Shakespeare & misogyny

[Anonymous No.12649521]

I went to a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and was kinda taken back by shit like:

>"I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius,
The more you beat me, I will fawn on you:
Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me,
Neglect me, lose me; only give me leave,
Unworthy as I am, to follow you.
What worser place can I beg in your love,--
And yet a place of high respect with me,--
Than to be used as you use your dog?"

Is this commonplace in his work, or at least his comedies?

[Anonymous No.12649528]

>>12649521
Who gives a fuck? Go back to tumblr.

[Anonymous No.12649540]

>>12649521
Women are dogs. I agree, Shakespeare was being a bit on-the-nose with that one. It's not even really an allegory.

[Anonymous No.12649554]

>thinking a specific character speaks for the author

Take the rope.

[Anonymous No.12650559]

>>12649554
This

OP, think about it this way, Shakespeare was writing plays about people meant to show the psychology of characters interacting in a way faithful to life. Therefore the exploration of themes such as mysogeny, rape, prejudice, murder, affairs, etc in the way they were prevalent in his society (or source material) is necessary to the objective of his work.

Misogyny in literature comes more in the facts of "these female characters are nameless, secondary, and objectified" (as in Conrad), lack of female characters, or superficial female characters that are effectively NPCs (Wilde). NOT because an author has a domestic violence scene.
The problem is not depicting abuse or prejudice, the problem is ignoring the effects of those events or treating the women involved in a one-dimensional analysis. Of course, if youre writing a book about a womanizer or something, youd probably have a lot of more disposable females to move the plot, however in a good work the women should be memorable and have interactions, in a bad work the women would be glossed over in favor of male cgaracter exposition.
For instance, a rape scene that is narrative and completely focused on the rapist is unfaithful to the event and trivializes the victim, but the same scene that treats the victim like a human in the face of peril with reactions accordingly is not as one-sided.

In that excerpt, I dont think whats there is not necessarily mysogeny. Its been a long time since i read MSND but if I recall correctly a lpt of that book focuses on youthful, zealous love and the absurdity of those interaction (compounded by the fairy magic) so I think in context that passage is meant to show the irrational, self-sacrificial ideology of those who are in love and believe their enternal devotion a necessary part of a relationship. This coupled with the fluxating love square(?) is meant to satirize how someone can be so in love theyre self-degredating then quickly shift love to another. (IMO)