How did Shakespeare use the role of women in Elizabethan times in his play? Do you think he aimed to show society's unjust treatment of women?

Shakespeare may have intended to comment on the generally subservient role of women in his society, but, as always, it is safer to write social commentary through the lens of another culture. Some of his most powerful political analyses are his Roman plays, like Julius Caesar and Coriolanus. His trenchant criticism of self-righteousness can be seen in Measure for Measure, a play that takes place in Vienna. Even though these tales have universally recognizable elements, it is easier to point out the flaws in one’s own society by critiquing a society that is removed from one’s own.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is set in ancient Athens, features a number of female characters, all of which are powerful in their own way. However, they are also all subject to the control of men. Hermia has no autonomy under the law. She must marry the man her father chooses rather than the one she loves. If she refuses, her fate is “Either to die the death or to abjure / For ever the society of men.” Thanks to some fairy magic, she is able to marry her lover Lysander and escape “the sharp Athenian law.” Helena pursues and harasses her former lover Demetrius, but, unlike Demetrius, she has no legal recourse to force him to marry her.

Even Hippolyta and Titania, Queen of the Amazons and Queen of the Fairies, respectively, seem subject to their husbands. Theseus conquered the Amazons and took Hippolyta as his future wife, admitting, “I woo'd thee with my sword, / And won thy love, doing thee injuries.” Titania stands against her husband Oberon by keeping “a little changeling boy” that he wants as his henchman. She tells him of the child’s emotional value to her, how she was close to his mother and keeps the boy for her sake. Oberon decides to humiliate her by giving her a love potion that makes her fall in love with Bottom, a foolish weaver and actor whose head is transformed into a donkey’s.

It is difficult to know whether this depiction of sexism is entirely intentional on Shakespeare’s part and even if it is meant to apply to Elizabethan society. Certainly he portrays the Athenian law, which is ultimately thwarted, as ridiculously harsh towards women. Whatever the case, there are certainly interesting depictions of gender roles and battles of the sexes in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.