midsummer night's dream

The dynamics of man’s dominance over women are examined in a variety of ways in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Frequent allusions to rape provide strong evidence in support of this theme. Lions, bulls, donkeys, and other animals symbolic of masculinity and virility surface as examples of male power. The moon becomes symbolic for women and all-female societies such as the Amazons, nuns, and Helena and Hermia – and in its symbol provides a contrast …

…a means to disregard everything they’ve seen and pass it off as “but a dream” (5:1, 423). This escape route allows us to keep our eyes closed to what we’ve seen and remain secure in our prior beliefs, whatever they may be. It also provides interesting insight into the play – it tells us that the play is only what we make of it – a sort of reflection of ourselves and what we want to see.