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Women In A Doll's House By Henrik Ibsen

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A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen shows how European society treated women. The female characters confined to the social value of the Victorian era. All the female characters in A Dolls’s house receive a role and because of it receive poor treatment. The main character’s relationship with her husband shows this. “When did my squirrel get in” (Ibsen I). From the very beginning of the play Torvald refers to his wife as small animal names. By using animal imagery he is dehumanizing Nora. He only calls her by small pet names showing that she is of small importance and below him. Not only that, but the small animals have small brains and he is feeding into the stereotype that women are not as smart as men. Torvald shows his superiority and control …show more content…

Based on Confucian beliefs Women in this society are useless and degraded. A woman follows the men in her family; first her father, then her husband, and finally, her sons. Women only desired to have sons. “Men worked in the fields and the women stayed in their upstairs chambers behind lattice windows” (See 15). From a young age Lily saw that women are only allowed to stay in a room all day when the men can go out and work. Women were responsible for the affairs inside of the household. This included caring for children, cooking, and cleaning. Men were responsible for affairs outside of the home. One important relationship lily has is with her laotang. This relationship meant that they were friends for life. Lily, Beautiful Moon, and Snow Flower go through foot binding together. A severe example of gender inequality is the process of binding feet. “For us, the pain didn't lessen. How could it? But we learned the most important lesson for all women: that we must obey for our own good” (See 33). From a young age girls bind their feet only to impress men. This quote drives home the idea that their worth comes from their bodies. Foot binding is a very painful process that could even led to death. They take that risk to insure they get married in the future. Marriage and societal status affects the treatment of women in China in the 19th century. “If a daughter doesn’t marry

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