A Midsummer Night’s Dream | Gender and Sex Roles

Describing A Midsummer Night's Dream as similar to a fertility rite, Shirley Garner, in the first excerpt, discusses the sexual, psychological, and social implications of Shakespeare's comedy. More than a simple celebration of erotic love, the play, Garner maintains, reflects certain attitudes characteristic of male-dominated societies. In the second selection, Jan Kott asserts that A Midsummer Night's Dream is the most erotic of Shakespeare's plays.

Shirley Nelson Garner
[Describing A Midsummer Night's Dream as similar to a fertility rite, Garner discusses the sexual, psychological, and social implications of Shakespeare's comedy. More than a simple celebration of erotic love, the play, Garner maintains, reflects certain attitudes characteristic of male-dominated societies. For example, a woman's entire existence, particularly her sexual and emotional life, is controlled by a powerful male figure, as illustrated by Egeus's almost incestuous possessiveness toward his daughter Hermia. Further, the extent of a woman's...

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