ipl-logo

Feminism In A Doll's House

1223 Words5 Pages

“ Free, to be free, absolutely free. To spend time playing with the children. To have a clean, beautiful house, the way Torvald likes it ” (page 23). This is a quote extracted from Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, which was said by the protagonist of the story, Nora, to her childhood friend, Mrs. Linde. This play was written in 1879 and it was first acted out in Stockholm, Sweden in 1880. It gave Ibsen international fame due to the way it provoked the world. There were many strong responses to this play, whether it was praise or censure. The door that Nora slammed at the end of the play is said to be the loudest slammed door of the nineteenth century. It caused conservatives, traditionalists, and anti-feminists to rage and fear, where as it caused the liberals and feminists to cheer and hope, hope for a better and more equal world, where women and men are viewed as parallels. If written in our time (the twenty-first century), the play would not have as great an effect as it did in the nineteenth century. This is because people at the time lived in a more patriarchal society, following a certain set of norms, always giving the man authority. Some of the main norms used by the bourgeoisie of that time that we learn due to Torvald’s actions and words were financial success, hence the belonging in the bourgeoisie of society, upwards social mobility, portrayed by his promotion to a major position in the bank, freedom from financial debt, and having a stable, secure family

Show More
Related

  • A Feminist Response To Marge Piercy's Barbie Doll

    495 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Barbie Doll” is a powerful poem that provides a feminist view on the expectations of women in society. Marge Piercy sarcastically demonstrates the idea of being as perfect as a Barbie doll in her poem. She tells the story of a normal girl who grows up into a woman that is constantly told she is not perfect. In response to these comments, the girl cuts off her nose and legs in order to satisfy those around her. It is only in death that she is finally admired as the perfect woman.

    Read More

  • Feminism In The Glass Castle

    1892 Words  | 8 Pages

    In The Glass Castle Jeanette is a very strong female character determined to make a better life for herself so she decides to move to New York and achieve her dreams. Eventually she achieves her goal and is now an independent person. She strives to leave the past behind her as soon as she can. She says to them, “I’ll be gone. In less than three months, I’m leaving for New York City” (Walls 238).

    Read More

  • A Doll's House Analytical Essay

    1136 Words  | 5 Pages

    Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen was highly criticized for undeniably demonstrating woman’s issues in the 19th century. While the play doesn’t change setting much at all, Ibsen clearly focuses in on the characterization of three insightful characters: Mrs. Linde, Nora, and Helmer. Mrs. Linde is a minor character; however, that doesn’t alter her effect on the play. She provides the mold for the perfect, idealized wife. Nora, the main character, develops rapidly in the play, and her character is a stark contrast to Mrs. Linde.

    Read More

  • Infidelity And Gender Roles In A Doll's House

    1092 Words  | 5 Pages

    Mark Twain called the late 19th century the "Gilded Age." The years between 1878 and 1899 were a soul-searching time for many Americans especially women, as they examined the basic values they lived by. This period was seen by many as “Glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath”. The late 19th century was a period of greed and guile: of corruption, dishonest speculators, shady business practices, and scandal-plagued politics. Kate chopin and Henrik Ibsen were two controversial authors who showcased all the hidden aspects of society that no one wanted to discuss infidelity, and gender roles.

    Read More

  • A Doll's House Analytical Essay

    250 Words  | 1 Pages

    The play The Doll House initiates with Nora in a seemly happy marriage with a husband she loves and believes the feeling is mutual. Nora holds her husband in high esteem because of his professional accomplishments. However, he neglects to acknowledge Nora uniqueness. He treats her like a doll to be played with and cared for; as her father does. She exploits her husband's prominence by obtaining a loan fraudulently.

    Read More

  • Rebellion In A Doll's House

    1214 Words  | 5 Pages

    Although Henrik Ibsen presents Nora as an innocent character at the beginning of the play A Doll´s House, there were signs of rebellion that made the audience somehow foresee the final act. But to recognize these signs of insurgence, we must to take into consideration – throughout the following essay – that this play took place during the 1870s. At that time, women had fewer rights than men. They were dependent, as they had to live their entire life under the shadow of men. Women themselves passed from their father’s responsibility to their husband’s responsibility, and so did their rights .

    Read More

  • Social Norms In A Doll's House

    1406 Words  | 6 Pages

    For instance, it is quite clear that Ibsen's decision to talk about the topic of money in this play is influenced by the societal norms or cultural expectations at the time where the society in Norway at around the nineteenth century had changed significantly in terms of its socio-economic ideologies and people had become obsessed with money where they would always take care of their financial health by trying to avoid debt by all means. This explains why the opening discussion in this play is about the topic of money and the story ends up with a divorce which has been occasioned by borrowed money by a wife in order to save her husband’s life. However, the most important aspect of the play is how Ibsen has demonstrated that women are willing to reject social conventions in order to safeguard their interest as was witnessed with Nora and Ms. Linde who are two women who have gone against social expectations in order to care for their families. For this reasons, Ibsen play is influenced by the social and cultural norms of the time where he seeks to show that a time had come to reject some of the conservative social conventions that

    Read More

  • A Doll House And Trifles Comparison Essay

    558 Words  | 3 Pages

    In comparing and contrast both drama A Doll House by (Henrik Ibsen), and Trifles by (Susan Glaspell). The authors shine a light on how a woman had no place in society in the nineteenth century .A woman place was in her home and her responsibility’s consist of taking care of her husband, her children and her home. Mrs. Wright was introduce to the reader as woman that was held for murdering her husband after a long time of abuse. Nora was introduce to the reader as woman that had everything in life.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On A Doll's House

    1409 Words  | 6 Pages

    A Doll’s house is a realistic three act play that focuses on the nineteenth century life in middle class Scandinavian household life, where the wife is expected to be inferior and passive whereas the husband is superior and paternally protective. It was written by Henrik Ibsen. The play criticised the marriage norms that existed in the 19th century. It aroused many controversies as it concludes with Nora, the main protagonists leaving her husband and children in order to discover her identity. It created a lot of controversies and was heavily criticised as it questioned the traditional roles of men and women among Europeans who believed that the covenant of marriage was holy.

    Read More

  • Feminism In A Doll's House By Henrik Ibsen

    1117 Words  | 5 Pages

    Henrik Ibsen lived a normal life, with some amount of reasonable wealth because of his father shop. Yet when his father shop went bankrupt, his view of his father went from a man of pride to a man that kept drinking his life away. The one who kept the family afloat was non-other than Ibsen mother Marichen Altenburg. Marichen broke the social norms of being a housewife and started working, she was the one who saved the family from complete failure and still raised Ibsen while doing it. By breaking the social norms of her time she was most likely ridiculed because of it.

    Read More

  • Social Expectations In A Doll's House

    759 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, the three-act play, set in 19th century Norway, explores the progress of Nora’s marriage as she attempts to hide her debt and forgery from her husband. Ibsen conveyed social commentary on gender roles and societal expectations, a topic still in controversy, through the use of symbolism, irony, and dramatic elements. In A Doll’s House, Ibsen presents the problems associated with the position of women in a man’s world of business as his central focus, even if other social or individual problems become more prominent as the play progresses.

    Read More

  • Modernism In Doll's House

    856 Words  | 4 Pages

    A masterpiece of creative act that instantly portrays the hypocrisy of the Victorian middle class, a Dolls House was written by Henrik Ibsen in 1879 a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of realism" and is one of the founders of Modernism in theatre. The story takes place on Christmas eve where Nora and Torvald the two main characters represent the importance of gender roles and social image throughout the Victorian era. The conflict of the story is driven by Nora’s forging of loan documents to raise money for an expensive trip to Italy; Krogstad, who had processed the loan, tries to blackmail Nora over the fact that she forged the documents. Nora who risked jeopardizing her husband’s image had set the tone throughout the play as the constant change in personality set the tone of the play which I have really enjoyed due to the unpredictable plot twists and a chance to be engaged with The Victorian culture at that time period.

    Read More

  • Reader Response Theory In A Doll's House By Henrik Ibsen

    831 Words  | 4 Pages

    Nora 's courage in going against the pillars of the Victorian era is something the modern reader finds commendable and aspiring. If the play had been performed today, the modern reader would be the one to stand up and whistle during the scene of the slamming of the door, while the Victorian reader 's face would turn pale with shock at Nora

    Read More

  • Gender Inequality In A Doll's House By Henrik Ibsen

    1287 Words  | 6 Pages

    This play, A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, focuses on women, especially in marriage and motherhood. Torvald is a character, who describes inequality between men and women and the women’s role in the society in that era. He believes that it is an important and the only duty of a woman to be a good wife and mother. As an individual, a woman, could not conduct or run a business of her own, she needs to ask her father or husband and they were only considered to be father’s or husband’s property. Women were not allowed to vote and divorce if they were allowed they would carry a heavy social shame and it was only available when both partners agreed.

    Read More

  • Feminist Criticism In A Doll's House

    1349 Words  | 6 Pages

    The play closes on a positive note with Nora, representative of the supressed female, overcoming Torvald, representative of the oppressive male, however to express the true extent of this achievement, Ibsen makes evident the context of the struggle that society dictated women live by. The progressive characterisation of the protagonist Nora encapsulates Ibsen’s intention of pushing theatrical and societal norms through showing how women deserve to create their own identity and not be restricted by their male oppressors. Ibsen crafted every line to show the development of her dialogue, actions, setting and properties, and in doing so he potently slammed the door on the patriarchal society of the 19th

    Read More

More about Feminism In A Doll's House

Open Document