Who is the main villain in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream?

The main villain would be the character who creates the
greatest conflict in the play. There are two characters who create conflict, Egeus and
Puck. However, out of these two characters, Egeus is the only one who remains stuck in
his ways without wanting to present a solution while Puck resolves issues in the end.
Therefore, I would argue that Egeus is the greatest villain of the
play.

Egeus creates one of the play's most central conflicts by
insisting his daughter marry Demetrius instead of Lysander. Egeus is even threatening
her with death, in accordance with the "ancient privilege of Athens" (I.i.42). As a
result of his threats and his petition to Duke Theseus to enforce the law that will see
to Hermia being punished, Hermia decides to runaway with Lysander out of Athens. Hence,
Egeus serves as the main catalyst that drives all four Athenian lovers into the woods
that night, which of course leads to further conflicts in the plot. Not only is Egeus a
main source for all of the play's troubles, when the couples are finally paired off as
they should be, Egeus still begs for, not only Hermia's punishment, but Lysander's as
well, as we see in his lines:

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I beg the law, the law upon his
head.
They would have stolen away, they would, Demetrius,
Thereby to
have defeated you and me:
You of your wife, and me of my consent.
(IV.i.156-159)

The play's
resolution is only fully brought about by Duke Theseus, who, in his wisdom, overrides
Egeus and commands the two couples to be married as they are.

In
contrast to Egeus, Puck creates his fair share of mischief, thereby creating conflicts
of his own, but Puck also resolves them. According to Oberon's commands, Puck is
responsible for finally pairing the couples appropriately. In addition, in his final
speech, he asks the audience for forgiveness, as we see in his lines, "Give me your
hands, if we be friends, / And Robin shall restore amends"
(V.i.432-433).

Hence, since Egeus only continuously creates and adds
to the play's conflict while Puck contributes to the resolution, we can say that Egeus
is the true villain of the story.