Difficult Life for Woman in the Victorian Era in A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen

636 Words2 Pages

A Doll House showed how women were treated unfairly and unequally. Nora, Anne Marie, and Ms. Linde were examples of women in the world during that time period. Nora was an example of what became the start of the women’s liberation period. Henrik Ibsen showed a lot of modern realism by bringing out the struggles of women using these three characters. Life in the Victorian Era was very difficult for women. Nora was the main character with struggles. From the beginning, she had problems of being treated as an equal. Nora explains to Torvald how she has lived her life just doing what the men in her life say. She says, “When I was at home with papa, he told me his opinion about everything, and so I had the same opinions; and if I differed from him I concealed the fact, because he would not have liked it. He called me his doll-child, and he played with me just as I used to play with my dolls.” Because Nora was a woman, her opinion didn’t matter. She was treated like a doll, following whatever her father told her. When she married Torvald, things stayed the same. She went along with whatever her husband told her, and if she told her opinion, Torvald would get mad. Nora also struggled with money. When Torvald got sick, the doctor told them they needed money for a trip to Italy. It was hard for Nora to figure out a way to get money because it was illegal for women to get a loan. She had to go to Krogstad to get the money and forge the signature because she knew her dad wouldn’t let her get a loan because she was a woman. This caused her to have to cover up the lie from her husband. Anne Marie’s problems started at a young age. She got pregnant out of wedlock, which was considered disgrace. The community considered that one of the ... ... middle of paper ... ...upon women by not caring for them during their time of need. Ms. Linde showed some of the hardest parts about being a women during the Victorian Era. A Doll House was a great play that showed women’s struggles. Nora dealt with the struggle of money and having to comply with the men in her life. Anne Marie had to deal with the struggles of making a mistake and sacrificing the most important thing to her for a better life and Ms. Linde spent most of her life sacrificing everything she deserved for the people she loved. These were models of the women for many centuries around the world. All of them showed great courage and selflessness for the one’s they loved. Ibsen made a great impact to women’s liberation by writing this play and allowing women to see that it was okay to fight for their rights. This play will be a great model for history for many years to come.

Open Document