Feminism in A Midsummer Night's Dream

            Throughout the Shakespearean play A Midsummer Night's Dream, feminism surfaces as a prominent theme. In Shakespeare's time, society considered women as the weaker of the sexes and thought that they should remain subordinate to men. However, the reign of Queen Elizabeth I ushered in a new acceptance of women, giving Shakespeare leave to spread his feminist views throughout his plays. The ideology of feminism emerges in A Midsummer Night's Dream through the opposing settings of Athens and the forest and the characters of Helena, Hermia, and Titania. .
             Although the term "feminism" did not appear until around 1837, the idea has circulated ab ovo throughout history. At the start of the Elizabethan era, women had little rights and almost no say in their own lives. According to Linda Alchin, "Elizabethan Women were subservient to men. They were dependent on their male relatives to support them. They were used to forge alliances with other powerful families through arranged marriages. There was little dispute over such arrangements as Elizabethan woman were raised to believe that they were inferior to men and that men knew better!" (Alchin 1). Women did not often speak out about their situation because they feared the response they would receive from men. However, with the rise of Queen Elizabeth I, a woman's world opened to a new realm of possibilities. Elizabeth never married due to a desire to remain free of male dominance and to rule her country herself. Elizabeth "was answerable to no male member of the family. Had she married[she] would have been expected to obey her husband" (Alchin 1). Because an independent, strong woman ruled the country, other women in the empire felt that they too could gain respect and equality in the eyes of men. Queen Elizabeth's rule also allowed men such as Shakespeare to voice their sympathy with the plight of women.