There is a saying circulating in modern society that the entire human race knows. This saying "Happy Wife Happy Life" is based on societal norms that describe: if your female partner is happy (with anything really), the man in the relationship has a good life filled with less harassment. This statement defines the gender roles we observe in everyday life. In marriages, the role of wife normally has the last word and tends to be the hardest to please. On the other hand, there are husbands who do exactly what they are told and go with the flow without arguing. If life were that simple, we would be a well-oiled machine. Even today, this saying is not always true. In the 16th century, gender roles were different and unfortunately not every relationship/marriage makes for the best love story or turns out in the best possible way. This can be seen in the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get an original essayIn the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” we are first introduced to Theseus, Duke of Athens and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. Hippolyta is about to marry the king of Athens, not by choice, but after the defeat of the Amazons. ''Hippolyta, I wooed you with my sword/ And I won your love by hurting you...'' The Amazons were ruled by women and Theseus sincerely believes that he conquered Hippolyta by kidnapping her from strength of his house/kingdom in the Amazons. . When thinking about gender roles, Hippolyta and Theseus are the perfect example of what a classic male-female role is in societal relationships in the 16th century and today. Theseus taking over a female dominated sanctuary and taking the queen to become his wife, a prisoner, shows that men should be portrayed as a dominant force and women take a less powerful servant role towards the man with whom they are married. This type of forced relationship goes against today's saying "Happy Wife Happy Life" because It doesn't matter to Theseus that Hippolyta isn't happy and doesn't have the right to dictate her own life . The next two couples we meet are Hermia and Lysander and Demetrius and Helena who find themselves caught in a love triangle. These couples complicate each other and are the main driving force for moving the piece forward. Hermia and Lysander are in love, but Hermia's father wants Hermia to marry Demetrius who was once betrothed to Helena. Helena still loves Demetrius, but he wants Hermia while Hermia is interested in Lysander. Hermia and Lysander form the most real relationship in the play. They both share the same feelings, but Hermia's father, Egeus, wants to ruin a perfect love story. He believes that Lysander "bewitched the breast", or tricked Hermia into disobeying him, as well as "thou gavet her rhymes", and "exchanged tokens of love" with Hermia. Because of this, Egeus is willing to have his own daughter killed, which then forces Lysander and Hermia to flee into the forest to try to live their lives. Unfortunately, the couple runs into an obstacle that causes romantic confusion but eventually finds each other. We can tell Lysander of true love for her by saying, “Love takes on meaning in the conference of love.” / I mean, that my heart is bound to yours/ So that we can only make one heart;/ Two breasts bound by an oath;/ So two breasts and one faith. ''This profession of love proves that Lysandre wants to do and will do.