A Midsummer Nights Dream And Richard II Vs Othello Essay

This paper will examine the treatment of women in William Shakespeare’s one or two plays: A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Richard II vs Othello. In Midsummer Night’s Dream, we encounter four main female characters who come from three different backgrounds. It is a play that shows a good picture of woman’s lack of freedom. It is a story of several couples about of which there is a fairy king, Oberon, who proves his dominion over the queen of the fairies. There was a conflict between Oberon and Titania about who should keep the Indian child, whose mother had died recently. Titania does not want to give the child up but Oberon wants to make him a servant. Ultimately, Oberon wins by using a trick on Titania, revealing his weakness. Shakespeare†¦show more content†¦He treats her as if she is property and not his own flesh and blood. Hermia demonstrates her strength because she repeatedly refuses her father’s pleas and Theseus as well. In this play , Helena, Hermia, and Hippolyta are women residing in the Athenian society. Hermia, is in love with Lysander and runs away. Hippolyta is captured by King Theseus and forced to marry him. Helena is desperately in love with Demetrius, who does not like her back. Hippolyta is to marry Theseus, you can say she represents the leadership in the mortal world. Titania is another leading character who is the queen of the fairy land. Hermia and Helena represent young women who are trying to find the right partner for themselves. Othello serves as an example to demonstrate the expectations of the Elizabethan society patriarchal society, the practice of privileges in patriarchal marriages, and the suppression and restriction of femininity. There were only three women in Othello. Desdemona, Emilia, and Bianca: the way that these women behave and conduct themselves is undeniably linked to the moral expectations of Shakespeare’s Elizabethan society and to the patriarchal Venetian society that he creates. He viewed women as possessions. For example, Othello speaks to his ensign Iago, describing him as a man of â€Å"honesty and trust†, in forming the Duke that â€Å"To his conveyance I assign my wife† (I.3.283) (TNS, 2014). Desdemona is treated as his possession; he implies that she is a