Self Identity In Sweat And A Doll's House

Society’ Affect on Self Identity Throughout history it is seen that gender roles have a large influence upon women and their place within society. It has been seen to affect the way women are discerned and feel about themselves as individuals, as well as their role within their marriages. “Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston, “The Awakening” by Kate Chopin, and “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen are all examples of how women’s feelings about themselves, as individuals, and within their marriages are affected by gender roles. These effects can be seen about the main women protagonist in each story and how their respective societies affect them. Within their respective story setting Delia, the main protagonist of “Sweat”, Edna, the main protagonist

In Nora’s case she saw that she was failing at her role as a mother because she had done so many immoral actions, including committing fraud. When talking to Torvald he says “And still this Krogstad’s been going home year in, year out, poisoning his own children with lies and pretense; that’s why I call him morally lost.” (1041), showing where this idea that Nora’s immoral actions are going to poison her own children just like Krogstad’s actions poison his own children. She did not want her negative actions to be rubbed off on her children, so she saw her only escape was to walk away from her household so that her children would not be “poisoned” with the same immorality that she possessed. Still this shows how she views her role in her marriage as a failure because she is unable to raise her children right. This is similar to Edna’s view of her failing role as mother for her children. She was in a unfulfilling marriage and decided to have two affairs with men that she knew. When she reflected back on her choices she realized how this would negatively affect her children. Edna realized that she did not want to have her unfavorable choices be rubbed off onto her children, so she committed suicide to save them from her “poison”. These two women saw that because of their immoral actions that they were at an indifference with their

In these respective texts, each woman protagonist had to face a problem whether it was put onto them because of them or another. These plights that they were put into helped them realize their true identity and who they really were. In “A Doll’s House”, Nora had committed fraud and had brought much dishonor to her household, helping her realize in the end that she is truly immature. She realizes that she is just like a child and that everyone in her life is always making decisions for her. The best example of when people make her life decisions for her is when Mrs. Linde decides for Nora that Krogstad should let Torvald read the letter with the truth of what she has done. She always needs someone to make the hard decisions for her, just as of she was their child. Nora finally sees that she needs to mature before she can take care of a whole home and family. Her realization that she needs to become mature and a capable adult that can solve her own problems, is what leads her to leave. She knows that she can not take care of her children because she, too, is a child at heart. This is very similar to Edna in “The Awakening”, how she realizes that her true identity is not what society wants from her. She does not want follow the societal rules that are in place during this Victorian time period. She is in an unfulfilling marriage that leads her to cheat on her