Male Dominance And Female Oppression in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Male Dominance And Female Oppression in A Midsummer Night’s Dream The place of Women in society has changed drastically throughout time. Once thought of as possessions, (and in some less developed areas of the world still are) women now hold positions of high power in many parts of the world. Although woman have made great strides in equality, there is still even today a small sense that men are superior to woman in certain areas. In the past, it was believed that woman were completely inferior to men, to the point that woman had no power over men in any circumstance. In William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, we see Shakespeare’s opinion on male dominance over female subjects in many different aspects. With the interactions of Hippolyta and Theseus, Hermia and Egeus, and Helena and Demetrius, Shakespeare shows the interactions of men and women in multiple ways. In the past, it would be customary that when a man conquers a people, he would take one of their women as his own, as a sort of symbol of his victory. We see an example of this in the relation ship of Hippolyta and Theseus. Theseus is depicted as your typical great, strong male leader. Extremely wise and powerful, he is looked up to by all of his subjects. After conquering a new people, probably an amazon tribe, he takes the beautiful Hippolyta, as his wife. Theseus himself claims to be in love with Hippolyta, and because of his large male ego, thinks Hippolyta must be in love with him because of his great power. "Hippolyta I wooed thee with my sword, And won thy love, doing thee injuries; But I will wed thee in another key, With pomp, with triumph, and with reveling." (I.i.16-19) What Theseus doesn’t realize is that Hippolyta is a oppressed captive, unhappily but respectively remaining silent in his presence. Theseus’s inability to realize that Hippolyta isn’t happy to be his wife shows the masculine superiority complex that has oppressed woman for years and years, unwilling to take second

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