Shakespeare's play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," explores the impurities of love during the Elizabethan era. Characters of this play are all living luxurious lives, allowing readers to focus on the problems of their relationships. Four lovers explore their sexuality through escaping the town of Rome filled with law and order. A flower called "love in idleness"" was used to make the four lovers; Hermia, Helena, Demetrius and Lysander fall in and out of love with each other. Areas such as the forest emphasize the use of unrestricted love because it is broken off from the city of Rome. Love is interpreted in countless fashions in our world today and the definition changes drastically due to the beliefs of time periods and geographical location. .
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" is focused on these sets of lovers that are interchangeable throughout the entire play, finally ending in a marriage. This could be interpreted in two fashions: either Shakespeare is attempting to comment that one must see others before they truly know the "one " for them or is finding humor in the current polygamous relationships. In the beginning of the play, Hermia is arranged to marry Demetrius by her father, Egeus. Shakespeare voices through Egeus and Hermia's dialogue that the decision of marriage is not up to the woman in the relationship. They converse and Hermia is trying to get her point across that her father would understand why she prefers Lysander if only "my father looked but with my eyes"" (1.1.58). Theseus responds stating that "Rather your eyes with his judgment look"" (1.1.59). Theseus' response shows that women should not be in charge of who they love during Shakespeare's time period, rather they should have the decision made for them. This conversation gives us a small insight to Shakespeare's societal outlook on how love was arranged back in his time period. .
Women are consistently being viewed as property throughout the play rather than an object that is affectionately cared for.