How Are Women Treated In A Midsummer Night's Dream

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare it demonstrates the negative treatment that women received from society in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Within this play one theme I would like to concentrate on is how women were treated during this era. They were basically represented as if they were not humans, mainly like objects in a way that they were thrown around as if they were useless and some were spoken offensively to. I will be examining how Hippolyta, Helena and Hermia were treated by men in this time.

Women within this story did not have any freedom nor power they left it all up to the men. Men held the power and were able to do many things that women could not. It was kind of looked at as if women were to get married

For example, Egeus gave Demetrius the consent to marry his daughter Hermia. But, Hermia was in love with Lysander and her father told her she should be killed if she does not marry Demetrius. When she had said that she did not want to marry Demetrius, she was placed in a difficult position the reason for this is because it was her father’s choice to marry Demetrius but she would rather be with Lysander. The Duke of Athens, which state the law and what she is allowed to do in such a situation: marry who her father says, become a nun, or die. All three of these options involve emotional, sexual or

“For I am sick when I do look on thee,” Demetrius to Helena strictly (2.1.212). Even though Demetrius would talk to Helena in that tone she was continuously falling for him. So, Demetrius stated that he was tired of looking at Helena’s face as she kept seeking for his love. Demetrius was really upset at Helena, but he still had no reason to talk to her the way he does. As he kept trying to push her away, he could not and continued to speak with anger. The fairies gave him a love potion without him knowing, and that was the only reason that he loved Helena. Instead of removing the pedals from his eyes because he knew that he would not love Helena anymore he left them alone but not the others and he had stated, “I’ll run from thee and hide me in the brakes, and leave thee in the mercy of wild beast,” (2.2.227) he threatened Helena. A woman’s sexuality was important; men would rape women if they pleased to. In a scene of this play Helena was talking to Demetrius and letting him know how she was in love with him. They sometimes talked as if they did not have any feelings at