The plot of this excellent comedy is started or initiated by the
way in which Hermia defies her father. In Act I scene 1 of the play, we are introduced to the
main Athenian characters and the issue that has provoked Egeus, Hermia's father, so sorely. He
craves an audience with Theseus, the Duke of Athens, because of the way his daughter is defying
him. Hermia, although she knows that her father wants her to marry Demetrius, is refusing to
comply with his wishes, and actually wants to marry Lysander. Note what Egeus says about
Lysander:
With cunning
hast thou filched my daughter's heart,Turned her obedience, which
is due to me,To stubborn
harshness.
Thus Hermia is defying
Egeus in refusing to marry the man that he wants her to, and insisting on marrying the man whom
she loves. How this problem will be resolved will occupy the rest of the
play.
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