority in the situation, tells Hermia: “Either to die the death, or to abjure for the society of men. Therefore, fair Hermia,... if you yield not to your father’s choice, you can endure the livery of a nun...”(24). This shows how authority, in this case the law, gets in the way of “the course of true love…”(28). Egeus’s decision to have Hermia marry Demetrius does not only affect Hermia but also affects Helena. When Hermia’s father chooses Demetris to be her

Before someone has the ability to analyze a female character in one of William Shakespeare’s works, one must take into account Shakespeare’s views on feminism, as well as how females were viewed in the time period. Is Shakespeare teaching us that women have no greater value than a breeding mule, or that women are truly property, simply to be owned by men? Obviously Shakespeare’s opinion is that women are inferior to men, seeming that his views are clearly portrayed by Helena’s character in A Midsummers night’s dream.

More often than not, men are presumed to be more foolish than women. However, in the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this stereotype is defined, as the girls are more foolish due to their curiosity and ambition for love. Throughout this Shakespearean play, women show that they act more foolishly because they fall in, run away and chase after love. Hermia, Helena, and Titania are all examples of the foolish effects love have on women.

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, there is a substantial difference between the portrayal of men and women. Men are shown as better at controlling their words and emotions, while female characters tend to speak their mind and confess their feelings. Women’s unruly expression of emotional state and rash actions contribute to how female characters are perceived. Women, specifically the character Helena, are defined by their longing for love and insecurities.

Shakespeare and the members of the Elizabethan era would be appalled at the freedoms women experience today.  The docility of Elizabethan women is almost a forgotten way of life. What we see throughout Shakespeare’s plays is an insight into the female character as perceived by Elizabethan culture.  Shakespeare’s female characters reflect the Elizabethan era’s image of women; they were to be virtuous and obedient and those that were not were portrayed as undesirable and even evil.