Who is submissive and powerless in Shakespeare's A Midsummers Night's Dream? How and why?

Much has been made of the power/gender dynamics in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and for good reason: the play largely relies on the interlocking relationships between couples, many of which have unbalanced power dynamics. Generally speaking, the men in the play have power, leaving the women relatively powerless and submissive.

Consider for instance, the men's actions in the play: Theseus and Egeus decree that Hermia must marry Demetrius against her will, while Oberon...

Much has been made of the power/gender dynamics in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and for good reason: the play largely relies on the interlocking relationships between couples, many of which have unbalanced power dynamics. Generally speaking, the men in the play have power, leaving the women relatively powerless and submissive.

Consider for instance, the men's actions in the play: Theseus and Egeus decree that Hermia must marry Demetrius against her will, while Oberon bewitches Titania in order to force her to obey him. Additionally, the hapless Helena follows Demetrius through the play, begging him to love her. Clearly, the women in the play are denied agency through their relationships with men, as the male characters in the play do not treat them as equals, but use force to deny women power. In short, we can hypothesize that Athenian society within the play is decidedly misogynistic and determined to force women into submission in order to bolster male power.

It's worth noting, of course, that a few elements destabilize this trend. Hermia, for instance, resists Theseus and Egeus and ultimately weds her true love, Lysander. Likewise, Titania offers spirited resistance to Oberon's tyranny and, though she ultimately yields to his wishes, she does not humbly submit. As such, while women can be seen as powerless in the play, it's worth interrogating this idea a little and finding the exceptions to the rule. After all, Shakespeare's work is complex, and it's difficult to name a trend or theme in his plays that is not destabilized in some sense.