midsummer night's dream
The dynamics of man's dominance over women are examined in a variety of ways in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Frequent allusions to rape provide strong evidence in support of this theme. Lions, bulls, donkeys, and other animals symbolic of masculinity and virility surface as examples of male power. The moon becomes symbolic for women and all-female societies such as the Amazons, nuns, and Helena and Hermia - and in its symbol provides a contrast with the dominance of man. The play's final act, however, demonstrates the ultimate male domination, as the females are completely absent from the scene - making it clear who has conquered whom. But a few small contradictions seem to exist in the survivors of the play within the play. The final speech by Puck offers the audience the opportunity to refuse reality and pretend that the play was simply a dream of no consequence. References to rape exist in almost every interaction between men and women. Theseus quickly demonstrates his means of conquering Hippolyta, saying "I wooed thee with my sword and won thy love doing thee injuries" (act 1: scene 1, lines 18-19). This statement foreshadows the pattern of male domination that is present throughout the play. It is a fairly reas
Although the men eventually triumph over them, women-only societies play an important role. They are introduced on the opening page as we learn that Theseus will marry the queen of the Amazons - Hippolyta. Hippolyta becomes the first link between women and the moon (1:1, 9). When Theseus is speaking of Hermia going into a nunnery, he says she will be "chanting faint hymns to the cold fruitless moon" (1:1, 73). From this it can be concluded that Theseus is against all-women societies and quite possibly believes that a woman's life without man is "cold and fruitless." Helena speaks of the "sisters' vows" (3:2, 199) shared between herself and Hermia, and then angrily questions whether Hermia will "join with men in scorning your poor friend" (3:2, 216). So again an all women society is broken up by man - which leads Hermia to say "Our sex, as well as I, may chide you for it" (3:2, 218). Although she attempts to speak for all females, Hermia does not stand behind her reprimand - she also allows herself to be conquered in the end. In the play's final lines, the audience is provided with a means to disregard everything they've seen and pass it off as "but a dream" (5:1, 423). This escape route allows us to keep our eyes closed to what we've seen and remain secure in our prior beliefs, whatever they may be. It also provides interesting insight into the play - it tells us that the play is only what we make of
Some common words found in the essay are:
Helena Hermia, Hippolyta Hippolyta, Hippolyta Oberon, Moonshine Lion, Dream Frequent, , male domination, play's final, play's final act, flower stained, moonshine lion, final act, moon 11, conquering hippolyta, love potion, cold fruitless,
Approximate Word count = 959
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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