Egeus in this excellent Shakespearian comedy is the father
of Hermia, and only appears in Act I scene 1 of this play. He is clearly a man of some
importance in Athenian society, being able to crave an audience with Duke Theseus about
his daughter. He plays the role of a traditional father who demands the rights of law to
marry his daughter as he wishes. Note what he says to Theseus to conclude his complaint
against Lysander and his stubborn daughter:
I beg the ancient privilege of
Athens:
As she is mine, I may dispose of
her,
Which shall be either to this
gentleman
Or to her death, according to our
law
Immediately provided in that
case.
Thus as we can see
Egeus is presented as rather a cruel father-figure, one of many in Shakespeare's plays,
who insist on choosing the person that their daughter will marry, even prefering that
his daughter should die rather than go against his will.
No comments:
Post a Comment