Gender

Shakespeare draws upon the gender paradigms of his time to create a text rich in its exploration of 16th century gender roles and constructs. The very first scene introduces the audience to the complex gender inequity which dominated Shakespeare’s era, particularly through Egeus’ claim that, “As she [Hermia] is mine, I may dispose of her.” Not only does her father believe that he has the right to decide Hermia’s actions for her, but Demetrius feels like he does too. He argues that as he has Egeus’ approval, Hermia should just marry him. This is furthered in Oberon and Titania’s imbalanced relationship which eventually sees Oberon humiliate his wife by forcing her to fall in love with Bottom so that he can steal her Indian changeling.