In recent years, A Midsummer Night's Dream has become an important text for feminist Shakespeare scholars, due largely to the play's portrayal of women and femininity throughout its five acts. In many ways, the play represents a direct challenge to patriarchal systems of governance and social control: while Theseus appears in the first act of the play, once Hermia and the other characters run into the woods, the king of Athens is nowhere to be found. Theseus has long been regarded as a symbol of patriarchal order and control, and the events of the play that take place outside the bounds of Athens have been interpreted as a feminine "retreat" from the male-dominated sphere of Ancient Greece.
Indeed, the middle section of the play is rife with imagery of fertility, femininity, and female friendships. Titania recalls spending time with the Indian prince's mortal mother with such intimate detail that many have interpreted her speech as commentary on queer love. Hermia and Helena are both portrayed as young women who are transitioning from girlhood to adulthood – and as such, are learning to defy the figures in their lives who deny them autonomy, like Hermia's father Egeus.
Finally, the entire setting of A Midsummer Night's Dream seems invested in exploring femininity, as characters frequently comment on the state of the moon (a classic symbol of femininity and fertility) as well as the mysterious nature of the woods. In early modern England, unexplored or "dark" territory was often equated with the womb and other parts of the female body. In the play, the primary setting is one that captivates and disorients its characters in the same way that foreign lands did for early modern English explorers, prompting them to compare their travels to the ultimate "mystery" of a woman's womb. In this way, the play answers the staunch patriarchal ideology expressed by Theseus with a lighthearted but dreamy exploration into a distinctly more feminine space, ultimately rewarding characters for their desire to stray out of the predictable and controlled setting of urban life.
