After our discussion in class, I continued to think about the way A Midsummer Night’s Dream challenges a patriarchal view of society. Obviously, the opening scene in which Egeus comes to Theseus is loaded with implications about the rights that men have in this society. The idea that a father has the right to determine the fate of his daughter is perhaps the most literal patriarchal right there can be, seeing as it is a father controlling his children. However, a different representation of a patriarchal relationship is present in this scene as well. I found that despite barely speaking in the scene, Demetrius’ role is extremely significant. The fact is that the only power Egeus holds is in Demetrius’ assertion that he must marry Hermia despite knowing fully well that she does not want to. It would be one thing if Demetrius’ father were also present, as his father and Egeus may have had some kind of mutually beneficial arrangement involving wedding their children. However, that is not the case. Instead, Demetrius is there blatantly attempting to marry someone who has no interest in him at all, and in fact, Hermia is interested in someone else who is standing right there in the same room. In Demetrius’ only line of the scene, he asserts “Lysander, yield Thy crazed title to my certain right”. If we ignore the idea of having love present in a relationship completely, this is still an interesting assertion because this ‘certain right’ he refers to is a right given to him by a father, Egeus.

Another scene involving Demetrius has an interesting dialogue on what the ‘appropriate’ way to go about a relationship is, and that is in the second act when he is talking to Helena in the woods. We know that it would be simpler for Demetrius to just be in love with Helena, but of course, that is not how love works. The real issue is in that Demetrius refuses to give Helena a chance, but is upset that Hermia won’t give him a chance. It’s truly hypocritical and the only excuse he has is that he is a man, and only men should chase women, not the other way around. Helena does a fantastic job of challenging this convention, particularly in her final line before Demetrius leaves the stage. She states sarcastically: “We cannot fight for love, as men may do; We should be wood and were not made to woo.” She is essentially challenging the thought that women are objects that are meant to be won. She feels like she should be allowed to try and win over Demetrius, and of course, she should have every right to. The only real question is, why does she even love this idiot in the first place?

The only assumption we can make is that Demetrius is not really in love with Hermia, so I’m interested to know what is his actual intentions are. As Helena says before the end of Act I, “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; And therefore is wing’d Cupid painted blind”. True love is not about looks, so if all Demetrius is interested in is looks, then he has yet to experience true love. However, I have a feeling he will be forced to pretty soon.