Her lack of the need for love relates to her Person vs. Society conflict of being very boyish when she is supposed to be a proper young lady. Jill Williamson emphasizes this by stating that “Jo is very much of a tomboy, who often wishes in the story that she had been born a boy” (Williamson). As Jo gets older, her sisters press her more and more to be ladylike because the want her to fit in with society, but Jo never truly lets go of her “inner boy.” Meg is only a bit older than Jo and at a glance they may seem
When Torvald realizes that she really is leaving that is when he shows true emotion for her, he fears she may never remember him or the kids. Even when Torvald insults her by calling her childish she disregards his critiques and continues gathering her things. Torvald reveals that he is not the strong-willed man she thought he was, but a coward who needed a wife or someone to protect him. Nora realizes Torvald has never seen her fully as a spouse but as a doll to keep to make him happy and play the wife role in his house. At the end of the play, Nora becomes this strong, independent woman that decides on her own that she will move back home and live the rest of life without the help of Torvald and his money.
She gives you glimpses of her non-pioneer or more human side but never fully reveals all of her internal wants and needs, especially as a woman. When she has that recurring dream, she is mad at herself for her mind expressing those wants but she would never act on it. When she does eventually marry Carl, it sounds like she’s treating it like a business venture or a security investment not a physical relationship. Despite her willingness to introduce advanced technology, I believe her father would be pleased with her “pioneer-ness”. She recognizes what she has given up in order for Emil to not have to follow in her footsteps, but she does not regret it.
He’ll be wasting his time and mine too…..” (Pg.10) Mama Elena refuses Tita’s pleads, and it is clearly evident that Mama Elena does not fit into the stereotypical role. In fact, after Pedro arrives at the ranch, he asks Mama Elena for Tita’s hand in marriage. Generally, the suitor would ask the father or the male figure, however, the absence of Tita’s father allows Mama Elena to make decisions. The author depicts the masculine traits within Mama Elena as a way to show that not all women fit into the typical stereotypical role. Although the author portrays Mama Elena as a domineering, and fierce woman, there are several underlying reasons for this.
By attracting him in this way, Paul feels as though she has seized his right to make decisions and lead his own life: A grown man fixed by a girl? But what if the girl was not a girl, but something in disguise? A lowdown something that looked like a sweet young girl and fucking her or not was not the point, it was not being able to stay or go where he wished in 124, and the danger was in losing Sethe because he was not man enough to break out, so he needed her, Sethe, to help him…and it shamed him to ask the woman he wanted to protect to help him...God damn it to hell. (149) Here, Beloved’s captivating power mirrors that of slavery. Just like in his earlier life, Paul D feels humiliated by his fundamental lack of power or control, and he is unable to appear strong or masculine even to the woman he loves.
From the beginning Stanley has doubted Blanche, this is seen as he went through Blanche's things with Stella, questioning her belongings, “has she got this stuff out of teacher's pay?”(2.33). Stanley continues to impose his reality onto Blanche, which causes her more anxiety relying more and more on herself to create more of an illusion by creating an admirer for herself, saying that she ended it with Mitch because she does not deserve “deliberate cruelty”, and crating this alter ego for herself as being pure. While Stella is in the hospital, he and Blanche are left alone for the night as she continues bragging about her admiration coming from Sheep Hunt Leigh and how she just got a wire from him. Stanley catches her in her life, finally tearing apart Blanche's illusions. Although Stanley has been a threat to her through his suspicion and empowering masculinity over her, the last scene is where he finally takes final control over her, or symbolically where reality has a final triumph over her illusions.
Valencia, who epitomizes the average housewife, also represents the unexpressed discontentment of many married couples. She loves Billy excessively, but he does not reciprocate this. Billy continues to have the same “so it goes” attitude and is both indifferent and impassive to her death. This emotionless outlook substantiates the fact that he marries her purely for the sake of having a significant other, and does not genuinely love her. Upon thinking about their marriage together
Torvald also treats her as a child, for example, by forbidding her from eating macaroons, something she does anyway despite her promises of total obedience to him. However, we soon realise that she has strengths and depths that she has hitherto kept hidden, as she has taken a loan for Torvald’s health without letting him know. Nora has never lived alone, going immediately from the care of her father to that of her husband, Inexperienced in the ways of the world as a result of this sheltering. Her friendship with Mrs Linde is and Dr Rank is amiable, helpful and healthy, and Dr Rank was secretly in love with Nora but maintained a distance for the purity of her relationship. She is a loving and affectionate Mother despite the fact that the old nurse takes care of them is largely responsible for their upbringing.
This is like Ethan and Zeena’s marriage, kept so that nobody can touch it, although Mattie eventually does. When Zeena found out about the pickle dish, she did not want Mattie staying with them anymore. This shows that when Zeena found out about the pickle dish, she realized something was not right. Mattie brought down the pickle dish and this showed the problems and issues with Ethan and Zeena’s marriage. One issue being how fragile their marriage was and that it was all based upon the pickle dish.
Because of this “puppeteering” of the characters mentioned above, Nora, Didi and Gogo, in turn, are used to the habit of leaving matters in the hands of other people and the time, hence, living a purposeless life in purposeless time. Nora, being a wife treated as perfect doll, lived not for improving herself as a human being but as a person responding to the impositions of her husband. Because of this, she has grown to blindly embody other people’s opinions (esp. His father) and doesn’t construct her own ones. She did not learn how to live by the principle of “Knowing Thyself” (Socrates) and stand by her own perspectives.