Comparing Shakespeare's King Lear with Henrick Ibsen's Doll House

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Women in most cultures have been designated as second to men and in some instances, considered below male children as well. With the passage of time women gained respect and the right for equality. Although gender discrimination remains, a lot of progress has been achieved. Literature is a one of the facets of the human race that reflects the culture change of people. William Shakespeare’s King Lear portrays the patriarchal system of the Renaissance era, which leaves women completely dependent on the male head of household. In Henrik Ibsen’s Doll House, set in the modern era, there is still a patriarchal system but women have just a little more freedom. The article, The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen by Joan Templeton, analyzes the gender subordination in A Doll House. Comparing and contrasting the themes of the two plays followed by consideration of the article’s research on the theme in A Doll House, assists in developing an understanding of the gradual progression of women’s freedom to be their “true selves” through equality with men. The “true self” is a person's character that is masked by a false portrayal designed to appeal to others.

The theme of King Lear is the characters’ search for their “true selves”, the character Cordelia in particular has already found her “true self” through her love for her father, King Lear, but she is also the key to King Lear’s “true self”. In King Lear, Cordelia and her two sisters are asked by King Lear “Which of you shall we say doth love us most” (Brown, Act I Scene i), so that he may determine their shares of the kingdom and money. While the women will gain the benefits of these riches, the actual ownership will go to husband in the form of a dowry. Women are consid...

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...ale counterparts as a matter of survival. In the denouements, Cordelia and Nora have either already discovered their “true self” through love or have head out in search of it. The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen by Templeton historically supports the progression from little /no freedom to a broader freedom of and for the self.

Works Cited

Brown, Larry A. "King Lear Online Text with Notes." N.p., Oct. 2001. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.

Charters, Ann, and Samuel Charters. A Doll House. 1978. Literature and Its Writers. 2nd ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 1575-627. Print. An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry and Drama.

Templeton, Joan. "The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen." PMLA 104.1 (1989): 28-40. JSTOR. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .

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