Women are frequently judged and penalised for their sexuality throughout the play, not only by the males but also by each other. This is another way of Shakespeare showing a lack of validity of even the most prominent females in the book, and also gives the male characters a reason to control the women within the play, affecting the balance of power between genders. This is clear in Act 2, Scene 1; Titania’s attack on Oberon for his many affairs seems not to be centred around Oberon himself but instead the women in these relationships (despite Titania’s own promiscuity). Her particular comment referring to the ‘bouncing amazon’ makes it apparent that the females must compete for the affection of men within the play, and this issue lays in jealousy rather than disapproval of her former lover. …show more content…
Though often interpreted as a fair, gentle man, we see a different side to him here; he peacocks in front of Hippolyta and brags of his intimate competence and the significance it holds in their relationship. Even in his opening line to the play he speaks of the moon and how ‘she lingers my desires’ when speaking of the days to the upcoming wedding; This gives reason to question wether Theseus is marrying for love, as he claims, or simply for his own pleasure and to sustain his reputation as the most powerful man in Athens, with everything surrounding him following his word. Theseus exudes confidence and authority and is rarely disobeyed; He never addresses other as an equal but instead reels off orders to those around him whenever appearing on stage, whether he is demanding that his servants fetch their horns and wake the young lovers or refusing to acknowledge the opinions of his advisor in Act 5, Scene