Alexis Jones
Professor Stacey Taylor
ENG 234
24 September 2015
Women's Roles: A Comparison of Ibsen and Hansberry
Throughout history, women have generally been treated as inferior to men. They haven't been able to hold the same jobs, receive the same pay, or even vote until recently. Both Henrik Ibsen's A Dolls House (1879) and Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun (1951) tell of the struggles women go through to become independent and equal to men. Ibsen's A Doll's House focuses on one woman's journey towards independence. Nora Helmer, wife of Torvald Helmer, has been treated like a doll ever since she was born. She has always behaved in a childish manner and is viewed as immature. However, when her husband falls ill she must take out a loan without her husband knowing so that they can
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move and he can recover. Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun focuses on three African-American women and their struggle for freedom in a world dominated by whites males. Above all, they just want their family to live in harmony with one another. Throughout A Doll's House Nora struggles with lying to her husband.
The biggest lie being where she obtained the money to move to Italy. She tells Torvald that her father gave it to her. When in reality, a money-lender named Krogstad loaned it to her. She forged a signature to prevent her husband from finding out about it. After being fired by Torvald, Krogstad, threatens to blackmail her if she does not get him his job back. Despite Nora's best efforts Krogstad does not get his job back. He remains true to his word and sends Torvald a letter that discusses Nora's loan and her forgery. Upon reading the letter, Torvald becomes enraged and forbids Nora from seeing their children to prevent them from being corrupted. It is during these moments that Nora realizes that their relationship has been a farce. That Torvald has never loved her, but has just loved the concept of loving her. Suddenly, a second letter arrives containing the original bond. Torvald is overjoyed and attempts to console Nora and acts like the whole thing never happened. Nora decides that she must leave Torvald and her children so that she may learn how to live on her own and be
independent. The three women in A Raisin in the Sun have immensely different aspirations, as well as immensely different views on how women should act. Lena Younger, or Mama, is a widowed Christian who is very old-fashioned and conservative. She dreams of having a house to call her own. Beneatha Younger is a young, independent college student with strong feminist views. She aspires to be a doctor, but is still figuring out who she really is. She has two suitors who are vastly different. Their names are Joseph Asagai and George Murchison. Joseph, who is Nigerian, makes her the happiest. He has nicknamed her “Alaiyo”, or “one for whom bread is not enough”. George, who is African-American, makes her the angriest. He is arrogant and desires to meld into white culture. As opposed to Joseph, who wishes to embrace his heritage. Ruth Younger, wife to Walter Lee and mother to Travis Younger, just wants her son to be able to live in a nice house. As opposed to living in a dilapidated, cramped apartment. She is disappointed with the way her life has turned out. She is pregnant and considering and abortion because she thinks it is the only way to hold her family together. Both of these plays show how men belittle women.
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, written in 1879, is set in late-19th century Norway. Upon publication, Ibsen’s biting commentary on 19th century marriage stereotypes created widespread uproar. In the play’s first act, the viewer is introduced to a young married couple by the names of Nora and Torvald. In tune with stereotypes of the time, the relationship is controlled almost dictatorially by the husband. Nora is often treated by Torvald the way one might expect a father to treat his daughter. For instance, Torvald incessantly refers to Nora by child-like nicknames such as “my little squirrel” and “skylark” and often speaks to her in a condescending manner. Nora, who acts as a symbol of all women of that time, initially fits in very well with the common perception of women in late-19th century Scandinavia. Torvald himself even extends this sentiment of male infallibility and female submissiveness to the whole female race, saying, “Almost everyone who has gone to the bad early in life has had a deceitful mother (Ibsen 27).” However, throughout the play Nora begins to break the mold of inferiority that was associ...
The play A Doll’s House is a 19th century criticism of the marriage norms of the time. The play opens as Nora Helmer enters her home carrying a number of packages. Nora's husband, Torvald, playfully rebukes her for spending so much money but Nora justifies this with that fact that Torvald is due for a promotion at the bank where he works.
In Victorian England, women were expected to be undoubtedly obedient to their fathers, and later in life, servile to their husbands as well. They were normally forbidden to pursue a real education, and would often “devote themselves to their husbands' happiness” (Roland 10). Throughout history, women have had to make sacrifices for other people's feelings and lives. They have given up their own lives, freedoms, education, and careers due to their concern for others. A concurrent injustice occurs in Henrik Ibsen's play, A Doll's House. The play's characters, motifs, and symbols support it's theme; the sacrifices and decisions pushed onto women by society have hampered them from pursuing their own lives, but there is hope to overcome it.
In Henrik Isben's A Doll's House, he makes the observation that women in contemporary society posses no independent self unrestricted from the male's image of them; Isben accomplishes this through the character relationship between Torvald Helmer and his wife Nora.
The status of women in the 1800's, when A Doll's House was written, was that of a second-class citizen. Women did not have the right to vote, own property, or make legal transactions. The role of women was restricted to that of a housewife. In A Doll's House, Ibsen does a wonderful job of presenting the character of Nora as person who goes though an awakening about her life. In the beginning, she concerns herself only with being a perfect wife and mother according to the social norms of the time. Later, she realizes that she cannot continue just being her husband's shadow. Eventually, she decides that she has duties to herself that are above of those of being a wife. She confronts the fact that she's not complete being the way that her husband, society and the church want for her to be.
The second example of lying, which really stands out, is when Krogstad has deposited a letter into the locked mailbox. This letter essentially holds the fate of Nora, because it tells of her misdeed towards Helmer. She tries to get the letter out. To do so, she must pick the lock.
The play “ A Dolls House” written by Henrik Ibsen is a play centered on Nora the main character and her husband Torvald Helmer. The play was published on December 4, 1879 back when times were different then they were today. Ibsen was well known as “ the father of modern drama” and his play was directed towards the position of women in society. The play “A Dolls House” shows that when a man does not show his wife her equality it can become a big loss for himself.
In Henrik Ibsen's, A Doll's House, the character of Nora Helmer goes through the dramatic transformation of a kind and loving housewife, to a desperate and bewildered woman, whom will ultimately leave her husband and everything she has known. Ibsen uses both the characters of Torvald and Nora to represent the tones and beliefs of 19th century society. By doing this, Ibsen effectively creates a dramatic argument that continues to this day; that of feminism.
How the Effects of Nora Helmer’s Secrets and Guilt Create a Statement Concerning Women’s Role in Society in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House
Gender norms have always been an issue in society. When the colonists first arrived in America, men viewed women as inferior. At this point in time, women were viewed as property, which meant that they possessed no rights or freedoms. In addition, women were often forced to stay in their homes and work specific jobs. Colonial women washed clothes, took care of their children, and cooked food. Women also began to be viewed as inferior, childish, and unintelligent. Over time, these beliefs became the gender norms. To this day, most women remain to be viewed in this way. In the play A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen brings these gender norms to the reader’s attention. Through various literary devices, Ibsen displays a woman’s lack of freedom, necessary
In the play A Doll House, there are many suggestions referring to how a woman was expected to behave and how men were expected to behave during the time this play was written. Nora’s character first appears to be very feminist. For an example, she doesn’t have a real job, she spends money carelessly, and she says and does things to make her appear very childish and dependent upon Torvald. On the other end Torvald her husband, makes the money for the family and he appears to be easy going one in the house. The main characters Nora and Torvald pretend to be someone who there are not to please others around them. In the early 19th century society rules where a woman was suppose to be a trophy wife and please a man in any way he asked and the man works and provides for his family and if you disobeyed the society rules you were inhuman like since society was created by humans. Sick and tired of living by society rules Nora decides to make her own rules and leave her husband despite how society would view her.
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.
Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House highlights the second-class citizen status of Norwegian women in the late nineteenth century. Ibsen uses the main character, Nora Helmer, as an example of the plight of women and their need for equal rights and independence. In Clement Scott’s review of the play, he describes Nora as “a child-wife compounded of infantile tricks and capriciousness, a frivolous and irresponsible young person who does not hesitate to fib, and can, at a pinch, condescend to forge; a wife of eight years ' standing who changes from a grown-up baby to an illogical preacher; a woman who, in a fit of disappointment, in spite of appeal to her honour, her maternity, her religion, her sense of justice, leaves the husband she has sworn
European society, during the nineteenth century, was entirely male–dominated where women were considered to be subordinates, poor decision-makers and weaker sex. They were confined to very narrow roles and were given very less rights and opportunities. They were puppets in the hands of male members of their family, having no will and opinion of their own. Despite that, most of the women easily accepted their role and position in the society without raising any questions since they believed that it was what the society had determined for them and they had to follow them whether or not they liked it. However, there were some women, who after realizing their devalued status in the society and the importance of their individuality, dared to challenge the patriarchal societal rules in order to search their self- identity and to live the life of their own. This seems to be the theme of Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll House” which he has conveyed through characterization, symbolism and settings.
In most relationships you see today, men and women play equal parts. Both men and women work, both help out with the children, and both take the time to rationalize current affairs. Needless to say, there are those relationships where the men are the breadwinners and the women are the trophies. The play A Doll 's House, by Henrik Ibsen, is centered on the war among social lie, marital status, and responsibility. This play is regarding a woman’s need for independence and her obligations to her loved ones and society.