Male Dominance In Elizabethan England

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written by William Shakespeare, shows the strong presence of male dominance in the treatment of women; mirroring the social standards of the time during the sixteenth and seventeenth century. Women were raised to obtain an obedient and inferior position to men. Men, conversely, were seen as superior and expected to be treated as such. Louis Montrose explains in his article the “representations of gender and power in a stratified society in which authority is everywhere invested in men…” (Montrose 244). By utilizing the characters during their role reversals and exchanged dialogue, Shakespeare makes it this standard stronger as the play proceeds. He provides certain cases that create concrete demonstrations.

During the Renaissance age, fathers had the ability to choose their daughter’s grooms. Shakespeare depicts this example of the male dominant role in the beginning of Act I. Theseus is interrupted by Egeus’ complaint against Hermia, his daughter. By refusing to marry Demetrius, the man her father has chosen, she dares to challenge that idea by claiming she has a say in who she marries, defying her father’s wishes. Egeus states that Lysander has “turned her obedience (which is due to me)/ To stubborn harshness…” (Shakespeare 1. 1. 38-9). Men are seen to treat women as a piece of land in which is decided who obtains it. Montrose presents the idea that Hermia’s “own words suggest that the female body is a supreme form of property and a locus for contestation of authority” (247). Hermia stands up to her various male authority figures by realizing she has a choice in who she marries. She comes to terms with the understanding that her father does not care who she favors, rather, who he favors. Whoever wi...

... middle of paper ...

...nce is carried out by all A Midsummer Night’s Dream characters throughout in their dialogue and actions. Shakespeare reflects the male power over women with that of the social standards of that era. Louis Montrose does an excellent job exhibiting the relationship between the domestic hierarchy and the exchange of power. He makes it obvious that a woman were to answer obediently to man. By relating their gender status with their expected role performance, the relation between them is clear to connect. Women were to act inferior to man, while man acted superior to all women holding control and power.

Works Cited

Montrose, Louis A. "Shaping Fantasies: Figurations of Gender and Power in Elizabethan Culture." Shakespearean Criticism. Vol. 29. New York: Gale Research, 1996. 243-47. Print.

Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night's Dream. New York: Pocket, 1958. Print.