The exploration of Nora reveals that she is dependant upon her husband and displays no independent standing. Her progression of understanding suggests woman's future ability to comprehend their plight. Her state of shocked awareness at the end of the play is representative of the awakening of society to the changing view of the role of woman. "A Doll's House" magnificently illustrates the need f... ... middle of paper ... ...le that Nora expects and the miracle that actually happens are entirely different. Nora dreams of the day that her husband will sympathize with her and cease to be the dominating figure with the "upper hand" in their relationship.
Women are expected to do housework while men are to hold the superior and better paying jobs. Women are also dependent on men for security and a sense of identity (Kelley 89). Cinderella is a model for women (Kolbenschlag 525). Cinderella runs away from the party, which symbolizes the "old conduct manuals", that women are not to have excursions or ambitions (527). Bettelheim believes that gender is not the issue, but simply the work she is forced to do is a symbol of debasement in comparison to her stepsisters (568).
And is it really a positive thing in all circumstance? Walker creates Dee as a selfish, unfeeling individual, who has an incredible zest for knowledge. She emphasizes her character as distinct from that of Maggie Johnson her younger sister. ”She used to read to us without pity, forcing words, lies, other folk's habits, whole lives upon us two; sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her words" (7), because of this her mother, Mrs. Johnson sends her to school in Augusta after she and the church raises the money. Dee thinks she is better than the rest, she wants to leave her family and heritage behind because she feels like they aren’t as sophisticated as she is.
The enforcement of specific gender roles by societal standards in 19th century married life proved to be suffocating. Women were objects to perform those duties for which their gender was thought to have been created: to remain complacent, readily accept any chore and complete it “gracefully” (Ibsen 213). Contrarily, men were the absolute monarchs over their respective homes and all that dwelled within. In Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, Nora is subjected to moral degradation through her familial role, the consistent patronization of her husband and her own assumed subordinance. Ibsen belittles the role of the housewife through means of stage direction, diminutive pet names and through Nora’s interaction with her morally ultimate husband, Torvald.
In some instances, Nora wonders whether there is true love in their marriage, how important she is to Torvald and what is her role in this house. At the end, Nora leaves and shuts the door, symbolizing her role in this Doll house. The play, A Doll's House demonstrates Nora as a character who believes that partners should be willing to sacrifice for each other in a marriage. Her perception is similar to Mrs.Linden’s, however, contradicts with that of her husband, Torvald who is demonstrated as selfish, insensitive and have no respect for marriage. Nora believes that there should be true love in a marriage.
The main characters Nora and Torvald pretend to be someone who there are not to please others around them. In the early 19th century society rules where a woman was suppose to be a trophy wife and please a man in any way he asked and the man works and provides for his family and if you disobeyed the society rules you were inhuman like since society was created by humans. Sick and tired of living by society rules Nora decides to make her own rules and leave her husband despite how society would view her. While reading A Doll House, I realized that Nora was treated as a child/doll mostly by her husband Torvald. Throughout the play he would treat her as he was her father rather than her husband.
Ultimately, she decides to break away from her husband and children to leave behind the society that has oppressed her. She feels compelled to learn more about herself and what she wants in life. In the play, A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen highlights the negative treatment that women received during the late 1800s and uses Nora to rebel against society’s expectations for the role of women. In the Helmer household, Torvald as the male, is superior, and is in charge of making money and running the household. While his role is considered “important” to the family, Torvald expects Norato take the submissive role and raise their three children, dance the tarantella, and do as he asks.
The women choose to conform to society’s expectations of women in the early twentieth century, however; Edna and Nora struggle with who they truly have become inside, until the conflict either consumes them or sets them free. Edna conforms by enduring her husband, Leonce Pontellier; caring for her children and home, and keeping her relationship with Robert discreet throughout the novel. While there is an obvious internal battle between romance, conformity, confusion, and unrealized raw passio... ... middle of paper ... ...alizes that not only can she accept herself, but no one else can, either, and her metamorphosis leaves her imprisoned. Nevertheless, both women realize that they have become something which only society expects of them, nothing that they have selected for themselves. They have become wives and mothers, instead of potentially single, and independent women, and their boxed-in world suffocates them.
The Suffering of the Women in Wuthering Heights It appears that Catherine's expectations are unrealistic especially when placed in the historical context. The novel is written during the Victorian era where the role of women in relation to marriage was that they were to be obedient, disciplined and faithful to their husband. Catherine does not fulfil any of these roles in the long term. Firstly, she marries Edgar for social and financial benefits. She becomes aware that she belongs to a social class when she and Heathcliff view life in Thrushcross Grange 'It was beautiful-a splendid place carpeted with crimson, and crimson-covered chairs and tables, and a pure white ceiling bordered by gold, a shower of glass-drops' Catherine had a treatment of the luxurious lifestyle at Thrushcross Grange, that had been neglected under Hindley's running of the house and wants to maintain this standard of living.
Amy, the classic Victorian girl who follows society’s norms, is disgusted by Jo’s boyish manners. We can see that Jo’s male desires are caused by the society she finds herself in. When Jo cuts her hair short it removes her femininity by masculinising her appearance while also becoming the source of monetary support. Meg and Beth embody the traditional models of Victorian womanhood. Alcott was forced to incorporate these models of feminine virtue in her novel because her publisher wanted a novel with heroines to instill good behavior in the young female readers.