Throughout the play "MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM" by Willliam Shakespeare, we find m

any references to the assigned roles of men and women. One of the themes of the
play is male dominance and the objectifying of women. The women are made to feel
forced and obligated to do as the men say. They accept their expected behaviors
or roles set by the men. Although women have strong bonds between each other, t
hey are often driven by jealousy. The play pokes fun at the ever-changing relati
onship between a man and a woman. The love and trust between them is not endurin
g. This is typical of the relationships in our society. The men are also the aut
hority figures in a relationship. The many feminist criticism questions are elab
orated in this essay.
In MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, male dominancy not only exists between couples, bu
t also between father and daughter. "As she is mine, I may dispose of her:
Which shall be either to this gentleman Or to her death, according to our law
" (ActI.SceneI.lines 42-44) A woman's entire existence, and her preference in h
er sexual and emotional life, is controlled by a powerful male figure, as illust
rated by Egeus's possessiveness toward his daughter Hermia. The men are often se
en treating women like objects. "To you your father should be as a god," (ActI
.SceneI line 47) "Either to die the death or to abjure For ever the society
of men."(ActI.SceneI line 65-66) Theseus who also agrees with Hermia's father,
is content with the Athenian law of male dominance. Theseus shows pride in winn
ing his bride in the battle with the Amazons. By concuring the female warrior an
d marrying her, he fulfills his ego. Oberon, the king of fairies, also expects w
omen to be dominated by men. The argument between Titania and Oberon arises from
Titania's focus of attention towards an Indian boy. Oberon uses his authority a
s her husband to force Titania to give up the boy, and he is shocked when she di
sobeys him and leaves. Oberon refuses to accept defeat and tricks Titania with t
he magic love potion into giving the boy to him. This shows the need that men ha
ve to win over women in order to prove their sense of self. Lysander and Demetri
s' objectifying of women are more evident. Demetrius had sworn his love to Helen
a before the play began. Now he hates her and wants to marry Hermia despite Hele
na's devotion to him. Shakespeare tries to show how men play with love, promisin
g eternal love to a different woman within moments as Lysander and Demetrius do.

Women in this play see themselves as weak once they are married or once they h
ave sworn their love to a man. Hippolyta, the warrior Queen, seems normal with t
he fact that Theseus has captured her and wants to marry her. When Theseus proud
ly talks about how he had taken her by war, and how he couldn't wait to get marr
ied, her only reply is that the days will pass by quick. Throughout the play, sh
e doesn't say much, and her opinion or preference is also not inquired. It could
be because she has accepted her fate being in the hands of her soon to be husba
nd. Helena is shown as a faithful lover, but her persuadance is at times, irrita
ting. Helena chases Demetrius harshly, unrelenting to his cruel treatment of her
. She states that men are meant to woo women, not women to men. And yet, she con
tinues to try and woo him. She doesn't seem to be mad at Demetrius for leaving h
er; instead she blames herself for not being attractive enough. When Lysander an
d Demetrius turn their affection towards Helena, she begins to think they are mo
cking her. This is probably because of her lack of self-esteem. "And will you
rent our ancient love asunder, To join with men in scorning your poor friend?
It is not friendly, 'tis not maidenly: Our sex, as well as I, may chide you for
it, Though I alone do feel the injury" (Act Helena also states that women sho
uld stick together and not take part in men's foolish jokes against them. Hermia
and Helena are best friends and they explain their relationship as having two b
odies but sharing one heart. But they let their men and jealousy come in between
their friendship. Helena betrays their friendship, and Hermia accuses Helena of
stealing her love. These two women do not even realize that the men that have d
estroyed their trust in each other are the ones that are hurting them. Titania i
n the other hand seems like in control. She has set her mind on keeping this lit
tle Indian boy whose mother was her friend and she wasn't going to give in to Ob
eron's demands. However, after Oberon tricks her, Titania's centre of focus beco
mes Bottom, the ass-headed man she falls in love with. After Titania, wakes from
this trance, she reconciles with Oberon, not caring about the fact that he had
taken the boy away from her by cheating. At the end she too lets men over rule.
The relationship between men and women in "MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM", is based
on love, the main theme of the play. However, it seems to be false love that the
y are after. They swear true and eternal love to each other, but their love is a
ctually temporary. They swear their love onto someone else within moments and de
test the ones they loved before. Demetrius had once loved Helena, but now he hat
es her because he loves her best friend. Theseus also seems like he's had many a
ffairs before Hippolyta.Titania and Lysander, under the spell of the potion also
changes their focus of affection and falls madly in love with somebody else. Ev
en though this is driven by he love potion, Shakespeare brings out the true beha
viours of couples in our society. In this play, the men are the authority figure
s in women's lives, the fathers control the females before marriage and later th
eir husbands. "The country proverb known, That every man should take his own,
In your waking shall be shown. Jack shall have Jill; Nought shall go ill: T
he man shall have his mare again, and all shall be well" (ActIII. SceneII 458-6
3) Robin goodfellow's epilogue at the end of the play states this very clearly,
the husband shall have his wife as he has his horse. The nature of the man's re
lationship to his wife, is as owner to owned and everything will be fine once re
asserting male dominance in marriage. The play also implies that the jealousy be
tween Oberon and Titania had caused disruption in the world. After they reconcil
e, everything seems to be fine in nature and world. This aspect shows that the h
usbands and wives or the couples can have the world at harmony by their content
relationships. Feminist criticism examines gender politics in works and traces
the subtle construction of masculinity and femininity, and their relative status
, positionings, and marginalizations within works. In Shakespeare's "MIDSUMMER N
IGHT'S DREAM" the gender roles are very obvious and it portrays how women in Sha
kespearean society were expected to behave. The jealousy between the four lovers
has caused a problem in which Hermia and Helena abandon their lifelong friendsh
ip, betray each other and argue. This shows that women often let men get away wi
th breaking their heart and ruining their bonds. They also accept their roles as
the weaker sex. The men take pride in dominating their women and setting the ru
les for them. Although there's love between a man a woman in a relatioship, it i
s often short lived. But when couples find true love, their happiness can bring
peace in the world.