The fairies influence
A Midsummer Night's Dream by creating both the
conflict and the resolution. The term
conflict is used to describe the oppositions or problems
the characters face in the story line. A conflict can be between two characters, a group
of characters, or even circumstances such as fate, nature, or society (Dr. Wheeler, "Literary
Terms and Definitions: C"). The resolution is the
moment when all of the conflicts are solved and the final outcome of the story is
revealed.
The fairies,
especially Puck, are responsible for creating
the play's conflicts through the use of the magical
flower. When Oberon sees Demetrius treat Helena, who is in love with him,
horribly, Oberon instructs Puck to use the magical love flower, not just on Oberon's
wife for revenge, but also on Demetrius. Oberon's goal was to fix Helena's love
problems. However, Oberon only said that Puck would "know the man / By the Athenian
garments he hath on" (II.i.268-29). Neither Oberon nor Puck were aware that there were
actually two pairs of Athenian lovers in the forest that night. As a result, Puck
enchants Lysander with the flower to fall in love with Helena instead, then mixes things
up even further when he next makes even Demetrius fall in love with Helena as well. This
mix-up creates emotional conflicts between the two men who
challenge each other for Helena, between the two women who now distrust each other, and
even between Hermia and both Lysander and Demetrius because they now hate her. The
conflict even breaks up Hermia and Helena's friendship, who have been inseparable since
childhood.
However, Puck, upon
Oberon's command, is also responsible for creating the play's
resolution by using magic to pair the couple's
correctly. Puck's act of correctly pairing the couples even puts an end
to the conflict between Hermia and her father because once Demetrius explains to Duke
Theseus that he is now back in love with Helena, whom he was engaged to before he
started pursuing Hermia, Theseus decides to override Egeus's request for the full force
of the law should Hermia continue to refuse to marry Demetrius. Theseus decides to let
Demetrius marry Helena and Lysander marry Hermia as we see in his
lines:
Egeus,
I will overbear your will;
For in the temple, by and by, with
us
These couples shall eternally be knit.
(IV.i.180-82)
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