THESEUS        But Demetrius, come,

And come, Egeus; you shall go with me.

I have some private schooling for you both.

For you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself

To fit your fancies to your father’s will;

Or else, the law of Athens yields you up

(Which by no means we may extenuate)

To death, or to a vow of single life.  (1.1.114-121)

Theseus defuses the situation—or at least realises that it’s an impasse, in which an awful lot of dirty laundry could be about to be aired—in exactly the same way as the Prince does in the first scene of Romeo and Juliet, by taking one side of the argument away with him. But Demetrius, come, and come, Egeus; you shall go with me. No point in prolonging this, we’re going, and you’re coming with me. I have some private schooling for you both, advice at the very least, but perhaps a bit of a telling off too; don’t push it, no one’s coming out of this very well at the moment. But he’s not letting Hermia off the hook either: for you, fair Hermia, look you arm yourself to fit your fancies to your father’s will. You need to think this through, and prepare to get real, because ultimately you’re probably going to have to do what your father wants. Fanciesis interesting, because it’s affections, desires, but also fantasies. Time to stop day-dreaming? And then a final reminder of what’s at stake: or else the law of Athens yields you up (which by no means we may extenuate) to death, or to a vow of single life. I’m sorry, but my hands are tied (Theseus, your hands are not tied); those are the options, death, perpetual virginity, or marrying Demetrius, whom I have just made clear I think is a bit of a knob. Your choice.