complex and challenging. This point is made clear by Shakespeare during the time that Theseus provides to Hermia and Lysander to get used to the idea of her marrying Demetrius. As Lysander notes, ôThe course of true love never did smoothö (Shakespeare I.i. 134).
Helena is another Athenian maid and she at first is angry with Hermia when she learns of the marriage match with Demetrius. However, Hermia does not love Demetrius and informs Helena that she and Lysander intend to run off to the woods to escape her planned wedding to Demetrius. This is another case of seeing that the women in the play are not the puppets of males. Though males may try to control them, the women like Hermia (and as we shall see, Titania) do not give in to their dictates. Instead, as Hermia lyrically informs
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