... the female characters to exist fully outside of conventional norms, others are put back into their place. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the reader recognizes right away that Hermia is not ordinary woman. Her father, Egeus, has dragged Hermia off to Theseus's court in a desperate attempt to compel his daughter to comply with his wish that she marry Demetrius, rather than her ... . Shakespeare permits the women to struggle within and against inflexible social expectations in an effort to determine their own destiny and, in the process, shape the ways in which other people's power and influ...

• Word Count: 2208
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate