Unhappiness
In an Era where women were referred as possessions, we may think that all of them were happy woman taking care of the house, doing clothes and watching the children. Well, it 's not quite like that, at least, not in the stories, I am about to mention. A clear example of this is Nora from “The Doll’s House,” a well-known housewife who seems to do business just as well as her husband. On the other hand, we have Louise from “The Story of an Hour,” she was also a well-known wife, but with a quite different personality. We may think about these women as two completely different persons, but they have interesting similarities, however, as different as their unique and interesting personalities seems to be they shared one same epilogue
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A woman physically ill who never has children and who is emotionally fragile according to the people around her. When her husband allegedly has and accident and die, her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend put their feeling aside to break the news to her without killing her with such an impression. Her emotional weakness and her heart condition, coupled with her inability to express her thoughts and feelings, make her seems like a glass figure that can be easily broken even with the most delicate touch. In the other hand “The Doll’s House” is a story about Nora, a friendly full of energy young wife and mother of three beautiful children. She seems to be the soul of the party, a person who easily communicates with others and who does not have a problem expressing her cordial thoughts. She also seems to be sort of frivolous, a woman interested only on her economic welfare and social environment. Her strong personality hired behind her good manners seems to captivate the people around her. She is also brave, and a proof of this is the loan she took to save her husband life without his authorization. This two women creates an interesting contrast, something that seems to be unmixable, just water and …show more content…
Even thought we were able to know more about Nora I cannot say that Louise was not a challenging character. All the differences and similarities between both Nora and Louise, showed attitudes and thoughts that were ahead their Era and condemned by their society at that time. Towards the end, Nora was able to demonstrate her braveness to her husband; she was strong enough to break the rules that society had at that time. She was able to stop her husband from treating her like a child and decide for her. Moreover, she found the courage to leave him and decided to change her life in order to figure out who she is and how she wants to live her life. Likewise, Louise showed that she was exhausted of being unhappy and also very tired of her husband. She was brave enough to ensure her feelings at the very end and was happy to accept that a new stage of her life had come. Even though it was for her inside only, she broke free of the gold cage that her health and her emotional weakness created around her. The fact that she died at the end of the story manifest that she was not willing to lose all her expectations of the when her husband returned, so in a different and very dramatic way she was set free just like she wanted. Louise and Nora are both dynamic characters, because at the end of the stories, they both accomplish the same ultimate goal. They both were set free, in
...ome from different worlds, yet they still share the same type of sadness and pain in their everyday lives. What Nora does is considered courageous in that time in history, where women were not treated as equals and were always looked down on and ignored. Women speaking out and taking matters into their own hands was unheard of and often risky. They want to be independent so they do what they believe is necessary to accomplish and reach their goals, so that they can once again be happy for eternity.
...hetypes of these primary characters, both of these novels make a parallel statement on feminism. The expectations of both themselves and society greatly determine the way that these women function in their families and in other relationships. Looking at the time periods in which these novels were written and take place, it is clear that these gender roles greatly influence whether a female character displays independence or dependence. From a contemporary viewpoint, readers can see how these women either fit or push the boundaries of these expected gender roles.
In A Doll’s House, Ibsen portrays his lead character, Nora, who is a housewife in the Helmer’s family. She has undergone a transformation throughout the play that she reacts differently to her husband. Her husband, Torvald, is an example of men who are only interested in their appearance and the amount of control they have over a person. In particular, he has a very clear and narrow definition of a woman's role. At the beginning of the story, as from the title of the play, Nora symbolizes the “doll” in the house, which means that she has been treated as treats Nora like a child or doll. For example, husband called Nora ‘bird’ and it implies that husband treats her like his pet and she is his doll as the title is a doll house. In other words, her husband wanted her to be a ‘lark' or ‘songbird' so he can enjoy h...
Feminism is the advocacy of women’s right and is on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. Centuries ago, women did not share the same equality as men. Men and women’s gender roles were practiced with greater acceptance than by today’s standards. More-over, gender roles among women decades ago, were wrapped within the limits of their political, economic, and social rights and freedoms. The man’s role was to work and to make important final decisions for the family. Were-as, the wives were to stay home with the kids and obey her husband. Feminism changed all those aspects in the world for men and women to be treated to have the same rights. “A Doll’s House” is a profound play to make direct connection on why feminism started. The main character in the play Nora is wife and a mother that struggling to gain equality in her life. In
In A Doll’s House Nora expressed the desire to experience life outside of her husband’s shadow. Henrik Ibsen characterized her as a selfless and kindhearted woman, as she constantly put her family’s needs before her own. There is no doubt that Nora was a victim of subjugation, as her husband’s misogynistic views lead him to believe that she was not as knowledgeable as him when it came to economical decisions, which was a motivation for Nora to express her phylogenic ways. For example, Nora found enjoyment decorating for Christmas; however Torvald found it to be a financial burden and insisted that she no longer continue. Ibsen used symbolism as he employed the Christmas tree as a direct representation of the women during his time period, saying they were “stripped of [their] ornaments” (Ibsen 109)...
children, her husband and what life she had behind, as she slams the door to the family home. A significant transition of power has occurred and this is one of the major themes that Ibsen raises in his dramatic text ‘A Doll’s House.’ However, in examining the underlying. issue of power presented by the text, one cannot simply look at the plight of Nora’s character, three major aspects of this theme need. also to be considered for.
“A Doll’s House” gives the reader a firsthand view at how gender roles affected the characters actions and interactions throughout the play. The play helps to portray the different struggles women faced during the 19th century with gender roles, and how the roles affected their relationships with men as well as society. It also helps to show the luxury of being a male during this time and how their higher status socially over women affected their relationships with women and others during this time period. Torvald Helmer starts off the story with a new job as a bank manager. He has a wife, Nora, who does not have a job in the workforce since that was the man's role.
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.
A Doll House showed how women were treated unfairly and unequally. Nora, Anne Marie, and Ms. Linde were examples of women in the world during that time period. Nora was an example of what became the start of the women’s liberation period. Henrik Ibsen showed a lot of modern realism by bringing out the struggles of women using these three characters. Life in the Victorian Era was very difficult for women.
A Doll’s House illustrates two types of women. Christine is without a husband and independent at the start of the play whereas Nora is married to Torvald and dependent on him and his position at the bank. Both begin at different ends of the spectrum. In the course of the play their paths cross and by the end of the play each woman is where the other started. It appears that a woman has two choices in society; to be married and dependent on a man or unmarried and struggle in the world because she does not have a man.
...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.
...on as a disgrace to society because women are not expected to leave there husbands. Nora proved that she can withstand enormous amounts of pressure and that she is capable of doing things when she is determined. She is eventually freed from that doll ouse, as she calls it, and it allows her to leave without being afraid to learn about her and the world around her.
Many women in modern society make life altering decisions on a daily basis. Women today have prestigious and powerful careers unlike in earlier eras. It is more common for women to be full time employees than homemakers. In 1879, when Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll's House, there was great controversy over the out come of the play. Nora’s walking out on her husband and children was appalling to many audiences centuries ago. Divorce was unspoken, and a very uncommon occurrence. As years go by, society’s opinions on family situations change. No longer do women have a “housewife” reputation to live by and there are all types of family situations. After many years of emotional neglect, and overwhelming control, Nora finds herself leaving her family. Today, it could be said that Nora’s decision is very rational and well overdue.
A Doll House was a play written well ahead of its time. This play was written in a time when it was considered an outrage for a woman such as Nora not only to display a mind of her own, but also to leave her husband in order to obtain her freedom. This play relates to the Art Nouveau and Edwardian period because just as the furniture and clothing were considered decorative pieces, so were women. Women were expected only to tend to the husband's and children's needs. Women were not supposed to do anything without first consulting the husband and certainly never do anything without his prior knowledge and approval. Women were expected to be at home and always looking presentable for their husbands.
...ciation with her children, who she had to leave in order to better serve as Nora’s nurse. The reader sympathizes slightly with both women in this fact. Ibsen uses their relationship to further develop Nora’s personality and feelings towards her relations. Ibsen deliberately portrayed Nora as a woman sensitive to others’ emotions and thoughts to provoke a genuine and appreciative response from a realistic-minded audience who would realize human elements of Nora’s personality. Throughout Ibsen’s play, Nora Helmer is a protagonist who is initially a two-dimensional, oblivious character, but transforms into a complex and rich personality, mainly through her interactions with minor characters in the play. Figures such as Mrs. Linde and Ann-Marie provided emotional and physical parallels and contrasts to Nora while Dr. Rank and Nils Krogstad functioned to develop the plot and Nora’s persona though conversations. Ibsen’s deliberate use of minor characters in A Doll’s House was to create and develop Nora’s personality; and as the play finishes, Nora is a real and complex character, a woman who is contradictory to society’s expectations and ideal for a realistic world.