The vast majority of people today would not only consider the societal standards of the 16th century old-fashioned but also foolish and even cruel. Shakespeare is in agreement agreed with these modern-day views when he wrote A Midsummer Night's Dream. In Act 3, Scene 2, he speaks through Puck when the fairy says, “Lord, what fools these mortals be!” (3.2.115). Shakespeare considered aspects of his society as foolish and wished to inspire change by presenting these situations to his audience. In the play, Shakespeare shows the loss of dignity one may experience when infatuated with someone through Helena and Demetrius’ dynamic. In addition, he brings light to the issue of fathers considering their daughters as property with the dispute
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Fathers owned their daughters and made the decisions for them. If a woman was to speak against, act against, or love against their father’s will, hethat man could destroy his property by killing her. While A Midsummer Night’s Dream is was a Shakespearean comedy, in which there is always a happy ending entailed for the characters, Hermia’s triumph over her father was an intentional detail added by Shakespeare. He did not agree with the archaic concept of father’s deciding their daughter’s love and he believed the notion of Athenian Law to be ridiculous. Shakespeare wrote constantly about love and appeared to be a passionate person, as was reflected in his writing. He found it foolish that one human would be able to take away another’s freedom and to choose who they loved. This same disdain for Athenian Law and the nature of father-daughter relationships at the time is illustrated by Hermia when she expresses: “Oh, hell, to choose love by another’s eyes!” (1.1.140). Although she dealt with numerous obstacles on her path to true love, Shakespeare ensured that she would overcome Egeus’ threat to kill her, and in return, marry Lysander. Therefore, when Theseus overrules Egeus’ wish to execute Athenian Law on Hermia, Shakespeare is voicing his own belief that fathers choosing their daughtersn's husband was …show more content…
Puck viewed the mortals as fools and this was true within the play, and to Shakespeare himself. He believed that humans were fools for losing control over themselves after falling hopelessly in love, allowing fathers to treat their daughters as property, being boastful, and not being able to separate illusion from reality. As an individual observing from outside the society, the fairy Puck finds the dilemmas the humans endure to be silly and amusing, which is a reflection how Shakespeare felt during his
Fathers owned their daughters and made the decisions for them. If a woman was to speak against, act against, or love against their father’s will, hethat man could destroy his property by killing her. While A Midsummer Night’s Dream is was a Shakespearean comedy, in which there is always a happy ending entailed for the characters, Hermia’s triumph over her father was an intentional detail added by Shakespeare. He did not agree with the archaic concept of father’s deciding their daughter’s love and he believed the notion of Athenian Law to be ridiculous. Shakespeare wrote constantly about love and appeared to be a passionate person, as was reflected in his writing. He found it foolish that one human would be able to take away another’s freedom and to choose who they loved. This same disdain for Athenian Law and the nature of father-daughter relationships at the time is illustrated by Hermia when she expresses: “Oh, hell, to choose love by another’s eyes!” (1.1.140). Although she dealt with numerous obstacles on her path to true love, Shakespeare ensured that she would overcome Egeus’ threat to kill her, and in return, marry Lysander. Therefore, when Theseus overrules Egeus’ wish to execute Athenian Law on Hermia, Shakespeare is voicing his own belief that fathers choosing their daughtersn's husband was …show more content…
Puck viewed the mortals as fools and this was true within the play, and to Shakespeare himself. He believed that humans were fools for losing control over themselves after falling hopelessly in love, allowing fathers to treat their daughters as property, being boastful, and not being able to separate illusion from reality. As an individual observing from outside the society, the fairy Puck finds the dilemmas the humans endure to be silly and amusing, which is a reflection how Shakespeare felt during his