Hermia is a formal, disobedient,
and venerable Athenian women; who elopes with Lysander from Athens. Hermia
shows her proper qualities (in act 2 scene 2 lines 49-50) Stating "Nay,
good Lysander. For my sake, my dear, lie further off yet. Do not lie so
near." At this point in the play, Hermia and Lysander are alone in the
woods and have decided to rest. Another indication of her formal position in
the play is she speaks in Iambic pentameter, which indicates a high ranking in social
class. She demonstrates disobedience, to her father (in Act 1 scene 1 lines
207-211). "Take comfort: he no more shall see my face. Lysander and myself
will fly this place. Before the time I did Lysander see seemed Athens as a
paradise to me. O, then, what graces in my love do dwell. That he hath turned a
heaven into hell." At this point in the play Hermia’s father goes to the
Duke and informs him of his daughters unwillingness to marry the man of his
choosing. Hermia displays disobedience to her father by wanting to marry the
man of her liking. Hermia exhibits venerability (in Act 2 scene 2 lines 152-
163) those lines are when Hermia wakes up from a nightmare scared out of her
mind. She calls for Lysander and he is not there to comfort her. She is
venerable and shows her weakness without Lysander. Without Lysander, Hermia
would not have a main objective in the play. Her main objective was to marry Lysander
and get to his aunts house.
I feel that in that time, being disobedient was the exact opposite of being venerable. A daughter especially was never supposed to defy or argue with her parent's rules or what her parents wanted her to do. Hermia's decision to run away with Lysander decreases the amount of respect people would have given her. So, I think she is more disobedient than respectable.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read Hermia as formal, disobedient or venerable at all. Very interesting twist! It was very well explained and supported. Nice way to shed different light on Hermia. I see Hermia in a completely different way now.
ReplyDeleteFormal and disobedient were traits that I had not exactly picked up, however nice examples. They provide specific evidence for seeing Hermia with such traits. Although I agree that Jeel in the sense that disobedience was not something to be found venerable due to the fact that in this specific play we see a patriarchal society.
ReplyDeleteThose traits were sort of a shock to me, mainly her being disobedient. While the overall scheme of things was her disobeying her father, there were no other points in the story that i could think of her as disobedient. Maybe there could be a better word or even a different trait to think of. While she did commit one disobedient act, I would not mark her as disobedient forever. Everyone have made many actions that are based on traits that do not completely describe them as a human. I believe this is one of those actions.
ReplyDeleteDo we mean to be using the word "venerable" or "vulnerable"???
ReplyDeleteGood analysis; however, I did not think Hermia was as disobedient as she was independent. I felt that she does not express a disobedient side, but instead simply follows her desires. Hermia is more of a character that does not wish to disobey, but more of a character that is unaltered by other's decisions and feelings towards her and her affairs. Besides that fact, I thought your analysis was well done!
ReplyDeleteI like how you describe Hernia as both formal and disobedient. Their not synonyms but you don't really expect them to both describe a single character. However, it defiantly works in this circumstance.
ReplyDelete