I
think the point of this play is that everyone has a soul mate that they are
meant to be with. Despite all of the chaos that may happen in life, as seen by
the chaos in the forest and with the flower juice, everyone will ultimately end
up with the person they are meant to be with. This play involves deceit, disorder,
and turmoil, but love shines through it all and everyone ends up happily ever
after.
When considering the character
Hermia one notices that she is willing to fight for her love in any way, and
stand up for what she believes in. She values true love and friendship, and
feels betrayed by both Lysander and Helena once Lysander falls in love with Helena.
You can sense that she has low
self-esteem being a maiden because she assumes that Helena is referring to her
height when she is called a ‘puppet’. At first, she is calm about the
situation, but once she fully comprehends and is first insulted by Helena, she
wants to fight. She is feisty, and the play pins the two main women on one
another, instead of putting any blame on the men. I think this once again
illustrates an unequal role for men and women in the time period, as other
plays we have read. The women end up doing the fighting and name calling while
the men watch. I think this overlaps with the overall point of the play in that
love is something worth fighting for, not necessarily physically. There are all
of these different situations, all chaotic, between the different groups of
characters, who are of different intelligence levels, social classes and
genders. However, love is a main theme they all share. Love is a significant
emotion that all experience, despite our differences.
“Lines
168-179
Hermia:
My good Lysander,
I
swear to thee, by Cupid’s strongest bow,
By
his best arrow with the golden head,
By
the simplicity of Venus’ doves,
By
that which knitteth souls and prospers loves,
And
by that fire which burn’d the Carthage queen
When
the false Troyan under sail was seen,
By
all the vows that ever men have broke
(In
number more than ever women spoke),
In
that same place thou hast appointed me
To-morrow
truly will I meet with thee.
Lysander:
Keep promise, love. Look, here comes Helena.”
In this passage where Helena is speaking
to Lysander, she is discussing their plans to meet in the woods and run away in
the night to his aunt’s house. This illustrates her willingness to fight for
their love, despite the costs. The author makes it clear that one should fight
for love justly because Helena does nothing deceitful. The four main lovers all
manage to attain their love without deceit. The juice from the flower
represents fate, and how love is out of our control. Yet Puck and Oberon are
the ones being deceitful by using the juice from the flower to control which
people fall in love with one another. I think through this the author is
condoning doing whatever necessary to fight for love.
Additionally, I think the theme of
inequality of sexes is touched specifically in this passage, when Hermia
states, “By all the vows that ever men have broke, (In number more than ever
women spoke)”. This reminded me of the others plays, like Medea where men are
the ones deceiving women through the use of love. More men have broken vows
than women have ever even spoke in other plays as well, like when Jason broke
his vows with Medea.
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