Emilia from Othello and Helena from A Midsummer Night's Dream both experience a constant battle against male institutions , such as marriage and courtship. These institutions have the effect of turning these women against their own sex and against themselves due to the fact that the institutions impose a gender on them. Both voice their complaints against these institutions and conform to the standards they set, but end up being silenced by the institutions, conveying the idea that conformity to these institutions is not a choice, but a mode of life or death for these women. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay When Helena first appears in Act 1, she is inseparable from her irrational love for a man. She adores Demetrius, but he finds Hermia more attractive. This leads Helena to wish she wasn't herself, which begins her cycle of self-deprecation: "How happy each other can be!" Thanks to Athens, I am considered as beautiful as her. But what about that? Demetrius does not think so” (1.1.226-228). Even if she is considered beautiful by all of Athens, she only desires the affection and admiration of one man, without that she is nothing. Essentially, she wants to be someone or something else to gain Demetrius' favor, which becomes more evident as the characters enter the woods. In this monologue from Helena, she mentions that Hermia stole Demetrius' love from her, which deepens the intra-gender rivalry. This institution of courtship and courtship creates a division between the female sexes as they compete for the desire of men. Although Hermia is not responsible for Demetrius's interest in her, Helena makes her bear the burden in Demetrius' place because she loves him. This creates a rift within the female camaraderie, thus making the men in this room even more powerful and strengthening their control through the divide and conquer method. This idea becomes clearer as the play ventures into the magical woods, where roles are called into question. Emilia faces a similar situation with her husband Iago and his lady Desdemona. The problem at hand is Othello's handkerchief, a seemingly meaningless object that comes to mean everything. Emilia's job as a servant becomes important because her duty is to protect his wife, but she is also "employed" by Iago to be his wife. Immediately, she finds herself caught between the sexes and must choose between her own and that of her husband. Before the handkerchief situation, she is completely submissive to her husband's needs, which leaves her open to his abuse. In Act 2, Scene 1, Iago launches into a tirade about women in front of Desdemona and Emilia, harshly criticizing Emilia for the way she treated him. Emilia is reduced to silence by her husband and it is Desdemona who comes to her defense: “Oh, trust yourself, slanderer! (2.1.129). Conversely, Emilia later favors Iago by giving him the handkerchief sealing Desdemona's fate and death, and by caring for her husband, she silences another woman forever. However, it is Desdemona's situation with Othello that causes Emilia to criticize the institutions of men and men in general, but so far she is totally in love with her husband as emphasized when she states what she will do of the handkerchief: “And give it to Iago. What he will do with it, God knows, not me; I only please his fantasy” (3.3.335). Her words “I have nothing” call attention to the dehumanization and depreciation of herself. She doesn't say "I am", which reinforcesthe idea that she sees herself not as anything, but as Iago's servant. It is interesting to note that Iago's name begins with an "I". Shakespeare uses this capital letter to indicate throughout the play the deception and penetration of Iago's plans, and in this case it implies his control over Emilia. Moreover, she echoes Helena, who is also ready to do anything to please her man and knows nothing else. Now that both women have been placed in precarious situations by institutions, this allows them to criticize the very institutions that placed them there. The situations these two women are placed in by institutions allow them to question the very institutions in which they are trapped. Helena begins to question the institutions of men within the forest, where the laws of Athens do not apply. It is in this area that she can question the powers in place, because upon her return to Athens, she is once again subject to male domination and no longer expresses complaints. However, in the forest she becomes a dynamic character rather than just an overly loving one. At the beginning of the forest sequence, Helena humiliates herself before Demetrius by begging for his love: "What worse place can I beg for in your love - and yet a place of great respect for me - than to be used as you use your dog » (2.1.208-210). This can be compared to Emilia's removal of the word "am" from her speech in that this subjugates her to men, however Helena's rhetorical degradation is much less subtle, emphasizing her romantic plight and irreconcilable desire for Demetrius. Her attempt to "woo" Demetrius ultimately fails in "her opinion" due to a difference between the sexes, as she notes in her rhyming couplet: "We cannot fight for love, as can the men; We should be wooed, and we were not made to woo” (2.1.241-242). Shakespeare uses a verse to emphasize this difference between the sexes, suggesting that it is not just Helena, but rather that all women are incapable of wooing and must remain passive spectators to obtain their lovers. In the forest, the men require potions to begin courting Helena and use a technique similar to the one Helena used towards Demetrius, but it is Helena's reaction to this courting that deserves attention. She has become so corrupted by the male institutions of the court that she can no longer believe that anyone actually has affection for her. Her self-deprecation led her to believe that others could never fall in love with her. As Demetrius and Lysander attempt to seduce her, she remarks that it is a “…manly undertaking, to make a poor maiden's eyes cry” (3.2.157-158). She believes that these two men are deceiving her and berating her for her unwavering love for Demetrius and that is simply what men do. She eventually tires of the contempt she feels from men and no longer wants to be treated that way. She doesn't mind being hated as much as she wants to be respected by others, which is entirely different from her previous reduction of herself to a dog. Once again, the brutality of his speech falls on Hermia, whom Helena believes to be in league with Demetrius and Lysander in this “manly enterprise”. She verbally attacks Hermia, noting, "Our sex, as well, I can blame you, though I alone feel the wound" (3.2.218-219). She separates Hermia as a sex traitor and creates herself as a sex martyr. Due to the actions of men, which are controlled by other men (Puck, Oberon), both women are victimsinstitutional forces. The men are actually playing with them, literally because of Puck and Oberon's actions, but the women fail to see this deception and find themselves mutual enemies. Eventually, instead of attacking their oppressors, the women fight against themselves, with Hermia trying to gouge out Helena's eyes, which shows blindness to male hegemony and seeing through other women to blame rather than men. Not seeing men as they really are. plays a role in Emilia's relationship with Iago. Emilia only begins to open up to the seedy side of men, due to Othello's treatment of Desdemona. After Othello questions Desdemona about the handkerchief, Emilia remarks on the nature of men: “They are but stomachs, and we but food; they eat us greedily, and when they are satisfied, they burp us” (3.4.116-119). This end-of-scene speech adds to the list of women's sufferings, men are only interested as long as women meet their needs, but when women are no longer needed, they are kicked out of men's lives, which which sheds light on how Iago treats her, but she sees Iago as a glorious man to be honored. Her questioning of institutions, however, reaches a boiling point in Act 4, Scene 3, in which she examines her position towards men. She talks about equality between the sexes, but she has to prove it to the opposite sex: “Well, we have nerves; and though we have some grace, yet we have some vengeance. Let husbands know that their wives have senses like them” (4.3. 106-109). Even if she questions herself, she also remains in his sphere, she still defines herself as a “wife” and not as a woman, which leaves her under Iago's control. It is only at the end of the play that she finally breaks with her husband and resides on the side of her own sex. Although both women express their complaints against male institutions, they end up silencing them. As the characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream leave the forest, the natural order of gender roles returns. Helena no longer complains about Demetrius's love for her and instead accepts it: "I found Demetrius like a jewel, mine, and not mine." » She states that she does not own Demetrius even though they are in love, the first time she appears to be level in the room. However, Demetrius, through this relationship, exercises his power over her. Although she appears in the final act, she does not utter a single line of dialogue. She, who has been a constant and long source of dialogue throughout the play, has had her power of speech taken away, she has been silenced by finally winning over Demetrius, but in this gain she loses her ability to talk. She is just a body on stage, a prop, a reminder of male control. Emilia, on the other hand, who has remained silent for most of the play about her husband, eventually speaks against him. Once she learns of Othello's murder of Desdemona and Iago's role in this tragedy, she says: “I will not charm my tongue; I am obliged to speak” (5.2.217). For the first time, Emilia fully sides with her gender, abandoning her husband and protecting Desdemona's name. But in speaking out, she is silenced by Iago as he stabs her to death. Emilia's last wish is to be granted by her mistress and to continue her total commitment to her sex. Both Emilia and Helena are silenced, but in radically different ways. Interestingly, this is the last institution they confront: gender. Although women have similar views..