In both A Doll’s House and Like Water for Chocolate Henrik Ibsen and Laura Esquival respectively, each make one of their women characters leave not only their houses but even their lifestyles and cultures. Nora in A Doll’s House leaves her home in search of her true inner self. While Gertrudis in Like Water for Chocolate leaves her house in her own endeavor to escape Mama Elena’s repression. Bothe Ibsen and Esquival make use of a variety of literary devices and styles in order to show to the readers/audience the effect the departure of Nora and Gertrudis has on not only the other characters in the work but also the entire work itself.
Each of the two characters exit the works under different circumstances and it is this dissimilarity that causes the effects of the departures to be different. In the novel, Like Water for Chocolate, Gertrudis leaves the house under very silent manner. She does not discuss the fact that she is about to elope with anyone in the work. One of Gertrudis’ main intentions of leaving is to take up the role of a man. She wants to take up this role of a man as it the only role in which she will have authority and power in the Mexican society. She joins the revolutionary forces and hence she is likened to a man and given the authority and power she desires. She is so overcome by this desire that “she ran out of the little enclosure just as she was, completely naked.” (Esquival 51) Esquival uses magical realism to explain in great detail the scene of Gertrudis’ exit, she uses very vivid imagery to describe the scene. One of the main differences between the exit of Gertrudis and Nora, in A Doll’s House, is the fact that Gertrudis has a very silent exit and she talks to no one about it. However, in A Doll’s Hous...
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...t ditch effort, but the unwavering character Nora has evolved over the course of the play into a such strong character that not even the tears of her husband can prevent her from embarking on the journey of self-discovery.
The exodus of women from their houses has a profound impact on both other characters and the plot of the texts. Although the effect of this egression is not the same in both A Doll’s House and Like Water for Chocolate the techniques used to describe them are somewhat similar. This difference in opinion between Laura Esquival and Henrik Ibsen can easily be explained by the different eras and social backgrounds they lived in. But despite their differences both Ibsen and Esquival wish to deliver one fundamental message in their avant-garde pieces of world literature – that of the importance of women in not only a house but also society as a whole.
Throughout the play we never get to know who the real Nora is and what her true personality consists of. Nora also realizes that she does not know who she is, and decides to leave her life. She comments that she needs to discover who she is separate from her husband, children and more importantly society. Nora feels she is not respected, and she is a “doll” to her husband.
Although Ibsen has alluded to the fact that he was not a part of the women's movement, his brave portrayal of women in their socially confined positions can earn him the title of 'feminist writer.' In two of Ibsen's most famous works, A Doll's House and Hedda Gabler, the main characters are females who strive to be self-motivated beings. Because of the male-oriented society that dominates their lives, which resembles the world women had to deal with at the time when Ibsen created his works, the confined characters demonstrate their socially imposed roles. "Ibsen's Nora is not just a woman arguing for female liberation; she is much more. She embodies the comedy as well as the tragedy of modern life," insisted Einar Haugen, a doyen of American Scandinavian studies, over twenty years later, after feminism has resurfaced as an international movement (Templeton 111).
...ociety expected of her. She makes the decision to forsake her duties towards her children and her husband to go fulfill her duties to herself to find a identity. Women even today in many cultures go through the same situations as Nora and Georgiana sacrificing they identities and desires.
In Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”, Nora Helmer portrays the Victorian English archetype of the “angel in the house”, otherwise known as the “doll” metaphor. In the Victorian age, the social construction of gender roles was much more traditional than contemporary gender roles; women had a clear role in society of which they could not escape. A major focus of social construction is to uncover the ways in which individuals and groups participate in the construction of their perceived social reality. As society is revolutionized, people individualize, freeing themselves from the constraints imposed by traditional societies. Nora Helmer represents an antecedaneous model of a feministic viewpoint in an oppressed position. Trapped in her role of the “doll”, Nora struggles to break free, her actions precipitated by her husband, Torvald’s, actions. Weintraub, in his ““Doll’s House” Metaphor Foreshadowed in Victorian Fiction” critical essay, depicts Shaw’s work and proposes the idea that the male protagonist has an immense impact on the female protagonist’s automorphism as “the doll” and the decisions she makes. In Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House,” Nora’s characterization and ultimate decision to leave can be seen as a struggle against the combination of Torvald and Society’s pressure to conform.
Women have been given by society certain set of duties, which although change through time, tend to stay relatively along the same lines of stereotypical women activities. In “A Doll House” and “Simply Maria” we see the perpetuation of these forms of behavior as an initial way of life for the two protagonists. Nonetheless; we see a progression towards liberation and self discovery towards the development as a human being by breaking the rules of society. Such attitudes soon find opposing forces. those forces will put to the test the tenacity of these women; and yield freedom and ownership for their lives which are owned by others at the start of their stories.
Nora’s character was released herself in a different way, by choosing to leave her current situation and attempt to find her true calling as a women, away from her duties that were only serving her husband and focusing on her children. The symbol of her slamming the door on her way out, along with the rejection of changing her mind after her husband begged her to stay infeciaze on the birth of a strong character at the end of the play. The internal conflict of roles in Nora’s chartchter was showing through the transformation of herself from being a passive, carting housewofe to a strongwelled indepanandt
Over the centuries, writers have used literature to show the societal status and the mind sets of the people in their era. ‘Antigone’, a Greek tragedy, and ‘A Doll’s House’, a highly controversial drama, inhibit the same thematic approach, depicting the oppression and submissiveness of women in male-dominated society and how they overcome their obstacles with firm will, inspiring millions of audiences from then till now. By Antigone’s character, Sophocles portrays a figure through whom he can express his faith in feminism in the 4th century. Likewise, Ibsen’s concerns about the position of women during the 19th century are beautifully breathed to life in ‘A Doll’s House’ through Nora’s transformation from a doll-like puppet to a human. Both of the writ...
Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll House examines a woman’s struggle for independence in her marriage and social world. Through the use of character change, Ibsen conveys his theme that by breaking away from all social expectations, we can be true to ourselves. When Ibsen presents Nora Helmer, we see a “perfect” wife, who lives in a “perfect” house with a “perfect” husband and children. The Helmer children have a nanny that raises them. By having the nanny, Nora has the freedom to come and go as she pleases. Torvald Helmer, Nora’s husband, will begin a new job as bank manager, so they will be rich, which will make her “perfect” life even better. Torvald even calls Nora pet names like “my sweet little lark” (Ibsen 1567) and “my squirrel” (Ibsen 1565). These names may seem to be harmless and cute little nicknames, but the names actually show how little he thinks of her. “Torvald uses derogatory diminutives to address Nora” (Kashdan 52). Torvald talks down to her. Nora is “regarded as property rather than a partner” (Drama for Students 112). He isn’t treating her like a real person. In Torvald eyes, she isn’t an equal. “Nora is viewed as an object, a toy, a child, but never an equal” (Drama for Students 109).
However, soon it is obvious that the frivolous ‘doll’ like nature that Nora exhibits in front of Torvald is not her real nature and she is not really the play thing that he thinks. Ibsen portrays Nora as submissive to her husband, as she is confined by the societal values of their era. Females during the nineteenth century displayed an inferior gender role when compared to males. Nora fits rightly to this submissive role even sacrificing her own happiness for her husband. For instance, when Nora is in a situation to make a tough decision in life, she sacrifices her own self-worth and respect to serve her husband and family. In this way, she sacrifices her desires and confines to the values of the society purely for the well-being of her
Nora engages in a mutually dependent game with Torvald in that she gains power in the relationship by being perceived as weak, yet paradoxically she has no real power or independence because she is a slave to the social construction of her gender. Her epiphany at the end at the play realises her and her marriage as a product of society, Nora comes to understand that she has been living with a constr...
Henrik Ibsen paints a sad picture of the sacrificial role of women throughout all social economical classes in his play “A Doll House”. The story is set in the late 19th century and all minor female characters had to overcome adversity to the expense of love, family and self-realization, in order to lead a comfortable life. While the main female protagonist Nora struggles with her increasingly troubled marriage, she soon realizes, she needs to change her life to be happy as the play climaxes. Her journey to self-discovery is achieved by the threat of her past crime and her oppressing husband, Torvald and the society he represents. The minor female characters exemplifying Nora’s ultimate sacrifice.
Groundbreaking themes were presented in Henrik Ibsen's play, A Doll's House. The play has shared an important message regarding feminism. It was released in the 1800's, during time when women were not taken seriously. This has made the work essential for humanity to observe and respond to. One of the most important aspects of Ibsen's play was the end, in which the main character, Nora Helmer leaves her husband. This was a shocking scene for unprepared audiences in theaters throughout the world. Divorce and separation from one's spouse and children was not proper to discuss in public because it was not looked highly on. Critics and others who study the play wonder if the ending was too bold for the time.
... presented A Doll’s House which follows with the feminist thought of that occasion. Due to social conformity, Nora can be portrayed as a radical feminist because she walks away from her own family as well as children in search of self-enhancement. Ibsen afterward describes Nora as a drastic feminist in order to help exemplify just how bad society’s restrictions on women were. A Doll’s House is an ideal instance of Ibsen’s book that show social conformity and corruption in society and the central character is rising alongside conformity. The book strengthens the reaction of the reader’s through the protagonist who’s is Nora, as well as her husband Torvald. Torvald handles Nora like an instrument rather than an individual to some extent. Finally, the role of the reliant character change when Ibsen shows Nora infringement from Torvald and society’s prospect of women.
Ibsen desires to challenge assumptions as well as rules of Norwegian life, and most importantly wants to depict society accurately, as he meticulously incorporates everyday life. Therefore, A Doll House represents a realistic drama due to the issues involving women, illnesses, and laws within the play, while conveying Ibsen’s desire for controversy and change in Norway’s society. A common woman in Norway, such as Nora, experiences a daily life of oppression, fear, and unjust authority, which exposes societal mistreatment. Society and Torvald Helmer force Nora to look pretty and happy, although “she laughs softly at herself while taking off her street things. Drawing a bag of macaroons from her pocket, she eats a couple, then steals over and listens at her husband’s door” (Ibsen I. 43), which portrays oppression.
...on as a disgrace to society because women are not expected to leave there husbands. Nora proved that she can withstand enormous amounts of pressure and that she is capable of doing things when she is determined. She is eventually freed from that doll ouse, as she calls it, and it allows her to leave without being afraid to learn about her and the world around her.