“In the history of feminism universalism has played a crucial role. The revolutionary promise to realize the individual human rights of liberty, equality, and political participation has been the basis for women’s claim for citizenship in Western democracies since the eighteenth century. I would go so far as to argue that feminism, even as we know it today, would not exist without abstract individualism, not because abstract individualism included women in its definition, but precisely because it had such difficulty doing so. Feminism is not, as pluralist arguments might have it, an inevitable correction to the imperfect implementation of theories of universal individual rights. Nor will simple declarations of human universality solve the problem …show more content…
The relationship is interdependent, even though rhetorically oppositional.” (Joan W. Scott). “Although multiple research studies show that men and women exhibit similar leadership styles, Catalyst’s prior research indicates that men do not face the persistent gender stereotyping that frequently place women business leaders in “double-blind, ‘no-win’ dilemmas.” According to the study, which interviewed senior business executives from the United States and Europe, men are still viewed as “default leaders” and women as “atypical leaders,” with the perception that they violate accepted norms of leadership, no matter what the leadership behavior”. (Catalyst Inc) A dilemma is defined as “a situation requiring a choice between equally undesirable alternative” (dictionary.com). People face dilemmas all the time. A dilemma can be anything from what you want for dinner to staying in a broken marriage. That is exactly wat happened in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”. The women in the play faced many different dilemmas throughout the play. The dealt with committing fraud, finding a job and even …show more content…
She faces the most dilemmas of them all throughout the hold thing. She is b has to commit fraud just so she could take care of her husband in his time of need. She forged her father’s name in order to get the money then took her time to pay it back with her own money. She could have asked her husband whom just got a better job with a raise for the money but she didn’t. she came across a dilemma and she solved it herself. Kristine is Nora’s childhood friend. Nora is the opposite of Nora. She is no longer married and has no children. Even though Nora and Kristine are opposites they both deal with similar dilemmas. Kristine also married young and down on her luck she goes to her good friend Nora for help. She needs a job so she asks Nora to ask Torvald to get her a job at the bank with him just until she gets on her feet. She later finds out what Nora did and advises her to tell her husband exactly what she did so he can fix
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreFeminism is a group of movements and ideologies that have a common goal: the political, economic and social equality of the sexes ("Feminism," 2015). Historians have debated the origin of feminism (Rampton, 2015). Did it begin with the greek poetess Sappho? Or with the french author, Christine de Pizan, who is regarded as the the first woman to take up her pen in defense of her sex (Beauvoir, 1953, p. 105)? Women throughout history have challenged society's attitudes when it comes to the female gender and their contributions overtime have made a great impact for women all around the world today. It was around the eighteenth century when Mary Wollstonecraft, often distinguished as the first feminist philosopher, advocated for the same respect and rights for the female sex. However, it was not until the late nineteenth century, that the feminist movement, or rather a series of movements, emerged.
Throughout history an idea that has been used to combat the fight for women’s rights is the idea of universalism. This idea, as Joan Scott presents in her work Universalism and the History of Feminism, was based on the concept that being an individual was celebrated and everyone was allowed to be their own valued individual in society. Many people would say that feminism is engulfed in universalism just on the definition of the word, Scott would disagree. Scott redefines what the “individual” is and how women’s attempt to become an “individual” creates the paradox of feminist speech. Author Marilyn Frye redefines some common words in her essay, “Willful Virgin or Do You have to Be a Lesbian to Be a Feminist,” in order to challenge the paradox of feminist speech and universal individual rights that Scott argues inherently leaves out women.
...valuated and affirmed by those around us. For women, however, this process is often interrupted, due to the fact that “when women display leadership behaviors we consider normative in men, we see them as unfeminine, [and] when women act more feminine, we don’t see them as leaders” (Sarah Green, Harvard Business Review). This issue is felt and internalized, rather than seen, and drastically decreases women’s motivation to lead within an organization. In contrast, Morrison notes that women, while kept from the innermost circles of leadership and power, and constantly, and with high intensity, purported to succeed: “the pressure is in being a minority, set apart by gender before anything is said or done, and in being responsible for representing women as a group because there is no one, or few others, to share that responsibility” (Breaking the glass ceiling, pp. 17).
Dating back to the early nineteenth and twentieth century, the principle of feminism has made a huge impact that will forever change the course of history. The idea of feminism is to advocate gender equality and to strongly support the right for women in the areas of issue and debate, such as: politics, social issues, and economics. Feminists, defined in Webster’s Dictionary as “People who advocate or support the rights and equality of women”, have fought for many issues that contradicted the general concept of gender equality. Many individuals in today’s society have questioned the idealism
Schein begins by elucidating that in our quest to know what makes effective leaders, we have begun to look beyond the theories of traits and behaviour, beyond the contingency theories and have turned our attention to the question of how gender affects leadership. She explains that one view suggests women would lead differently being “oriented toward cooperation, teamwork and concern for others.” (Schein, p. 162) From this point of view, possessing feminine characteristics would be beneficial and thereby increase opportunities for women to access managerial positions. However, she points out, the focus on gender based characteristics is actually counterproductive to promoting equality for women in the workplace as it “perpetuates sex...
The numbers tell the story quite clearly. Even though women make up the majority of the workforce or 51% they “fall substantially behind men when it comes to their representation in leadership positions”, as cited in the article “The Women’s Leadership Gap” by the Center for American Progress (par. 7). The article goes on to state that only “14.6% of executive officers, 8.1% of top earners, and 4.6% of Fortune 500 CEOs” (par. 8) are women. This fact that more men and fewer women fill leadership positions is a byproduct of what has always been the status quo. A status quo that is stacked against
Torvald is not aware of this though, only Nora is. When her husband, Torvald, is deathly ill, the doctors only give Nora one option and that is to take him to Italy for one year. Due to how much Nora loves Torvald, she forges her father’s signature on a loan. To Nora, the power of love and happiness for her husband is much more important than her getting in trouble. She is secretly working small jobs and pulling money from her savings to pay off this huge debt, but little does Torvald know this. She gives up much of her happiness to become Torvald’s little doll and she finally comes to realize this. She tells Torvald that after all she has done for him she is sick of the way he treats her and wants to leave to find herself. “Torvald--it was then it dawned upon me that for eight years I had been living here with a strange man and had borne him three children. Oh, I can’t bear to think of it! I could tear myself into little bits!(Doll Act 3). Helmer Torvald is greatly impacted by this and wants to become a better person for Nora but she won’t give in. This results in Nora leaving him and her children behind for the sake of her own
Before, Nora had become objectified to a doll, but after she perceives herself as a human being, even exclaiming “I believe that before all else I am a reasonable human being” (Ibsen p. 78). Nora sees the way Torvald did not treat her as equal and now desires to be treated as such. Not only that but Nora’s stirrings of emotion caused her to discover that since Torvald was just like her father, she had no room to mature and become an independent woman. Ibsen explains “[if] I am to understand myself and everything about me. It is for that reason that I cannot remain with you any longer” (Ibsen p. 77). Staying with Torvald would serve no purpose to her character, so those desires became the foundation for Nora to go out and find out who she was as a human being. Nora ultimately squelches the female role within media that woman should be submissive to men by dismissing Torvald’s excuse “Are they not your duties to your husband and your children?” with a counter “Duties to myself” (Ibsen p. 78). Above all else, Nora is allowed to make her own decisions in life rather than stay chained to a man with the intent of objectifying and using her. With this feminist-like mindset, Nora estranged her family because she no longer wanted to be considered an object and to search for herself out in the
Kristine, Nora's childhood friend, is the wisdom and support Nora needs to grow up. Kristine is a woman who has been in the real world, unlike other wives of Torvald's friends. At the same time, Kristine is a friend from Nora's childhood, a person who she can tell her problems to and relate to in some way. Also, unlike everyone else who surrounds Nora, Kristine tells her the truth, she does not pamper her.
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.
Three years prior, Nora’s friend, Kristine Linde, was left a widow and penniless. Mrs. Linde’s lot in life was to care for an ailing mother and her siblings, and since she was unable to find a suitable husband, she took whatever odd jobs she could find. Mrs. Linde tells Nora, “ The last three years have been like one endless workday without a rest for me”( 1145). In Act III, Nora and Helmer are in their bedroom after finding out they would not be exposed by Krogstad’s incrimating letter. Helmer is ready to retire for the evening and wonders why Nora is still dressed for going out. Nora speaks to Helmer in a serious manner, “ But our home has always been a playpen. I’ve been your doll-wife here, just as I was papa’s doll-child” ( Ibsen 285). Nora has been treated as property all her life and now she wants to find out if she can fend for
Torvald expects Nora to agree with what he says and thinks, and commit her life to keeping the family happy by being a housewife. But Nora defies the roles that she is expected to have as being a wife, a woman, and a friend. As a wife, Nora spends Torvald’s money on macarons which are forbidden and attempts to earn her own money while going against what her husband tells her, because she wants to be an independent person with her own opinions. The trip to the south and borrowing money was all done by her, and in the end of the play Nora ultimately goes against the expectations set upon her by leaving the house to live on her own to gain knowledge and experience, but leaves behind her husband and children who she is responsible for taking care of. As a woman, she does not have the authority to disagree with her husband or try to influence his actions. Torvald says, “If it ever got around that the new manager had been talked over by his wife…” (Ibsen 42) showing that it would be a laughing matter if a woman had an idea, but Nora still makes many attempts to persuade her husband. As a friend, Nora is expected to know her role which is a listener and supporter for Mrs. Linde and just an acquaintance to Dr. Rank, but the relationship with Dr. Rank goes beyond what is acceptable. When Dr. Rank confesses his feelings for Nora she is very upset because they can no longer flirt with each other now that the feelings are real. Her role is to be a loyal wife to her husband, which she is, but Ibsen uses the flirtatious dialect between the two to show that there are mutual feelings and that confessing them brings the relationship beyond what is allowed. As Nora challenges all of these roles, she is gradually becoming more stressed and eventually breaks down and leaves her husband, which demonstrates the effect of the unrealistic expectations to uphold the roles of
Nora is a dynamic character. When the play begins Nora is viewed and presented as a playful and carefree person. She seems to be more intent on shopping for frivolous things. But, as time goes on it becomes apparent that Nora actually has a certain amount of seriousness in her decisions and actions in dealing with the debt she incurred to save Torvald’s life. Nora’s openness in her friendship with Dr. Rank changes after he professes his affections toward her. Her restraint in dealing with him shows that Nora is a mature and intelligent woman. Nora shows courage, not seen previously, by manipulating her way around Krogstad and his threats to reveal her secret. After feeling betrayed by Torvald, Nora reveals that she is leaving him. Having
Although today, confidence and assertiveness can be perceived as bossy. In a work environment, women are twice as likely to be branded as “bossy”; therefore, young women are becoming quiet and submissive to avoid the label (Clerkin, C., Crumbacher, A., Fernando, J., and Gentry, A. B. 2014). Women who exhibit masculine traits such as independence, aggression, and competitiveness are considered mean and unlikeable because a stereotypically female is nice and nurturing (Clerkin, C., Crumbacher, A., Fernando, J., and Gentry, A. B. 2014). After analyzing the data, women in leadership roles are penalized for acting aggressive and assertive; thus, they face a double standard.
Why has this book become so popular in rapid time? Why are women flocking to buy the book and why are they talking about it with their friends? More importantly, why was I a part of the craze? These are all valid questions I would like to find answers to. In my opinion, the book negatively portrays women, and yet women, and some men, are still reading it. It is alarming that so many readers are blinded by the message of the book because they are so wrapped in the content. This is why I find the book worth studying. In order to find answers to my questions, I will look to feminist criticism to better understand my topic.