Egeus found Hermia's choice of a husband unacceptable and took her in front of Theseus, the Duke of Athens. Theseus told Hermia that she must obey her father or die. Hermia was lucky that Theseus was also in love and ready to get married otherwise he would have put an end to Hermia's behavior immediately. Because of this, Theseus also gave her the option to become a nun. He also tried to console her and help her to do the right thing. He told her that an unhappy marriage was better than living alone, celibate, and singing hymns all day. Still, Hermia refused to listen to him. She was not going to give up her growing passion and desire for Lysander. She decided to run off into the woods with Lysander and get married.
The two ran in the woods, got lost, and settled down to rest until the morning. Hermia's love was still deep for Lysander, but she was not comfortable sleeping directly next to him. This showed that she still had her morals in tact and she made him sleep further away from her. As morning came, Lysander awoke before Hermia and, abandoned her because he was under the spell. When Hermia woke up and saw that her true love was missing, she quickly went to find him.
As the play continued, Hermia never gave up on her love for Lysander. She only wanted him and nothing was going to stop her. Amazingly she was able to pass all of the obstacles and hurdles in her way and still retain the love for Lysander.
Lysander on the other hand was not able to hold on to his love for Hermia throughout the play. In the beginning he started out madly in love with Hermia and unable to hide his true feelings for her. He was forced by the spell to forget about Hermia and instead he wanted her friend Helena. Lysander chased Helena and begged for her love. The spell from the pansy nectar caused Lysander to take a totally different view on his life. Now, he wanted Helena and he could not even stand to look at Hermia. When Hermia finally found them all in the woods, Lysander told her that he hated her. She was crushed and did not believe what was happening. Lysander showed no emotion and continued to try and court Helena. This was not the same Lysander that was in the beginning of the play. He used to serenade Hermia and read her poems. Now he could not even look at her. She did not know that Lysander was not acting on his own instincts; rather he was under a deep spell. Only when the spell was reversed was Lysander able to reconfirm his love for Hermia. Then Lysander became his old self again.
Demetrius was tied in to this love circle from the start of the play. He was supposed to receive Hermia as his wife. His love for her did not appear to be concrete. It seemed, as if he were more in love with the fact that Egeus wanted him as a son-in-law rather that Lysander. Demetrius would not give up on Hermia and he went to find her in the woods with Helena chasing at his side. His goal was to find Hermia and kill Lysander. Then he could lose Helena in the woods and bring Hermia home with him.
Demetrius was successful in finding Hermia and he restated his love for her. She still would not succumb to his pleas and cries for love. Instead she accused him of murdering Lysander. After that accusation, Hermia ran off in the woods and left Demetrius heart broken and depressed again. As he lay asleep in the woods, Puck came and placed the nectar on Demetrius' eyelid. When Demetrius woke up he was in love with Helena. The spell made him forget about Hermia and only want Helena. As the play came to a conclusion, Demetrius was able to marry Helena, the woman he loved prior to all the chaos.
Helena had the most problems out of the four young lovers. She was in love with Demetrius from the start, yet she could not get him to love her back. Helena was persistent and aggressive. She followed Demetrius into the woods as he tried to find Lysander and Hermia. Demetrius yelled at her and mocked her, but her love was so strong that she did not give up. Lost alone in the woods, Helena stumbled upon Lysander and woke him up from his sleep. Lysander then fell in love with her. She was very puzzled and knew that Hermia still loved him. As he continued describing his unconditional love for her, Helena ran away because she thought that he was making fun of her. Then Helena ran in to Demetrius who also was put under a spell. Now all of the sudden he was in love with her too. Infuriated, Helena lashed out at both of them. She knew that they both were in love with Hermia and she could not understand why they were suddenly both pretending to be in love with her. She automatically thought that they were making fun of her. When Hermia entered in the midst of this, Helena's anger was heightened. Eventually all of the spells were correctly placed and Helena got her true love Demetrius.
All four lovers returned to Athens, uncertain as to whether the night's events were real or only dream. This was comical because Helena, Hermia, Lysander, and Demetrius were all used like pawns in a chess game. The fairies played them all against each other and in the end they each were reunited with the lover of their choice.
The play ended with both couples getting married at the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. It was ironic that the three weddings all took place at the same time. After they were married, the three couples waited for a night of entertainment before they went up to sleep. The play "Pyramus and Thisby was performed so poorly that all of the guests and the couples themselves were hysterical with laughter. This was a much-needed form of comic relief. It lightened the mood and ended the play on a happy note.
A Midsummer Night's Dream focused on the common man and the common woman and the ecstasies of love. The final resolution to this story proved that no matter what happens, love conquers. Like Lysander said in the beginning, "The course of true love never did run smooth."
