A Midsummer Nights Dream - A Feminist Perspective Essay

A Feminist Perspective of A Midsummer Nights Dream At age fifteen, my hormones went wild and I threw myself at every boy in the neighborhood. Although I didn’t go all the way, I offered as much flesh as I dared. If the suburbs can create such sexual angst, imagine the lust stirred by moonlight, fairies, and a warm midsummer night. In Shakespeares comedy A Midsummer Nights Dream, Helena represents the frenzy of young love when fueled by rejection and driven to masochistic extremes. As the lovers sink deeper into the fantasy world of starlit woods, the Greek virtue of moderation disappears. Emotions intensify to a melodramatic pitch. Helena, in particular, plunges to a primitive and desperate level of passion.†¦show more content†¦The anquish of unreturned love seems worse than a physical blow. With self esteem shattered, Helena will accept any affirmation of her existence in the shadow of vibrant Hermia. Lynn Chancer explains the psychological dynamic: the masochist keeps searching, hoping, pursuing, looking outward toward the sadist for the approval and recognition she or he would dearly love to feel from within (Chancer 66). Without a strong ego, Helena accepts any response from Demetrius and clings to his expressed hatred. Helena cries, Use me but as your Spaniel, spurn me, strike me,/ Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave,/ Unworthy as I am, to follow you (II. i. 205-6). Helena offers herself as household pet and whipping post. She exchanges dignity for the chance to trot after Demetrius like an eager puppy. Her proposal comes strikingly close to modern sado-masochistic pornography. Sexologist G.W. Levi Kamel describes the SM game of kennel discipline with submissives licking the masters boots, being led around on a leash, wearing a dog collar, and even being forced to eat from a dog bowl ... (Kamel 165). Already reduced to chasing her loved one through the forest, Helenas romantic aspirations become distorted: What worser place can I beg in your love  ­/ And yet a place of high respect with me  ­/ Than to be usà ©d as you use your dog? (II. i. 208-210). Helenas desire to be a domesticated animal contrasts with Bottoms transformation into an ass. AlthoughShow MoreRelated A Midsummer Night’s Dream - The Feminist Subtext Essay1905 Words   |  8 PagesThe Feminist Subtext of A Midsummer Nights Dream    Shakespeares works have persistently influenced humanity for the past four hundred years. Quotations from his plays are used in many other works of literature and some common phrases have even become integrated into the English language. Most high schoolers have been unsuccessful in avoidance of him and college students are rarely afforded the luxury of choice when it comes to studying the bard. Many aspects of Shakespeares works have beenRead MoreMeg 1,2,3,4 Ignou1582 Words   |  7 PagesMBG.O2: BRITISH DRAMA ASSIGNMENT (Based on Blocks 1-9) Programme Code: MEG Assignment Code: MEG-02/TMN20L2-2013 Maximum Marks: 100 1. 2. 3. Discuss Dr. Faustu,s as a tragedy (10) (10) (10) (10) (10) (10) (10) (10) In what ways is A Midsummer Nights Dream a Shakespeareancomedy? Comment on the role of the ghost in Hamlet. 4. Would you consider Alchemist an allegory? 5. Write down the plot of the Playboy. 6. How is Pygmalion a Shavian play? 7. Comment on the uniqueness of Murder in the CathedralRead MoreThe Theme Of Homo Eroticism Within The Play As You Like It And How It Differs From Various Other3688 Words   |  15 Pagesbuilds both upon feminist challenges to the idea that gender is part of the essential self and upon gay/lesbian studies close examination of the socially acknowledged nature of sexual acts and identities. Whereas gay/lesbian studies focused its inquiries into natural and unnatural behaviour with respect to homosexual behaviour, queer theory expands its focus to encompass any kind of sexual activity or identity that falls into normative and deviant categories. Italian feminist and film theoristRead MoreGender Roles in Shakespeare1834 Words   |  8 Pagesof gender in Renaissance drama are tied to their original presentation: bearing the traces of their history in a theatrical enterprise which completely excluded women, (these texts) construct gender from a relentlessly androcentric perspective (Helms 196). It is the ways in which these texts reflect or distort the gender expectations of society, either Elizabethan or contemporary, that is so important. Comedy that centers on the relationship between conventional couples ratherRead MoreGender Stereotypes in Othello Essay2033 Words   |  9 Pagesresults in the betrayal and downfall of many of the characters. The inclusion of such a destructive ending is Shakespeare’s dissatisfaction with the cruel and deceptive nature of societal gender stereotypes and the outcomes that they can have. The perspective of dominance as an idealistic trait for men is also instilled in Othello. His dominance displays a possessive nature, as he tends to objectify and idealize Desdemona. As he struggles to cope with the idea that his perfect wife may be committingRead More Gender Roles in Shakespeare Essay1760 Words   |  8 Pagesof gender in Renaissance drama are tied to their original presentation: quot;bearing the traces of their history in a theatrical enterprise which completely excluded women, (these texts) construct gender from a relentlessly androcentric perspectivequot; (Helms 196). It is the ways in which these texts reflect or distort the gender expectations of society, either Elizabethan or contemporary, that is so important. Comedy that centers on the relationship between conventional couples rather