Shakespeare shows the importance of not taking everything at face values in his use of romantic relationships in his plays. Instead of making them straightforward romances, he adds enough characterization and plot instances that make you question just how normal these couples are. When taking a look at the couples in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, and briefly at Othello, the complexity of the relationships shows that nothing is quite as it seems.
The first couples we’re going to be looking into are those from A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Titania and Oberon, Hermia and Lysander, and Helena and Demetrius. Titania and Oberon, the queen and king of the fey, possess rather mischievous personalities that compliment the other well …show more content…
Hermia and Lysander, the first of the two young couples, start off as young lovers who are forbidden to be together. They are well matched in age and status, which is very important in possible marriage partners, but Hermia’s father has chosen another for her to marry. Heartbroken, the two decide to run away together and elope. Their lovesick escapade is cut short by Demetrius, another man who is in love with Hermia as well as her father’s choice of spouse, and Helena, who pines after Demetrius. After witnessing an altercation between Demetrius and Helena, Oberon decides to “fix” the problem by sending his servant Puck to administer the juice of a magic flower in Demetrius’s eyes which, upon waking, would cause him to fall in love with the first person he sees, who Oberon plans to be Helena. Unfortunately for Puck, he’s never seen either Demetrius or Lysander before and mixes them up, causing Lysander to fall in love with Helena. This moment is where one of the first troubling issues occurs, making the reader question the strength of Hermia and Lysander’s romance. The first time Hermia and Lysander interact after the juice takes effect Lysander’s feelings have completely switched …show more content…
This interaction is concerning in multiple ways. First of all, we know from previous conversations that Demetrius is mentally abusive to Helena and yet Helena still loves him. Second, she’s now allowing him to be physically abusive to her as well, which is not healthy in a relationship. We never see Demetrius fully strike Helena but it’s implicated that he has gotten physical with her by the way Helena says “The more you beat me”. From the start, this relationship seems doomed to fail. Demetrius, however, soon falls under the power of the same love magic as Lysander and falls completely in love with Helena, forgetting how horrible he’s been to her. Even Helena doesn’t seem to believe it, as she initially thinks that everyone is ganging up on her to make a fool out of her. Demetrius never wavers for the rest of the play, convincing Helena, and the two get married. Are we satisfied with this ending? Allan Lewis, in his article about the relationships in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, makes a compelling point: “[Demetrius’] acceptance of Helena at the end of the play results from the application of a love potion, not from the self-discovery of a true relationship. Nor do the lovers resolve anything themselves, but are pawns in the hands of unseen and unknown outside forces” (Lewis, 254). Demetrius is still under the effects of the flower, his
The first couples we’re going to be looking into are those from A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Titania and Oberon, Hermia and Lysander, and Helena and Demetrius. Titania and Oberon, the queen and king of the fey, possess rather mischievous personalities that compliment the other well …show more content…
Hermia and Lysander, the first of the two young couples, start off as young lovers who are forbidden to be together. They are well matched in age and status, which is very important in possible marriage partners, but Hermia’s father has chosen another for her to marry. Heartbroken, the two decide to run away together and elope. Their lovesick escapade is cut short by Demetrius, another man who is in love with Hermia as well as her father’s choice of spouse, and Helena, who pines after Demetrius. After witnessing an altercation between Demetrius and Helena, Oberon decides to “fix” the problem by sending his servant Puck to administer the juice of a magic flower in Demetrius’s eyes which, upon waking, would cause him to fall in love with the first person he sees, who Oberon plans to be Helena. Unfortunately for Puck, he’s never seen either Demetrius or Lysander before and mixes them up, causing Lysander to fall in love with Helena. This moment is where one of the first troubling issues occurs, making the reader question the strength of Hermia and Lysander’s romance. The first time Hermia and Lysander interact after the juice takes effect Lysander’s feelings have completely switched …show more content…
This interaction is concerning in multiple ways. First of all, we know from previous conversations that Demetrius is mentally abusive to Helena and yet Helena still loves him. Second, she’s now allowing him to be physically abusive to her as well, which is not healthy in a relationship. We never see Demetrius fully strike Helena but it’s implicated that he has gotten physical with her by the way Helena says “The more you beat me”. From the start, this relationship seems doomed to fail. Demetrius, however, soon falls under the power of the same love magic as Lysander and falls completely in love with Helena, forgetting how horrible he’s been to her. Even Helena doesn’t seem to believe it, as she initially thinks that everyone is ganging up on her to make a fool out of her. Demetrius never wavers for the rest of the play, convincing Helena, and the two get married. Are we satisfied with this ending? Allan Lewis, in his article about the relationships in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, makes a compelling point: “[Demetrius’] acceptance of Helena at the end of the play results from the application of a love potion, not from the self-discovery of a true relationship. Nor do the lovers resolve anything themselves, but are pawns in the hands of unseen and unknown outside forces” (Lewis, 254). Demetrius is still under the effects of the flower, his