In today's society, women have almost achieved equality. However, there was a time when women were not really seen as women, but rather as objects. At the time of many of Shakespeare's plays, Queen Elizabeth ruled England, which was a big step towards the de-objectification of women. While many people attempted to keep women under the heel of men, some people began to work for a change. Shakespeare uses his play “A Midsummer Night's Dream” to comment on the objectification of women and feminism. In “Trafficking in Women: Notes on the Political Economy of Sex,” Gayle Rubin discusses the role of women in a capitalist society. First he talks about Marxist ideas. She says women are often not considered part of the workforce and that their duties are best placed at home. He says that Marx believes that “the difference between the reproduction of labor power and its products depends, therefore, on the determination of what is needed to reproduce labor power.” (Rubin 162). Fundamentally, workers need a means to recharge. They need things like food, clothing, shelter and fuel. What Rubin argues is that none of these things can be considered sustenance in the way they are provided. “Food must be cooked, clothes cleaned, beds made, wood cut, etc.” (Rubin 162) Extra work needs to be done, which is not brought into the equation. Since women do the housework at home, and their work is not considered, they often represent the "surplus value" realized by the capitalist. In short, women are the property of the capitalist. A woman as property of the state is also seen in “A Midsummer Night's Dream”. In the first scene of act one, Theseus, Duke of Athens, claims Hermia's future. Hermia... middle of paper... to say whether Shakespeare is promoting the objectification of women, or speaking out against it. However, even with the few moments of ambiguity, Shakespeare seems to be saying that women in his society have come a long way since his play was set. Queen Elizabeth is pretty good proof that women can be strong and don't need to be used. as objects for the imagination of men. Shakespeare proved himself to be a progressive person through his plays and sonnets. “A Midsummer Night's Dream” is another of Shakespeare's plays that silently calls for change. Shakespeare might not have been able to stand on a soapbox and shout his beliefs as a liberated woman, but he was able to use “A Midsummer Night's Dream” to subtly make his point. As we can see in today's society, women have come a long way, but again, there is still a lot of work to be done.