Sarah Farrell USEM 102 3/21/12 Midsummer Research Paper FINAL

The Sex of the Hobgoblin Anybody who has read or seen Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream is familiar with the character of Robin Goodfellow, better known as Puck. Puck has often been called the heart and soul of this comedy by critics, as his actions are the thing that push the different plots forward with his love of a good prank But in a play of contrasts and mischief, what importance does the gender of this character have? Gender is a huge factor in this comedy, along with symmetry, which makes it all the more important for the plot-central character to be male to be uninvolved with the lovers. First, we have to look into how Shakespeare portrayed what it meant to be feminine or masculine. Robin Wells Shakespeare on Masculinity, states that all the tragedies and most of the comedies and histories inevitably concern themselves in one way or another with the question of manhood and honour (Wells 6). Men often struggle with the idea of living up to the ideals of what is meant to be masculine, and act as they think men should. In Midsummer, Lysander is the one who takes the initiative to run away, being the leader between him and Hermia, and Theseus brings up how he won Hippolyta through skill of swordplay. Power was a very masculine thing in Elizabethan England, which is why HRH Queen Elizabeth I was so scandalous. Meanwhile, women are often associated with a different kind of ideal, usually involving their modesty. For example, Hermia tells Lysander to sleep away from her to keep her dignity, even though they were nowhere near people who could embarrass them. Women are also the

Sarah Farrell USEM 102 3/21/12 Midsummer Research Paper FINAL personification of the sexuality as well, constantly bringing up the matters of their sex, male sex, sex in the bedroom, etc. However, women dont discuss their physical desires in front of other people - Midsummer has the women (save for Titania) being more of reactors than initiators. In fact, once the couples are all married off in Act V, neither Hermia nor Helena actually speak, and let the men do all the bantering about the Mechanicals play. To contrast, Juliet Dusinberre, author of Shakespeare and the Nature of Women, argues that Shakespeare actually wrote the sexes on equal standing, despite the times his plays were written in. He did not divide human nature into the masculine and the feminine, but observed in the individual woman or man an infinite variety of union between opposing impulses. To talk about Shakespeares women is to talk about his men, because he refused to separate their worlds physically, intellectually, or spiritually, (Dusinberre 308). If we take her reasoning to be true, then we cannot go on gender tendencies to prove Pucks gender to be of any importance to his character and have to simply go with what we can prove to be true his actions during the course of Midsummer. Puck is a character with many of these contrasts just within himself: while he is graceful and swift (Ill put a girdle round the earth / in forty minutes (Midsummer II.ii.175-6), he is obviously not of the same ethereal quality that Titanias fey are; as Oberons jester, he is given to a certain nature. He delights in turning Bottom into a half-ass monster (Midsummer III.ii.6) and watching the Athenians turn on each other when the love juice is applied to the wrong eyes. But while he is capable of cruel tricks, he shows us his good side, such as when he sympathizes

Sarah Farrell USEM 102 3/21/12 Midsummer Research Paper FINAL with the Athenian girls and curses Cupid as a knavish lad (Midsummer III.ii.441), like the fairy calls him upon his introduction (shrewd and knavish sprite, Midsummer II.i). Puck is also separated from Titanias fey as he is rarely ever called a fairy, rather addressed as sprite (Midsummer II.i.33) and hobgoblin (Midsummer II.i.40) by another fairy, and even refers to himself as Goblin (Midsummer III.ii.399). While Titanias fey are often portrayed as ethereal and Diana-like beings (they sing, hunt and work during the moon-lit hours), Puck is a direct contrast, acting more like the infamous Hermes of Greek mythology. Since there are no stage directions and acting notes to Shakespearian scripts, the visual design is largely left up to the mind of the head designers and the directors. Puck is usually shown in some way of costuming and makeup to be different from the other fey on stage, if not making make a different species of fey altogether. Paul Berry, the only American director of all thirty-eight Shakespeare plays, covers different productions of Midsummer and gives very direct opinions of the fey and Puck. The [third] common mistake in Dream is casting a woman as Puck. Puck is an animal spirit, akin to a satyr, and hes not female. I never saw a Puck who could match Mickey Rooneys delightful dirty little boy. (Berry 27). While Berry doesnt explain his reasoning behind calling Puck a satyr, looking at the character makes it easy to understand why. Especially when referencing back to all the things Puck is called, its easy to make him something other than a fairy. But why should Puck be male? Puck is the plot-central character, but his actions are only because he was ordered by Oberon. The relationship between the Fairy King and his henchman

Sarah Farrell USEM 102 3/21/12 Midsummer Research Paper FINAL is something akin to pederasty (because honestly, in this play, who isnt sleeping together?) and admiration. In Neil Gaimans Sandman, Puck and Oberon are pictured together with Puck being held by Oberon as the hobgoblin sits between the Fairy Kings legs on the ground, contrasting any of Oberons law to his child-like need for chaos. He exemplifies the ideal life of a young boy, the greatest of pranksters who curdles milk, knocks out stools from under old ladies and misleads people at night all in the name of fun. But at the same time, Puck acts eager to please Oberon, never outright disobeying him and begging for his attention: I go, I go; look how I go / Swifter than arrow from Tartars bow (III.ii). Oberon returns the sense of closeness between the two, confiding his plans and emotions to his jester. Despite the fact that the troubles are all caused by Pucks mistaking of identities, he is not faulted for the turmoil. So what happens if Puck is played as a female character? The relationships between opposite gendered characters is one of the most important elements in this play. Philip Kolin, author of Shakespeare and Feminist Criticism, tells us that while cross-dressing in Shakespeares comedies is normal, cross-casting roles adds entirely new elements and changes relationships in the play (Kolin 6-7). When Puck is played as female, he is no longer the mischievous little boy, but becomes a more modern woman of independence and resilience. She obeys the orders of the Fairy King, but shows none of the submissiveness that other females or Titanias fey show, making her the ideal feminist with some of the best traits of Shakespearian females but none of their faults. She openly disagrees with her higher-ups, but suffers no consequence for her

Sarah Farrell USEM 102 3/21/12 Midsummer Research Paper FINAL mischief. Because Puck is non-human, the rules of normal society dont apply, and Puck can be a stronger woman than the mortals shown, including Hippolyta. While feminists love the infallible woman Puck, his nature, the essential reason Midsummer is so hilarious, becomes twisted by the gender switch. What used to be simple knavish pranks turn into malicious fun as a female character, along with a strong sense of misandry. In Act II, Puck strongly sympathizes with Helena (who is actually Hermia) over Demetrius (Lysander) about the one-sided love (II.ii.72-89). This can be viewed as either sympathy towards the female mortal or distain towards the male. The relationship between Oberon and Puck requires new evaluation and the conversations between them gain new sexual subtext. The fight between Titania and Oberon takes on a new level of jealously, with Oberon still wanting the changeling boy and Titania being jealous of the closeness between Puck and Oberon. However, it can also be viewed that a female Puck purposefully twists Oberons orders out of her own jealousy that Oberon wants the boy (if Oberon is seen as a pansexual being). Indeed, a female Puck adds more complicated relationships to an already intricate comedy. In Shakespearian comedies, a common theme is marriage, where all the couples are brought together and the plots tied up in white ribbons of marital bliss. Hermia and Helena get their men, Hippolyta and Theseus patch things up, and even Titania goes back to being Oberons lady. Where does this leave Puck? While a male Puck is usually portrayed sexually enough that he can easily be seen enjoying a life of mischief, the same doesnt apply to a female Puck. All the females of Midsummer are paired off with their perspective men, something that cant

Sarah Farrell USEM 102 3/21/12 Midsummer Research Paper FINAL happen with a female Puck unless a new character was added or something was silently staged with the fairy that addresses him in Act II. The gender of Puck can change the entire feel of the play. Puck provides us the majority of the plot and the comedy in Midsummer, and he is easily pushed to the back out of the focus of the four plots in this comedy when cast as a shrewd and knavish sprite with his delightful naughty child grin. However, as a female, Puck commands herself to become part of the plots and becomes too involved with the fey drama to play her role as she needs to.

Sarah Farrell USEM 102 3/21/12 Midsummer Research Paper FINAL

Works Cited Berry, Paul. "A Midsummer's Night's Dream." A lifetime with Shakespeare : notes from an American director of all 38 plays. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2010. 23-30. Print. Bicks, Caroline. Midwiving subjects in Shakespeare's England. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2003. Print. Bordas del Prado, Ana Isabel . "The role of Puck in A Midsummer's Night Dream." MURAL Student homepages at University of Valencia. N.p., 11 Sept. 2006. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. <http://mural.uv.es/abordel/puck.html>. Chedgzoy, Kate. Shakespeare, feminism and gender. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave, 2001. Print. Dusinberre, Juliet. Shakespeare and the nature of women. London: Macmillan, 1975. Print. Gay, Penny. As she likes it Shakespeare's unruly women. London: Routledge, 1994. Print. Grady, Hugh. "Shakespeare and Impure Aesthetics: The Case of A Midsummer Night's Dream." Shakespeare Quarterly 59.3 (2008): 274-302. Print. Kolin, Philip C.. Shakespeare and feminist criticism: an annotated bibliography and commentary. New York: Garland, 1991. Print. Rackin, Phyllis. Shakespeare and women. Oxford [England: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print. Smith, Bruce R.. Shakespeare and masculinity. Oxford, [England: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print.

Sarah Farrell USEM 102 3/21/12 Midsummer Research Paper FINAL Squyer, Emily. "Shakespeare: Sample Writing." Washington State University. N.p., 10 Nov. 1999. Web. 9 Mar. 2012. <http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/shakespeare/sample5.html>. Wall, Wendy. "Why Does Puck Sweep?: Fairylore, Merry Wives, and Social Struggle .." Shakespeare Quarterly 52.1 (2001): 67-106. Print. Wells, Robin Headlam. Shakespeare on masculinity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Print.