During the late nineteenth century, some women continued to suffer from discriminatory duties such as “solely caretakers” while others began to alter their roles in society (Lythgoe). The detrimental accusations towards women made them seem very submissive The inequalities between the two sexes and how society undermines women are shown in the Norwegian play, A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. The play is very controversial in which it focuses on a marriage that appears to portray the “perfect” marriage. However, as the play begins to unravel its plot, a relationship based on lies and pleasing the public is exposed.
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House depicts life as it is in Norway in the late 19th century to highlight a problem in society. Through the characters, a modern tragedy of a woman fleeing her family to escape from the laws of society and gain independence is shown. Ibsen criticizes the patriarchal society by exposing the oppressive institution of marriage and the inferior and sacrificial role that women are confined to. Ibsen shatters the illusion of the covenant of marriage by showing it as an unequal relationship with the husband dominant over the wife.
This was definitely not expected in the upper class households during that time seeing as how that is every woman’s dream lifestyle. A fancy house, kids growing up in a well nurtured, sheltered home and a successful husband. A critic known as Amalie Skram, a journalist who wrote in the 1800’s described A Doll’s House as a “warning.” Amalie described this play as a warning because although Nora had the courage and strength to leave her home, it was not a wise decision at the time. Skram also believed that Nora leaving was a bad influence to society because it will teach women to be “irresponsible” and “will forget all her duties.”
In A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen, feminism and meninism show their opposition in the marriage between Torvald and Nora. Torvald’s male patriarchal role in his family clashes against Nora’s expected housewife role. Nora is put in a situation where she feels that it is necessary to put herself into a male role of being in the workforce. The one thing that is holding Nora back is Torvald’s belittlement and hostility towards women stepping out of line by wanting to take over men’s roles. Throughout the play, Nora transitions into an independent and strong woman through realizations of the true nature of her marriage with Torvald, despite the societal roles and exploitation of women in the 1870s.
Defying Gender in Society Forced Traditionalism to a "Man 's World" the female characters within this play are often forced to obey to the beliefs and values of men. Women started realizing that they needed to fight for their rights to change the situation. In the opening of A Doll’s House, Nora appears utterly happy and takes pleasure in the company of her children and friends even though she is treated like a child by other characters. She does not seem to mind her doll-like existence, in which she is coddled, pampered, and patronized.
In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the theme could be the questioning of the position of women within the institution of marriage, especially the subordination of women in marriage as the society then already held women in such tight social constructs. The narrator bound in this role of submissive is due to her husband and is her doctor gives him more power over to decide for her, having superior wisdom and maturity that leads him to misjudge, and even patronize, dominate his wife, all in the name of “helping” her. The narrator is reduced to acting like a cross, petulant child, unable to stand up for herself without seeming unreasonable or disloyal. Even if he loves towards her this power ultimately leads her to
Gilman intentionally tried to make Jane a typical woman of the time period. She is economically dependent on her husband, as she does not work out of the house. She is not allowed to make her own decisions, John will not let her out of bed, even though she wishes to do so; and she is often treated like a child, John gives her a dirty look when she expresses that she is still not well when he believes that she is getting
Elizabeth already had doubts about darcy, who at the start of the book was very egotistic in his way of thinking, his belief of a perfect wife baffled elizebeth into rage. Austen uses this in the start of the book, but then deviates into a darcy that starts to not care about the so called “social hierarchy” his family had instilled in him from a very young age. Instead he is intrigued by elizabeth who is from a low class, and poor family. Austen developes darcy using the combatment of his own thinking due to a manic pixie dream girl type of character, while she creates the villain in whickman. She dissuades from social class and uses more reputation to build whickman into what we have seen so far.
In the 1950’s society was based upon the American dream an era where you had to have the perfect family the men worked, and the woman cooked, and cleaned the “perfect home”. Being lesbian was frowned upon in society, Homosexuals were only talked about in books where it would result in a horrible ending of them dying, what society wants people to think happens. The previous title of “Carol” was “The price of salt” which fit the theme of this novel, they had to pay a price to society of being lesbian, the salt is the spice Therese wants in her boring life (Carol). Being homosexual was rarely talked about because, everyone was frightened that society would react in a bashful, profound disapproval manner. “But that was nothing, nothing like what she felt for Carol.
Nora is caught in that house, physically. Torvald created a perfect life for his doll wife and children, which Nora can’t stand and wants to leave this house any second she can because she feels oppressed by her husband. Nora Helmer had nicknames given by her husband such as “squirrel” or “little skylark” and he thought that all her thoughts are silly and common to all other women’s thoughts. To add, her father referred to her as the “other” and handed her to Torvald who treated her like a possession or an object. Towards the end of the play, Nora tells her husband that her father used to play with her like a doll, the same way she played with her dolls, and made his opinions become her opinions.
This sends the wrong message to women of the time. It makes it seems as if taking abuse is ok if its from your lover. Abuse appears throughout the book, but never shows the truly horrid side. The women don’t show any signs of long-term signs of abuse such as depression or physical injuries. It seems they get hit or yelled at and don’t sustain any long-term
Torvald Helmer is a character from Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House. Torvald may be seen by some of the people reading or watching the play as the antagonist because of how he treated his wife, Nora. Is he to blame for how he acted, or is he just as much a victim of the nineteenth century societal norms as his wife? Torvald is just a victim of his societal norms, but he appears to be the antagonist because women at that time had limited rights. Men were supposed to have control of their households and be the only providers during this time.
In “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Gilman uses the “psychological horror tale” to criticize the role of women within society in the late 1800’s. For Gilman, the conventional nineteenth-century middle-class marriage, with its stringent distinction between the “domestic” roles of the women in society and the “active” work of the male, ensured that women remained inferior citizens. In the story, John’s assumption of his own superior wisdom and maturity leads him to misjudge, patronize, and dominate his wife, all in the name of “helping” her. The narrator is reduced to acting like a cross, petulant child, unable to stand up for herself without seeming unreasonable or disloyal. The narrator has no say in even the smallest details of her life, and she retreats
One can note that Lady Capulet never says a positive word about the man that she married, yet speaks more highly of the father of the man her daughter married. A reader might find it interesting how paralleled Juliet and her mother are. Had Lady Capulet chosen love, she could have been dead like Juliet. Had Juliet chosen duty, she could have ended up in her mother’s shoes, married to a man that she doesn’t like or
By mirroring the flip side of the reality, it reveals the disunity in the construction of the social roles of “wife” as a housekeeper and a sexual entertainer and of “husband” as the economic supporter and the master of a pet like a woman. A man gets married a woman to take care of his children and family. As the king of Snow White’s father got married a woman to take care of his daughter. But it twists the model of femininity carried by “Snow White with the Seven dwarfs,” and highlights the conflict of woman’s representation. At one side women are weak, innocent and other side represent the power of the reputation; because Snow White was an innocent and her stepmother was a powerful woman because she got the reputation from her husband.