¶ … Midsummer Night's Dream
William Shakespeare's play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was written in 1595. A woman's role in her family and community were determined by a patriarchal society. It was during this time, after all, that women were being burned at the stake all across Europe.
The play begins in an Athenian palace just before the wedding of Theseus, Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, "Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour / Draws on apace" (I:I:I) Hippolyta is the legendary Queen of the Amazons whom has been conquered and now weds the Duke. Perhaps because of the legends associated with the matriarchal society of the Amazons, Shakespeare portrays Hippolyta as a woman conquered, indicating that the Queen of the Amazons must certainly be conquered before accepting a man in marriage. It is presumed that Theseus and Hippolyta met in combat, and so he promises her that although he wooed her in battle with his sword, they will wed "with pomp, with triumph, and with reveling" (I:I:19).
The wedding is interrupted when an Athenian father, Egeus, comes begging to Theseus for help regarding his daughter, Hermia. Egeus has bequeathed Hermia to Demetrius, however,...
Angry that his daughter is disobeying him, Egeus demands that the law punish Hermia unless she complies with his orders. Egeus is also angry with Lysander, "With cunning hast thou filched my daughter's heart, / Turned her obedience, which is due to me, / to stubborn harshness" (I:I:36-38). After listening to both Egeus and Hermia to speak their defense, Theseus speaks directly to Hermia, telling her "Either to die the death or to abjure / Forever the society of men" (I:I:65-66). Theseus sides with Egeus and declares his plea as Athenian law and basically gives Hermia three choices. She can marry Demetrius, die, or enter a convent. In other words, Hermia could be a good girl and obey her father's wishes even at the price of her own happiness for the rest of her life, or forget marriage altogether and become a nun, or forget life altogether and be sentenced to death. However, in none of the choices is she allowed, even at a price, to follow her desires except at the price of death. She is not allowed to marry Lysander at any costs or consequences, such as being disinherited by her father or disowned by…
