In conclusion, Even though both Ibsen and Glaspell are showing the responsible for giving women insight to what their lives could be as an independent person who is treated as an equal, their plays deals somewhat different sight to deals with the problems of the inequality between men and women. In other words, in A Doll’s House, Nora – like many others – begins to realize that she is more than capable of thinking and living for herself. Unlike Nora, however, in Trifles, Mrs. Wright chose to stay married to her unloving and murder her husband. Moreover, unlike what A Doll’s house portrayed, in Trifles, Glaspell shows the power of women can gain by sticking together and looking out for one another in order to improve their social positions from the behavior of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters.
The old and new attitudes toward sexuality and the proper behavior of women is very apparent in the play called A Doll House. The play shows how each woman has sacrificed who they were for the men and the other people in their lives. The play also shows how men see women in general. Several characters give up who they thought they were meant to be, because of the social aspect in their lives. Society has always placed a burden on women as who they are supposed to be as wives, mothers, and as adult women.
He believes that all women should be restricted of their rights and forced to do as told. In A Doll's House, it is made clear that women do not reserve the rights that men do when it comes to taking out a loan. "Why, a wife can't borrow without her... ... middle of paper ... ...o serve men, even before God. As thoroughly explained, women are thought to be weak and insignificant compared to men. Many people, including women, consider females to be unable to care for themselves; therefore, they need a man to take care of them in order for them to survive in the world.
In the play A Doll House, there are many suggestions referring to how a woman was expected to behave and how men were expected to behave during the time this play was written. Nora’s character first appears to be very feminist. For an example, she doesn’t have a real job, she spends money carelessly, and she says and does things to make her appear very childish and dependent upon Torvald. On the other end Torvald her husband, makes the money for the family and he appears to be easy going one in the house. The main characters Nora and Torvald pretend to be someone who there are not to please others around them.
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.
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.
It is sad that she has no say against this and ultimately ends up believing it herself. She decides to leave the kids with her nurse so they will not end up the same way she did. In the article “Nora in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Komol in Saratchandra’s Shesh Proshino: A comparative study from feminist perspective” by Md. Nesar Uddin, he explains how Helmer “explodes into vulgar rage—he calls his wife a hypocrite, a liar, a criminal; he throws her father into her face. A sensible husband cannot behave towards his wife in such a beastly way as he did, no matter what the offence she has committed.”.
Gender roles in society are virtually thematic in the two stories A Dolls House and Antigone. A Doll’s House, written by Henrik Ibsen is a story about the wife battling to hide a loan that kept her husband alive, because if anyone found out society would crash upon her for her bold actions. Antigone, written by Sophocles, is a play about a girl defying men to do what man didn’t to please the gods and bring honor to her family. In almost all societies before the modern age, women have been thought to be naturally below men. Both main female characters, Antigone and Norah, have fought against society to take responsibilities, as they rise from their status to face problems and challenges of men.
A Feminist Perspective of A Doll's House In "A Doll's House", Ibsen portrays the bleak picture of a role held by women of all economic classes that is sacrificial. The female characters in the play back-up Nora's assertion that even though men are unable to sacrifice their integrity, "hundreds of thousands of woman have." Mrs. Linde found it necessary to abandon Krogstad, her true but poor love, and marry a richer man in order to support her mother and two brothers. The nanny has to abandon her children to support herself by working for Nora. Though Nora is economically advantaged, in comparison to the other female characters, she leads a hard life because society dictates that Torvald be the marriages dominant member.
In conclusion, Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House displays Nora going through a transformation from a childish and dependent character to a woman who recognizes her capability and becomes a strong-willed individual who makes her own decisions. Nora is a symbol of many women in the nineteenth century who wanted to escape from the authority of men. Many women in the world today face similar issues as they are forced to be rely upon men, whether it is their father, brother, husband or son. This is a problem because these women are treated unjustly by the men who run their lives when in fact they are capable of taking control for themselves.