[Describing A Midsummer Night's Dream as similar to a fertility rite, Gamer discusses the sexual, psychological, and social implications if Shakespeare's comedy. More than a simple celebration if erotic love, the play, Gamer maintains, reflects certain attitudes characteristic of male-dominated societies. For example, a woman s entire existence, particularly her sexual and emotional life, is controlled by a powerful male figure, as illustrated by Egeus's almost incestuous possessiveness toward his daughter Hermia. Further. the extent of a woman's sexual and emotional freedom, Garner argues, is determined by male desire. Thus conventional heterosexual love flourishes only if certain conditions, determined by the male protagonists, are satisfied. For example, a woman must sever all her emotional ties with other women to assuage her husband's fears of possible rejection. As Gamer concludes, "the male characters think they can.....
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