Comparing The Awakening And A Doll's House

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The Awakening by Kate Chopin and A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen can be interpreted through the Feminist and Historical perspectives. Imagery, point of view, and characterization also contribute to the themes of these works. Both Edna and Nora find themselves stuck in a society where women are expected to be mothers and wives. The novel and play express the struggle of women in society for independence along with the presence of women struggling to live up to the demands placed upon them by a male dominated culture.
From the word choice Chopin uses to describe Leonce’s expression after Edna returned home from bathing, readers can infer the disparity between the genders. “You are burnt beyond recognition,”... looking at his wife as one looks …show more content…

Edna begins to struggle with her identity when confronted about the care of her children. One of Edna’s most shameful actions was her gradual rejection of her role as a mother. Edna is not a particularly attentive mother, she cares for her children in theory.It is stated directly that, "in short, Mrs. Pontiller was not a mother-woman" (Chopin 16).She is an ambivalent mother who fluctuates between expressing motherly love, and rejecting her children entirely.”She was fond of her children in an uneven, impulsive way. She would sometimes gather them passionately to her heart; she would sometimes forget them” (Chopin 33). Nora on the other hand plays with her children, buys them gifts and showers them with affection and attention. While the children are not mentioned much in the play, they are constant reminders of Nora's duties as a mother and what she is defined by. Its only later in the story she decides to stay distant from her children and in the hands of her trusted nurse. HELMER: "an atmosphere of lies infects and poisons the whole life of a home. Each breath the children take in such a house is full of the germs of evil." (Ibsen 1.469). She is afraid of being tainted by her lie and did not want to influence her children negatively. In the end both women decide to free themselves from social constraints and oppression.The concept of motherhood is a major theme in these literary

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