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Character and characterization in a doll's house
The changing role of women in contemporary society
The changing role of women in contemporary society
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These two different viewpoints of women are, a woman’s happiness comes from her domestic life and caring for her family while the other believes women have an obligation to themselves, not just to their children or husband. The duties women are expected to perform and where their happiness is supposed to stem from comes from a mutual place. Though Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House, illustrated the growing thought women were developing about taking control of their own happiness and gaining equal rights and values. Though a lot of women still believed that their places were at home, taking care of the family from the home and being the foundation of men since women were viewed as the weaker sex. In the etiquette manual, Woman in Her Social and Domestic Character, by Elizabeth Poole Sanford, women were supposed to draw their happiness from their duties of being a housewife, (Sanford, Woman in Her Social and Domestic Character, page 708), “Domestic life is the chief source if her influence; and the greatest debt society can owe to her is domestic comfort; for happiness is almost an element of virtue; and nothing …show more content…
When I look back on it now, I seem to be living here like a beggar, on handouts.” Nora also thought that her own had duties were equally as valuable as being a wife and mother, and that she was just as capable as men to think for herself, not having other men think for her. She also believed that because she is also human, she must also be entitled to her own happiness and
“A Doll’s House” was written by Ibsen not only to bring attention to the suppression of women, but to bring attention to the other problematic aspects of marriage in the late 1800’s. Since the play was first performed in 1879 in Copenhagen, there was debate about the way that Ibsen portrayed the nature of the Helmer’s marriage (McFarland-Wilson, Knapp 140). Throughout the entire Western World in the 20th Century, the position of not only women, but the nature of marriage was up in the air. Ibsen was not a feminist; he was a realist, who loved to point out the injustices in society (Kashdan). Ibsen’s character clearly explains why he chose to center his writing on the overall picture of marriage, not just the neglect and unfair treatment that the women received.
Women in the 19th century were not treated much better than property. A woman had absolutely no rights. She was not her own person, she was the person that everybody else expected her to be. Women did not have any power over the man in a public or private setting They were treated as property and were supposed to do as the man said. Also, women were not allowed to have jobs, and expected to keep to the house and raise the children. While today it is harder to comprehend the treatment of women in the 19th century Henrik Ibsen does an amazing job portraying this in his drama, A Doll House, with one of the main characters Nora.
A man, intoxicated and impoverished, lay on the dirty streets of patriarchal Norway, and as the jeering citizens sauntered by, they could have never guessed that this man, Henrik Ibsen, would be the Prometheus of women’s rights and the creator of the modern play. Having been born in 1828, Ibsen lived through various examples of the subjection of women within the law, such as Great Britain allowing men to lock up and beat their wives “in moderation” (Bray 33). Therefore, Ibsen was known for his realistic style of writing within both poetry and plays, which usually dealt with everyday situations and people (31). Focusing on the rights of women, Ibsen’s trademark was “...looking at these problems without the distortions of romanticism” and often receiving harsh criticism for doing so (31). In an attempt to support his family, Ibsen became a pharmaceutical apprentice, but after three years he abandoned this profession and began writing poetry. After an apprenticeship in the theater, he began writing his own plays, including a drama in verse, Peer Gynt (31). While working and writing in Norway, Ibsen and several social critics observed “...the penalty society pays when only half of its members participate fully as citizens”, deciding to flee Norway in hopes of finding a more accepting social environment (33). Ibsen wrote A Doll’s House, his most famous work about women suffering through the oppressive patriarchal society, while living primarily in Germany and Italy where he “...was exposed to these social norms and tensions to a much greater extent than he would have been had he remained solely in Norway” (32). While Sweden, Norway, and Denmark began to grant legal majority to women, Ibsen understood the legal improvements f...
The enforcement of specific gender roles by societal standards in 19th century married life proved to be suffocating. Women were objects to perform those duties for which their gender was thought to have been created: to remain complacent, readily accept any chore and complete it “gracefully” (Ibsen 213). Contrarily, men were the absolute monarchs over their respective homes and all that dwelled within. In Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, Nora is subjected to moral degradation through her familial role, the consistent patronization of her husband and her own assumed subordinance. Ibsen belittles the role of the housewife through means of stage direction, diminutive pet names and through Nora’s interaction with her morally ultimate husband, Torvald. Nora parades the façade of being naïve and frivolous, deteriorating her character from being a seemingly ignorant child-wife to a desperate woman in order to preserve her illusion of the security of home and ironically her own sanity. A Doll’s House ‘s depiction of the entrapment of the average 19th century housewife and the societal pressures placed upon her displays a woman’s gradual descent into madness. Ibsen illustrates this descent through Torvald’s progressive infantilization of Nora and the pressure on Nora to adhere to societal norms. Nora is a woman pressured by 19th century societal standards and their oppressive nature result in the gradual degradation of her character that destroys all semblances of family and identity.Nora’s role in her family is initially portrayed as being background, often “laughing quietly and happily to herself” (Ibsen 148) because of her isolation in not only space, but also person. Ibsen’s character rarely ventures from the main set of the drawi...
Women of the 19th century were trapped in their societal roles. There was no way out. Rights were unattainable: no matter how many rights movements occurred, such as the Norwegian Association for Women’s Rights. A women’s place in society was determined by their husband’s status; there was little to no way to obtain a job, a women could not even decide for herself whether or not she wanted to be married or have a child. The male role in the woman’s life took over all decisions and property. Women were seen as the property of men, like their dolls. This idea of a women being a doll was especially evident in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian dramatist, he became known as the father of modern realistic drama. He became popular because of the ridicule he received for “revealing a women’s need for independence from male authority” (feminist literature). While most characters in the play remained obedient to their societal roles, one woman took her life into her own hands. Mrs. Linde, after the death of her husband, learned to stand on her own two feet with no ones help. She got a job, a house and learned to stand on her own two feet. Even though Mrs. Linde played a minor role in the play, her life became a model for the feminist movements because she defied female stereotypes for her time period.
...dlike mentality and needs to grow before she can raise her own children. Her defiance of Torvald, when he refuses to let her leave, reflects her epiphany that she isn't obligated to let Torvald dictate her actions. The height of Nora's realization comes when she tells Torvald that her duty to herself is as strong as her duty as a wife and mother. She now sees that she is a human being before she is a wife and mother and she owes herself to explore her personality, ambitions, and beliefs.
In Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House, Ibsen conveys the idea of women equality. Women equality, where women would have the freedom that men had and would be able to enjoy and relish in a world where their true potential was not forcibly pushed inside of them. In 1879 most women were still confined to the home solely as of mothers and wives. Ibsen, being raised mostly by his mother, saw the truth of being a women from a man’s eyes and decided to show the rest of the world that same enlightenment. In this enlightenment Henrik Ibsen's use of the "well-made play" illuminates the developing strength of the protagonist Nora Helmer to help the social status of women in a male dominated world.
Nora’s life struggle began at a young age. Her father treated her like an inhuman object, and now her husband has done the same thing. After many years of maintaining her “perfect” life, Nora could no longer live like this. She finally stands up for herself and makes a choice to leave her family. This decision is completely reasonable. It is unimaginable to think anyone could treat another person so crudely. No person should be molded into being someone they are not. It is unfair to treat a loved one like an object instead of an equal human being. Unfortunately there are many women today who find themselves in the same position in Nora. Many of which do not have the strength to confront, and to pry themselves from grips of their abusers. It is possible that the greatest miracle will be Nora, out on her own, finding her true self.
In the play A Doll’s House, Nora 's sacrificial role as a women is considered to be more like a housewife. Her husband Helmer only gives her so much money each week to spend on money and other necessities. Throughout the play Nora is being blackmailed by Krogstad because instead of her father signing for the loan she did. Women back then were not allowed to take out loans only men. Women during the time of the play A Doll’s House, were treated very differently they did not have the same rights as men and were constantly having to make their husbands happy. This is a little similar today, but a lot has changed since then. Women now are more independent and have more freedom to do as they please.
Sheldin Kaithathara Ms. Ledman AP literature and Composition 24 March 2014 Analysis how Ibsen portray the role of both men and woman in A Doll House Henrik Ibsen's A Doll House portrays the restrictions of life that applied to men and women living in 1870's Norway. Through his literary masterpiece, Ibsen exposes how specific-gender roles implemented as social norm during 1870’s are enforced within the minds of both the men and women to the extend where it affects every aspect on their life. He utilizes imagery, characterization, foreshadowing, diction, foils, and other literary devices to illustrates how the social norms has bounded the minds of men and women to archetypes of Macho male and trophy wife figure. Ibsen wrote this play during the late nineteen’s century, a time where the feminist revolution had not occurred to advocate civil rights and privileges which the females during the late nineteen’s century did not have.
Inferiority is the condition of being lower in status or quality than another or others.Women have been seen as inferior to men from the past centuries. As it may seem that women have adapted into society to be seen as equals with men, that is not the case. In the short film Nora and the play A Doll house by Ibsen Nora, a troubled character is seen as inferior to the men she works with and her husband. I believe that the short film Nora is an accurate retelling of Ibsen’s A Doll House because it portrays the inferiority of the female gender in the 21st century as present in the 19th century play.
After reading the three-act play called A Doll’s House, I have a few responses about four topics that relate to the performance compared to how women were treated today. The protagonist’s husband named Torvald Helmer, I feel that he was not a villain but rather he was insensitive, and insecure man who was unaware of how his wife, Nora, was being treated by him. Although, I do feel some sympathy for the man despite not living up to his role of being an equal husband, as he had saved up his money and was debt-free, but I do not think his wife wasn’t deceiving. Torvald was assuming his role as the traditional husband where whatever he says goes, and his wife, being the second-in-command in her family heeding her husband’s orders as the breadwinner in the family. Nora at the beginning of the play thought that her role as housewife was the norm until she had realized how unfairly treated she was actually being; she was being treated like a child rather than an equal adult.
As the word implies, realism is the "attempt to reproduce faithfully the surface appearance of life, especially that of ordinary people in everyday situations". Henrick Ibson's "A Doll's House", is the prime example of a play using realism. At the beginning of the first act, we can already see element of it. The play opens up in the Helmer family's apartment and takes place there for the rest of the play. We see the husband and wife arguing about money, which ends up being the reason for their divorce by the end of the play.
A Doll’s House, written by Henrik Ibsen, is an intriguing story of a marriage that falls apart as the wife, Nora Helmer, realizes she has been living as simply a doll in her husband’s doll house. As the story begins, we learn of Nora’s secret, a loan in which she has committed forgery in order to obtain. The loan was used for a trip that the Helmer’s took when Torvald grew ill. Krogstad, the man in which Nora has borrowed the money from, blackmails Nora in hopes that her husband, Torvald, will let him keep his job. As the story develops, Nora’s anxiety grows as her husband grows closer to learning about what she has done.
Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House is a three-act play that takes place in a Norwegian upper middle class household during the late 19th Century. The significance of Ibsen’s play derives from the destiny of a married woman in a male dominated society which created a great deal of controversy as it challenged traditional marriage and focused on the self-discovery of an individual. All of the play’s main characters contrast with one another; this is seen with Nora and Torvald and with Mrs. Linde and Krogstad, especially when it comes to communication, honesty, love, and a mutual respect. The female protagonist, Nora Helmer is the silly, child-like wife of Torvald Helmer.