This was my first encounter with William
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
and was also my first time reading a Shakespearean comedy. In my experience
with Greek theatre, I have learned that the most important difference between a
comedy and a tragedy is the outcome of the play; if it is a tragedy, it ends
badly for the protagonist and if it is a comedy, it ends with the protagonist
in improved circumstances. Despite being a comedy, I noted that there were several
elements more common to tragedy present throughout the play. The play begins
with Theseus and Hippolyta’s discussion of their wedding day, which introduces
the subject matter of love and marriage. Through their discourse, Shakespeare also
alludes to one of the tragic elements of the play – the helplessness of women
to control the path of their own lives. Theseus tells Hippolyta, “I wooed thee
with my sword,/And won thy love doing thee injuries,” which informs the
audience that he captured her in conquest of the Amazons and that her marriage
to him is not by choice (16-17). Hippolyta only has a small speaking role in
this play. She is a woman without agency or a strong voice, so we never learn
her feelings about her forced marriage to Theseus. Her muted role in the play
reflects the nature of her suppression and lack of agency.
In class I learned that Hippolyta
and Theseus are often thought to mirror the Queen and King of Fairies, Titania
and Oberon. While Theseus rules the realm of Athens as Duke with his soon-to-be
wife and Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta, Oberon and Titania rule the magical
and fantastical dreamlike realm. While Hippolyta is relatively silent, Titania
has a strong speaking role in this play. Despite this distinction, she is also
controlled and ultimately subjugated by her husband. She represents the
limitations of women’s power over their own motherhood and sexuality in
marriage. When her servant dies in childbirth, Titania raises the son the
servant left behind. The fate of Titania’s adopted son comprises her chief
conflict with Oberon. While Titania wants to continue to raise the boy on her
terms, Oberon desires to make the boy his “page of honor.” When Titania
refuses, Oberon overrules her by shaming her and mocking her sexuality. He
orders Robin Goodfellow the puck to magically transform Bottom the weaver’s
head into an ass’s head. Robin is then asked to place a potion on Titania’s
eyes under which she will fall in love with ass-headed Bottom. These events
provide ample humor for the play, but they are also important because they
result in Titania’s submission to Oberon’s will. On one hand, Titania’s sexual
encounter with ass-headed Bottom reflects Oberon’s control of her sexuality.
Shakespeare originally presents Titania and Oberon as sexually equivalent
figures through their parallel affairs with engaged couple Hippolyta and
Theseus. Titania loses this equivalency, however, when Oberon mocks her
sexuality by magically forcing her to have sex with a mutant donkey-man. In
addition to gaining control over her sexuality, Oberon uses this trickery to
obtain Titania’s foster son. He refuses to release Titania from her humiliating
trance until he achieves this victory. Oberon presents us with a vivid image of
her disgrace in the moment that he discovers her winding flowers around the
hairy temples of Bottom, at which point he taunts her with pleasure. This
humiliating image conveys a mockery of female power and sexuality. The scene
reflects the wife’s submission to the desires of the husband, which was
certainly expected and even legally required in a sense in Shakespeare’s
England. As Oberon conquers Titania and forces her to submit to his will,
Theseus physically conquers Hippolyta in battle and forces her to marry him.
These parallel characters reflect the distribution of power and control in
marriage in 1590s England.
Significantly, the women who do acquire
the men they love are only able to do so because of magic. Through the
fantastical elements of the play, Shakespeare creates a space where women have
the ability to determine their fates. Shakespeare creates Hippolyta and
parallel character Titania to contrast to the happy fates of Helena and Hermia.
Hippolyta and Titania’s lack of control over their destinies reflects the lack
of agency borne by women in Shakespeare’s England. In contrast, Helena is able
to marry the man she loves, Demetrius, and Hermia is able to marry the man she
loves, Lysander, because of a powerful love potion distributed on Oberon’s
orders. At the onset of the play, Hermia’s father, Egeus, seeks Theseus’ help
to force his daughter to marry Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander are in love and
Helena is in love with Demetrius, who has apparently had some sort of
undisclosed romantic relations with her before seeking Hermia’s hand in
marriage. Theseus determines that Hermia must marry Demetrius or choose to die
for her disobedience. Theseus’ ruling on Hermia and Demetrius’ marriage further
reflects women’s lack of control over their own fates. But in this case, magic
provides the female lovers with an opportunity to control their destinies. The
magical potion that results in Demetrius’ newfound affections for Helena allows
the women to have the husbands of their choosing.
However, this outcome comes at a
price: the questionable legitimacy of Demetrius’ love for Helena. In class, we
debated the role of the potion. While some argued that Demetrius’ love for
Helena was forced and false, I argued that the potion gave Demetrius the push
he needed to see Helena in a new light but that he ultimately had loved her all
along. This is supported by the allusions to their past romantic affair. If I
adopt the opposing view, then the outcome of the play simply reflects a
reversal of gender roles in which the man is forced into a marriage rather than
the woman. But I believe that my understanding of the events reflects the
outcome that is best for all, including Demetrius. Demetrius’ engagement with
Hermia was sought out of superficial desires whereas his relationship with
Helena was preexisting and will most likely result in a happier marriage.
Shakespeare’s magic allows the lovers to break political and social barriers
and find happiness in one another. They could only find this happiness through
magic, which reflects the real-world unlikeliness that women could significantly
alter the paths of their courtships and marriage in 1590s England.
Shakespeare, William. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The Norton
Shakespeare. Ed.
Stephen
Greenblatt. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2009. 189-246.
Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment