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Media portrayal of gender roles
Media portrayal of gender roles
Media portrayal of gender roles
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The roles of men and women evolve over time. In 1879 the roles, obligations, and expectations of a man and woman were very different from those today. In A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen illustrates the reproachful role of women in society and how appearances can be deceiving. A man was considered the head of the house. He brought home the money, supported the family, and took care of anything of business matter. Women were to take care of housework, the children, and their duties as a wife. The man thought that if he could not provide sufficient money a loan still must not be taken out because it would cause debt. Torvald expresses his belief in this by saying, “There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt” (I. 1759). Also, loans were not to be taken out without the man’s permission. The sacrifice a person makes depends on personal circumstances. In “A Doll’s House” several of the characters make sacrifices for their own reasons. Nora makes a self-sacrifice when she takes out a loan behind her husband’s back. Although she does this behind Torvald’s back, it is to save his life. She must keep her secret because she knows Torvald would never accept the fact that she is the one who saved his life. Mrs. Linde abandons her true love, which turns out to be Krogstad, in order to marry a man with more money. She does this to support her sick mother and two brothers. The Helmers’ nanny had to desert her own children in order to care for herself by working for the Helmers. In the end of the play Nora leaves her husband and children to find herself and grow as a person. One critic agrees that, “Nora does not know what the future will hold, but she realizes that she requires space and freedom if she ... ... middle of paper ... ...ach other, they each have roles and obligations which society expects them to uphold. As do other citizens of society have different expectations. Women were not to work major jobs and men were to be the person in charge of the home. People may act one way, but turn out to be opposite of what is expected. One person might sacrifice them self for the love of another, but that sacrifice may not be appreciated if it makes the other look corrupt or puts their reputation in jeopardy. Works Cited Forward, Stephanie. “A new world for women? Stephanie Forward considers Nora’s dramatic exit from Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.” The English Review Apr. 2009: 24+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. Ibsen, Henrik. “A Dollhouse.” Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts and Robert Zweig. 11th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2011. 1758-1804. Print
Ibsen, Henrik. "A Doll House." The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, and Writing. By Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2011. 1709-757. Print.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth Mahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, 2002. 916-966.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. Literature and Ourselves. 2nd Ed. Ed. by Gloria Henderson, Bill Day, and Sandra Waller. New York: Longman, 1997
Ibsen, Henrik. "A Doll's House." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Twelfth Edition. New York: Pearson, 2013. 1598-1650.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House. The Bedford Introduction to Drama. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Boston: Bedford/ST. Martin’s, 2001. 659 – 688.
Ibsen, Henrik. "A Doll House" The Norton Introduction to Literature. By Kelly J. Mays. Eleventh ed. New York: Norton & Company, 2013. 1447-96. Print.
Rogers, Katharine M. (1985): ‘‘A Doll House in a Course on Women in Literature,’’ in Approaches to Teaching Ibsen’s A Doll House, Shafer, Yvonne (ed.). New York: Modern Language Association, p.82.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 5th ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 1564-1612.
Ibsen, Henrik. “A Doll’s House.” Literature for Composition. Ed. Sylvan Barnet, William Burto, and William E. Cain. 9th Ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 792-841. Print.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House. Lives Through Literature: A Thematic Anthology. Ed. Helane Levine Keating et al. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1995. 782-838.
The idea of equality for women has been the subject of countless books, speeches, and performances for decades. The concept of a world in which a woman can be considered equal to a man is not a new concept in today’s society, but it was in that of 19th century Norway. This is the world of noted playwright Heinrik Ibsen, a forward thinking individual with ideas that challenged the restrictions of society time and time again. A forerunner in the women’s rights movement, Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House offers a commentary much before its time on the dangers of a patriarchal society through the evolution of its protagonist, Nora. In his play, Ibsen uses the Christmas tree to symbolize the growing empowerment and independence of Nora, as well as the steady deterioration of Nora and Helmer’s marriage.
..." A Doll's House," by Henrik Ibsen portrays the genders role of nineteenth century women and men in society. Torvald's perception of his wife of how she is a helpless creature shows the overall role which women fill. Women are responsible for the purity of the world through their influence in the home and through the upbringing of their children. They had to beg and ask for permission to do certain activities and essential things.
In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House, a drama written in the midst of an 1879, middle-class, suburban Europe, he boldly depicts a female protagonist. In a culture with concern for fulfilling, or more so portraying a socially acceptable image, Nora faces the restraints of being a doll in her own house and a little helpless bird. She has been said to be the most complex character of drama, and rightfully so, the pressure of strict Victorian values is the spark that ignites the play's central conflicts. Controversy is soon to arise when any social-norm is challenged, which Nora will eventually do. She evolves throughout the play, from submissive housewife to liberated woman. It seems as though what took women in America almost a century to accomplish, Nora does in a three-day drama. Ibsen challenges the stereotypical roles of men and women in a societally-pleasing marriage. He leads his readers through the journey of a woman with emerging strength and self-respect. Nora plays the typical housewife, but reveals many more dimensions that a typical woman would never portray in such a setting.
Henrik Ibsen paints a sad picture of the sacrificial role of women throughout all social economical classes in his play “A Doll House”. The story is set in the late 19th century and all minor female characters had to overcome adversity to the expense of love, family and self-realization, in order to lead a comfortable life. While the main female protagonist Nora struggles with her increasingly troubled marriage, she soon realizes, she needs to change her life to be happy as the play climaxes. Her journey to self-discovery is achieved by the threat of her past crime and her oppressing husband, Torvald and the society he represents. The minor female characters exemplifying Nora’s ultimate sacrifice.
The role of women has changed significantly throughout history, driven by women who took risks in setting examples for others to follow. Henrik Isben, author of A Doll's House, said “ A woman cannot be herself in society of the present day, which is an exclusively masculine society, with laws framed by men and with a judicial system that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view” (Innes 147). This proves that Isben was aware of male dominance in society during that time period. In his drama, “A Doll's House,” it deals with gender favoritism and male dominance.