Act I Questions

Questions and Answers

1. Is Egeus's anger at Hermia justified?

It really depends on perpective in this case. Egeus is angry with Hermia for disobeying him and not accepting Demetrius, but instead continues to love Lysander and fight for their love. From the perpective of Theseus, who could stand for the Law in this case, Hermia must obey her father's wishes of marrying Demetrius, because, as Egeus's daughter, Hermia is his property. If she does not marry Demetrius she will have to become a nun, or face death. In our perspective, as modern readers, we would think this as repressive for her not to be able to chose who she loves and the punishments unjust. Though children are supposed to obey what their parents command of them, the solutions given to her seem unreasonable. However, in some countries today, there are still arranged marriages, so it really depends on the perspective of the reader, which make Egues's anger aguably justified or not.

2. Why do Lysander and Hermia tell Helena of their plan, knowing that she is a bit crazy?

Lysander and Hermia tell Helena of their plan in hopes that she will keep their secret and won't wonder or miss them too much. They tell her, so that she will be able to take her place by Demetrius's side once Hermia is gone. Instead of understanding that she would have Demetrius all to herself, she tells him and he at once goes looking for them to try and stop Lysander from taking Hermia away.

3. What other reasons would Egeus have for wanting Demetrius to marry Hermia?

In the 19th century, it was common for fathers to pick the man who they want their daughters to marry for a few reasons. One was last name and title, if a man took a fancy for another's daughter and he was a lord or some higher title than the father's family, then naturally, a father would choose that man to marry his daughter. Another was wealth, after all, what father doesn't want his daughter to marry a wealthy man that could help support the family?

4. What similarities do Egeus and Demetrius share?

Egeus and Demetrius are similar in the fact that they are both naive and short sighted. Egeus is this because he believes that by choosing the man that he wants his daughter to marry, he believes that she will just be able to love him even though she loves another man dearly. He does not understand the fact that just because he may see Demetrius as the best man for her to marry, that it may not be the best choice for her. Demetrius is the same as Egeus because of his arrogance that any woman will love him and do his bidding, and his naiveness of believing so.

5. At the end of the act, the characters seem as if they are all on the same path, is this significant or not?

The characters are all on a similar path and as it would seem they will all meet up at one point or another. This is a way for Shakespeare to foreshadow their meet, which will probably be something very significant that may change the course of some peoples desires or affection later in the play.