Hermia is in love with Lysander, however her father does not care. He wants her to marry Demetrius and at the beginning of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream it seems as though he is never going to change his mind and allow his daughter to choose the person she wants to spend the rest of her life with. As her father it is his right to choose whom she marries, and if he does not find a suitable suitor he is the one that will be taking care of his daughter for the rest of his life, and she would then become the responsibility of another male relative, until they either find a suitor for her, or she dies. The entire premise of this Shakespearian comedy revolves around Hermia and her love for a man her father does not approve of, and the fact …show more content…
This only becomes an issue when the issue that we never find out why Egeus does not approve of Lysander arises. As stated above we the audience are never told why he prefers Demetrius over Lysander, and even at the end of the play when Demetrius decides that he is in love with Helena, after the nectar is put into his eyes, and Lysander is back in love with Hermia, after having the magic removed from him, Egeus decides to sanction the marriage of his daughter to the man she loves. Meaning there was no large issue as to why Hermia should not marry Lysander other than her father preferred another man. Although he did not seem to have a concrete reason as to why he wanted things to be done the way that he did, as her father he still had the right to make Hermia do as he wanted regarding her marriage. It makes one think why her father did not want her to be happy with a man that seemed to have the means to provide for her and truly loved …show more content…
Parental authority is not what it used to be, many teenagers and young adults no longer respect what their parents want for their lives. This is because they believe they know what is best for them. Although these people are able to make their own mistakes and learn from them, when it comes to something as serious as marriage, having a parent aid one in the decision making proses could help with the increased divorce rate. People seem to forget that when they marry someone you are not only impacting your life and theirs but the lives of your family, this new person is now planning on being a permanent member of your family and no one but you and them were able to decide if this is what should happen. Egeus knew that the man his daughter would marry would become his son by marriage and therefore he wanted to make sure that he liked and approved of the man she decided to spend the rest of her life with. Someone Hermia could love, someone Egeus could get along with and someone that could provide for his daughter and their future family is what Egeus cared about when it came to choosing a spouse for his daughter. Although all of this seemed to go through his mind, he did not fully think about what his daughter wanted in the moment but what she could one day grow to be okay with. Finding a happy medium between the involvement parents once had
Many people who saw this play during this time period must have had somewhat of similar situations with their fathers and the man who they ended up having to marry. Women during this time period were simply not heard or respected for that matter. There was institutional subordination between men and women. The father seemed to have ultimate say and if the daughter wanted to get married the father would pick a scenario that would somehow benefit him and his family’s future. In Midsummer’s night dream case Hermia is threatened with becoming a nun or being killed if she does not follow her father’s
To begin, Hermia and Lysander were both madly in love with each other in Midnights Summer Dream however their fairytale love did have its issues. When two people love each other, people often ask, why get in their way? The answer is simple because either you don’t realize what they are feeling and think you know better, or you are unaware of the situation. The first is the case with Hermia and Lysander. Hermia had several problems to solve in order to be with her beloved Lysander. In the beginning, her father disapproved of the love and thought Hermia should marry Demetrius – a man of equal standing and looks as Lysander. In Act 1, Scene 1, in between lines170-180, Hermia says, “…I swear to thee by Cupid’s strongest bow… In that same place thou hast appointed me, Tomorrow truly I will meet with thee.” Here she is saying that she agrees to run away with Lysander. After she solved that issue by deciding to run away, Lysander somehow fell in love with Helena. Little to Hermia’s knowledge Lysander was under a potions control that made him fall madly in love with Helena. Hermia didn’t let this stand in her way though, she persisted on Lysander that sh...
There are many dissimilarities between the two characters Helena and Hermia in "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Hermia has a bold personality while Helena is more pessimistic. During most of the play, Helena is being compared to and comparing herself to Hermia's beauty. The confidence that Hermia has allows Hermia to be mentally strong enabling her to overcome difficulties unlike Helena who is always insecure. Lastly, Hermia's independence is proven to the audience from the beginning of act one when she continuously talks back to her father and Theseus to not be married to Demetrius. Therefore, in William Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Hermia is the pretty and independent woman while her friend Helena is the exact opposite.
This is evident in the quote where Lysander says, “Athenian law cannot pursue us.” This would not of been a trial for them, but fate had something else in store. “Content with Hermia? No, I do repent The tedious minutes I with her have spent. Not Hermia, but Helena I love” (II.i ll. 118-12). Puck, a fairy, put cupid’s love juice into Lysander’s eyes. This is evident in the quote, “Night and silence! Who is here? Weeds of Athens he doth wear. This is he my master said, despised the Athenian maid, and here the maiden, sleeping on the ground. Pretty soul, she durst not lie near this lack-love, this kill-courtesy. Churl, upon thy eyes I throw all the power of this charm doth owe” (II.i ll. 76-85). As it states in the quote, it made him fall in love with the first person he saw, which happened to be Helena. This is proven when Lysander said, “but Helena I love”. Lysander told Hermia he was in love with Helena, not her, so the elopement was off. This is evident when he says, “I repent the minutes I spent with her.” This is difficult for Hermia because she is confused, and does not know what is going on, or why Lysander was acting this way. This is evident when she takes her
Rebellious, Hermia, and love all these describe Lysander In The Midsummer’s Night Dream by William Shakespeare. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is about a big wedding for Theseus and Hippolyta. Theseus is the duke and he makes all the decisions that include following the Athens law. Egeus has a daughter named Hermia and he wants her to marry Demetrius. She loves Lysander and doesn’t want anything to do with Demetrius. At Theseus’ wedding, he is having a play after Pyramus and Thisbe. Lysander’s love is very passionate.
Theseus supports his argument, saying: “Be advised, fair maid / To you your father shall be as a god: / One that composed your beauties; yea, and one / To whom you are but as a form in wax / By him imprinted; and within his power / To leave the figure, or disfigure it” (I.i.48-53). Hermia faces much more serious consequences than her father’s wrath, however. When Hermia states that she loves Lysander, and not her father’s choice, Demetrius, Theseus tells her the full extent of the law. If she did not comply and marry Demetrius, they would send her to a nunnery or condemn her to
Hermia’s father, Egeus, wants her to marry Demetrius. Hermia is in love with Lysander and does not want to marry Demetrius. Demetrius truly loves Hermia. Helena, who was once engaged to Demetrius, still loves him. The whole story is a convoluted love triangle. Because Egeus will not allow Hermia and Lysander to marry, they are running away to his aunt’s town and eloping. Helena hears word of it and secretly tells Demetrius. They both go into the woods in search of their lover.
Theseus and Oberon are both compassionate and understanding towards the young lovers, Hermia and Lysander, and Helena and Demetrius. They are involved in a love triangle that encompasses matters of the law and love. Demetrius intends to marry Hermia, although, she shares a mutual love with Lysander; Helena loves Demetrius, although, he no longer loves her. Theseus, as the Duke of Athens, maintains the laws and standards of Athenian society. He acknowledges “the Ancient privilege of Athens” (I.1.41) that allows Egeus to “dispose of” (I.1.42) Hermia. This law permits Egeus to give his daughter to Demetrius or “to death, according to [the] law” (I.1.44). However, Theseus takes pity on Hermia and gives he...
Hermia is the daughter of Egeus. She is a tiny woman that possessed sparkling eyes and a lovely voice. Hermia is very adamant about what she wants from the balance of the play. She has only eyes for Lysander and is very faithful, even when faced with the obstacles of death or the nunnery. Throughout the play Hermia emotions were confused at times. She even says "Am I not Hermia? Are you not Lysander? (Act III Scene 2 Line 292). We see at this point that she is confused and her feelings are hurt. At that very moment I think she feels like she has lost part of herself, a part that she has given to Lysander. So when Lysander returns to her, she is her self once again.
In the first part of the play Egeus has asked the Duke of Athens, Theseus, to rule in favor of his parental rights to have his daughter Hermia marry the suitor he has chosen, Demetrius, or for her to be punished. Lysander, who is desperately in love with Hermia, pleads with Egeus and Theseus for the maiden’s hand, but Theseus’, who obviously believes that women do not have a choice in the matter of their own marriage, sides with Egeus, and tells Hermia she must either consent to marrying Demetrius, be killed, or enter a nunnery. In order to escape from the tragic dilemma facing Hermia, Lysander devises a plan for him and his love to meet the next evening and run-off to Lysander’s aunt’s home and be wed, and Hermia agrees to the plan. It is at this point in the story that the plot becomes intriguing, as the reader becomes somewhat emotionally “attached’’ to the young lovers and sympathetic of their plight. However, when the couple enters the forest, en route to Lysander’s aunt’s, it is other mischievous characters that take the story into a whole new realm of humorous entertainment...
Hermia is contesting the law because she has two people pursuing her. One that her father has chosen for her to marry and another that has won her heart over. Hermia wants to marry Lysander the one that has won her heart, but since her father does not approve of him she is being forced to marry Demetrius.
When Lysander is speaking to Hermia in Act I, Scene I; he is both stating a truth about the mystery of love, as while as foreshadowing the upcoming trouble in the play. Egeus has made his demands that his daughter obey him and marry Demetrius. The tension between the father and the chosen lover of his daughter has set the conflict into motion. Demetrius has left with Theseus, Hippolyta and Egeus to discuss the wedding of the Duke of the Athens. The young lovers Lysander and Hermia are left on stage and he tells her in Lines 132-134: “For aught that I could ever read, Could ever hear by tale or history, The course of true love never did run smooth.” He speaks these words to comfort Hermia, but neither has any idea of the crazy night that will come in the
According to social order in ancient time, it demands that daughter should obey her father’s will. Egeus' family order is threatened because his daughter Hermia wants to marry Lysander when he wants her to marry Demetrius. According to social order in ancient time, it demands that daughter should obey her father’s will in Act 1 scene 1 Line 65-78:
The first example of conflict with authority in the play is the premiere example and sets up the conflict for the rest of the play. This example that occurs during the play is in the opening scene of act 1. Here we see Theseus warning Hermia not to disobey her father and advising her that Egeus created her and can "discreate" her if he chooses. Hermia is reminded that Athenian law provides that a father shall have total control of his daughter’s life until the daughter is married. Even though Hermia does not want to marry Demetrius, the law says she has no choice and must conform to her father’s wishes. If Egeus’s authority hadn’t been the supreme authority, than Hermia and Lysander wouldn’t have had to flee Athens for their love.
In the struggles of Hermia and Lysander to find a place where they can freely express their true love, it is evident that the course of something as scarce as true love always comes with obstacles. Lysander says: “How now, my love? Why is your cheek so pale? / How chance the roses there do fade so fast?” (1.1.130-131), showing that he and Hermia make a faithful couple truly showing their adoration for each other. However, Hermia’s father Egeus refuses to allow to these two lovers marry. This is the conflict Hermia faces: to disobey her father (and the Athenian law), or to mind her father’s will and allow this “edict in destiny” to lose course. “O hell, to choose love by another’s eyes!” (1.1.142), Hermia decides. Hermia chooses to follow the path her true love brings rather than to do what her father insists. In this example, complications manifest in the troubles with true love. In addition, even Titania and Oberon have difficulties