Societal Views of Women in the Victorian Era in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House
A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, creates a peephole into the lives of a family in the Victorian Era. The play portrays a female viewpoint in a male-dominated society. The values of the society are described using the actions of a woman, Nora, who rebels against the injustices inflicted upon her gender. Women’s equality with men was not recognized by society in the late 1800’s. Rather, a woman was considered a doll, a child, and a servant. Nora’s alienation reveals society’s assumptions and values about gender.
A woman was considered by society to be a doll because she was expected to be subordinate to her husband’s whims. Referring to a ball that she would attend, Nora asks her husband, Torvald, if he would “take me in hand and decide what I shall go as and what sort of dress I should wear” (26). Nora relies completely on how her husband would dress her, just like a doll. Just as Nora is treated as a doll, she interacts with her children as such. She doesn’t raise them, she merely “play[s] and romp[s] with the children” (13). She tells Torvald, “our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll wife, just as at home I was Papa’s doll child; and here the children have been my dolls” (67). In this conversation, she shows her alienation as a woman in society by expressing discontent with her role in life.
In addition to being treated like a doll, Nora is also regarded as a small child. Victorian society looks upon women’s intelligence as no better than a child’s. Torvald tells her, “You talk like a child. You don’t understand the conditions of the world in which you live” (69). Yet, he does nothing to rectify the situation. While ...
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... a heedless child” (70).
Because of Torvald’s inability to grasp the concept of equality, Nora leaves him. Society’s values are revealed by Nora’s declaration of equality and independence. Through Nora’s rebellious declaration and departure, she removes herself from society’s standards and makes a move towards equality. She renounces society’s views of a woman as a child, doll, and slave. Men in Victorian society told a woman how to act as a parent to a child, how to dress for a public event as an owner to a doll, and how to keep her thoughts to herself as a master to a slave. Henrik Ibsen portrayed qualities of the Victorian era through the alienated female gender, represented by Nora.
Works Cited
Henrik Ibsen, A Doll's House. Dover Thrift Edition, 1992
Northam, John. Ibsen. A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. 1965.
The author clearly reveals the imbalance in power within the Helmer’s marriage. When Torvald addresses his wife, he continuously reinforces his dominance by calling her belittling pet names such as, “my little lark… my squirrel” (Ibsen 1190-1191). Only when Nora is being criticized does her husband address her by her name. Torvald condemns her for being wasteful with money, and connects it with the fact that she is a woman. Nora endures constant ridicule for her “feminine” acts of squandering money, “Nora, how like a woman… you little prodigal” (Ibsen 1191-1192). Throughout the play, Ibsen reiterates “little” to expose Torvalds’s repetitive disparaging of Nora’s character. But not only does Nora continue to allow the condescending treatment, she responds by acting helpless and in need of proper guidance. When discussing the responsibilities of women in the Victorian era, Hsin Ying Chi, English instructor at Troy State University, points out, “Her first duty is to be a submissive wife who loves and obeys her husband” (par. 27). In A Doll’s House, Nora represents the “traditional” subordinate house wife who solely exists to please her husband. She is shown to be oblivious to any outside issues, and it is apparent to the reader that Nora is completely dependent upon Torvald. Therefore, as a Victorian women, Nora must blindly follow her husband’s
In the play A Doll’s House, Nora Helmer is the major character as well as a symbol of the majority of house wives in the middle class of the nineteenth century. Also, Nora’s husband, Torvald Helmer, is another symbol represents the majority of men at the time. Through their marriage and relationship, we can clearly see the recreation of the realistic role and characteristic of the suffering women in the nineteenth century.
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Many innocent lives were taken during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994. Philip Gourevitch’s “We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families,” explains why the genocide that occurred in Rwanda should not be written off in history as just another tribal disagreement. This book entails the stories of Gourevitch and the people he interviewed when he went to Rwanda. These stories express what people went through during the genocide, the loss they saw, the mass killings they tried to hide from, and the history of what led to the Rwandan genocide. Rwanda’s colonial past did influence the development of the genocide in Rwanda. The hatred between the Hutus and the Tutsis had been going on for many years before the genocide.
Throughout A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen illustrates through an intriguing story how a once infantile-like woman gains independence and a life of her own. Ibsen creates a naturalistic drama that demonstrates how on the outside Nora and Torvald seam to have it all, but in reality their life together is empty. Instead of meaningful discussions, Torvald uses degrading pet names and meaningless talk to relate to Nora. Continuing to treat Nora like a pampered yet unimportant pet, Torvald thoroughly demonstrates how men of his era treat women as insignificant items to be possessed and shown off. While the Helmer household may have the appearance of being sociably acceptable, the marriage of Torvald and Nora was falling apart because of the lack of identity, love, and communication.
In conclusion, the 1994 massacre in Rwanda deserves attention. Many will argue that use of the term "genocide" is incorrect in describing the war of 1994. They argue that there were only two, true genocides in the twentieth century, of the Armenians, and of the Jews. This is only a matter of opinion. As the Webster's College dictionary defines "genocide", we can conclude that the Rwandan War of 1994 was truly genocide. It was the systematic planning to carry out the extermination of a people.
Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.
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).
"Genocide in the 20th Century: Rwanda 1994." The History Place. N.p. N.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2012
Henrik Ibsen’s famous play A Doll’s House was first published in 1879 and contains elements and characters that appear to support feminism, and drew attention from the women’s rights movement. However, Ibsen himself said that he was not a feminist; rather, his play is about the human nature in general, and is not specifically about women’s rights. Over the years, this was the view that most scholars used to interpret the play, but more recently scholars have produced an opposing argument. Margaret Stetz, one such scholar, writes that “To call Ibsen a feminist playwright or to describe A Doll’s House as a drama in favor of women’s rights is no longer controversial” (150). The most obvious example of Ibsen’s view on gender roles is the relationship between Nora and Helmer and, more specifically, Nora’s self-discovery at the end of the play. Other characters, however, such as Mrs. Linde and Krogstad, as well as Anne-Marie, play a part in defining gender roles in A Doll’s House. In this essay, I will discuss the ways in which Ibsen represents gender roles in A Doll’s House through the characters in his play and the differing views about feminism and gender roles in the play.
Those of you who have just read A Doll's House for the first time will, I suspect, have little trouble forming an initial sense of what it is about, and, if past experience is any guide, many of you will quickly reach a consensus that the major thrust of this play has something to do with gender relations in modern society and offers us, in the actions of the heroine, a vision of the need for a new-found freedom for women (or a woman) amid a suffocating society governed wholly by unsympathetic and insensitive men.
In his play, A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen depicts a female protagonist, Nora Helmer, who dares to defy her husband and forsake her "duty" as a wife and mother to seek out her individuality. A Doll's House challenges the patriarchal view held by most people at the time that a woman's place was in the home. Many women could relate to Nora's situation. Like Nora, they felt trapped by their husbands and their fathers; however, they believed that the rules of society prevented them from stepping out of the shadows of men. Through this play, Ibsen stresses the importance of women's individuality. A Doll's House combines realistic characters, fascinating imagery, explicit stage directions, and an influential setting to develop a controversial theme.
In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Nora Helmer is a traditional “angel in the house” she is a human being, but first and foremost a wife and a mother who is devoted to the care of her children, and the happiness of her husband. The play is influenced by the Victorian time period when the division of men and women was evident, and each gender had their own role to conform to. Ibsen’s views on these entrenched values is what lead to the A Doll’s House becoming so controversial as the main overarching theme of A Doll’s House is the fight for independence in an otherwise patriarchal society. This theme draws attention to how women are capable in their own rights, yet do not govern their own lives due to the lack of legal entitlement and independence. Although Ibsen’s play can be thought to focus on the theme of materialism vs. people, many critics argue that Ibsen challenges the traditional gender roles through his portrayal of Nora and Torvald. Throughout the play Nora faces an internal struggle for self-discovery, which Ibsen creates to show that women are not merely objects, but intelligent beings who form independent thoughts.
Women belonged at home and were expected to cook, clean, raise children, and keep her husband happy. Women had no freedom and were controlled by their husbands. Women needed to keep up with their appearances to get married off in order to fulfill her “womanly duties.” All women during this time period were taught to desire and work towards this goal. In addition, men have to live up to image of being a strong and a good provider. Men were taught at a very young age that emotion was only for women and not men. The ideal of being perfect and keeping up with appearances is prevalent in Ibsen’s, A Doll’s House. In the play, Torvald told Nora that he did not want her to ruin her “pretty little hands” meaning Torvald believed that it is not good for Nora to do any job that could potentially ruin her best quality, which is her appearance. This further illustrates that society wants women to have no purpose other than to look good. In the beginning of the play, Nora does what society says she should do and be. Nora wants to be appear to be the perfect wife and keep Tovald happy by listening to him and keeping up with her appearences. She wants to appear to have the perfect household and her children are necessary for the perfect family image. Yet, she does not raise her children, the maid does. She only greets and plays with her children. Nora was masking her duty as a mother. Ibsen, titled the
For various reasons, the role of women in society has been analyzed and frequently debated throughout history. Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is no exception to the rule. In Norway, and during the Victorian period in history, women’s responsibilities were simply to keep house or do small jobs on the side such as sewing or light secretarial work. Henrik Ibsen may have had several intentions when writing his play A Doll’s House, but the one that stands out so clearly is the role of women in the time period from which the play takes place and just how doll-like they were treated in Victorian society. Women during this period were by no means the decision-makers of their households. Husbands or fathers were the heads of the household and many times women didn’t even know what state their financial affairs were in. It was often times only when something drastic happened that a woman would become aware of these things. For instance, if a husband should fall sick or even pass away and there were no male relatives to help take care of things, often times the woman would have to step up and distinguish what needed to be done in order to take care of things. We see a variation of this situation in Ibsen’s play. We meet a woman, Nora, and her husband Torvald and in it we witness the deterioration of their life together through Nora’s eyes. Throughout this analysis of A Doll’s House, I will address several things concerning Ibsen’s play. I will give a synopsis of the play, an analysis of three major characters: a.) Nora, b.) Torvald, and c.) Krogstad. I will discuss the language of the play and themes. I will give an in-depth look at the playwright himself as well as information on his creation of the play. I will give an idea of ...