Shakespeare uses A Midsummer Night’s Dream to question whether or not joy can actually arise out of love and relationships. From the opening scene, we are introduced to characters who are unhappy because of romantic relationships – Hermia is faced with a tough choice, Egeus is upset by his daughter’s boyfriend, Demetrius is facing unrequited love as is Helena, Titania and Oberon are at breaking point, and Hippolyta isn’t overly thrilled about her soonto- be husband. While everyone does end up with a ‘happy’ ending, the audience is left to wonder whether it is so happy after all because, for example, Demetrius is only in love with Helena because of a magic potion, and Titania has lost her little Indian boy after being humiliated by her husband. This open ending suggests that love can’t bring happiness and actually can do more harm than good.
