Preview

A Doll's House Gender Roles

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
274 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Doll's House Gender Roles
Christopher Sanchez Sanchez 1
ENC 1102
Professor Smith
05/25/17
The Moralities of Opposite Genders In his play entitled, “A Doll’s House,” the creator Isben exemplified the theme of women and the role they played in society. In this play, you should pay great attention to the lack of inequality between women and men. How may you ask? Torvald, who was Nora’s husband, believed that women had simple, but specific duties to tend to. He believed that it was a women’s duty to not only honor and serve their husbands; but, also to raise the children with manners and instill pivotal lessons that would be needed as they transitioned through life. Nevertheless, as the play continued, the sacrificial role of women continued to become stronger,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Nora is unhappy with her life and wants to walk away from thing. In this book “A Doll House” showed how women were treated in the 19 century men were always in charge of the women. In my opinion women should have just as much control as the men did. Everything should be equal. I don't think gender should determine if your in charge or not. In this play marriage is displayed as one person controlling the other. Marriage extent are to bring a man and women together as husband and wife. Not to worry about financial problems there suppose to be happen and create a bond…

    • 592 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    roles in the late 1800’s during the Victorian Era. Initially, I thought the play was…

    • 346 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    President John F. Kennedy once said that, “conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” This concept has been seen through centuries of civil rights movements and literature by renowned authors such as Franz Kafka and Henrik Ibsen. Franz Kafka’s short story, “The Metamorphosis,” illustrates the life of traveling salesman Gregor Samsa, the breadwinner of his family who seems to face a transformation that affects his role in his house and society. This change into an unknown insect, both physical and mental, ultimately leads to his loss of humanistic characteristics and eventually death. In Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House, a young woman named Nora surpasses the bounds of a housewife when attempting to save her husband’s life.…

    • 2454 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Part 1: Many women in the late 19th century wanted their freedom and wanted to become someone without their husbands’ consent. Women in Norway, were only useful to amuse their husband, and take care of their kids. In the play “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, we see how that plays out onto the play between Nora and her husband Helmer. What was a women’s role in the late 19th century in Norway? The text lead me to ask the question about a women’s role, because people in the late 19th century had to take care of their kids, and follow the social norms of women in Norway. Nora on the other hand, fled from her husband and wanted to find her true identity. Addressing the question about a women’s role helps us create the character Nora, and understand…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The original A Doll’s House by Henrik Isben got a lot of reviews after the world premiere in Copenhagen on December 21, 1879. There were many positive reviews and negative reviews. I believe that this play made some women see that they should be treated as equal human beings to their husband. A Doll’s House production also brought to life the aspects of society that are incorrect due to sexism. As one review says, “Who after seeing this play, has the courage to speak scornfully about run-away wives? Is there anyone who does not feel that it is this young and delightful young woman’s duty, her inescapable duty, to leave this gentleman, this husband, who slowly sacrifices her on the altar of his egotism, and who fails to understand her value as a human being. His invocation of religion and morality and consideration of people’s gossip sounds, in the face of…

    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a male-dominated world, women have to struggle against society-imposed identities. Within A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, Nora undergoes a journey of realization, leading her to believe that she must discover who she really is, not who society wants her to be. Nora begins the play portraying the image of a “trophy wife”, but as the play continues, she transforms into her own individual. Through Nora’s cognizance that she has been pretending to be someone she wasn’t, Ibsen displays that women, in a patriarchal society, must struggle with stereotypes, while still trying to be who they truly are.…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Feminism today is very different from what it was in 1879. Throughout the play, the female characters exemplify feministic characteristics that made the play controversial for its time. The first example of feminism is when Nora’s husband, Tovald, treats her as if she isn’t human. He calls her pet names and dehumanizes her. Torvald says, “Come, come; my little lark mustn’t droop her wings like that. What? Is my squirrel in the sulks?” (Ibsen 2358). There is no excuse for the way Torvald treats Nora. This phrase sets up the character and his relationship with his wife. While some suggest it is the structure of the home itself that plays into the doll house effect, most critics will argue that Torvald's demeaning nature taken with Nora is the reason she leaves her family at the end of the play. Another feministic characteristic seen in the play is when Torvald tells Nora that her only duty is to take care of her husband and children… “Nora: "What do you consider my most sacred duties?" Torvald: “your duties to your husband and your children.” Nora: "I have other duties just as sacred. […] Duties to myself” Torvald: “Before all else you are a wife and mother” (Ibsen 2402). During Ibsen’s time, the idea that a woman may have more worth other than homemaking and being a mother was outrageous and looked down upon. Men did not see women as anything more than a maid and caretaker of men and children and therefore Torvald…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nora is the protagonist in “A Doll’s House”, and the audience has a constant view of how the patriarchy impacts her throughout the play, as she is on almost always during the play. The impact the patriarchy has on Nora progresses more and more until it is clear that Nora is deeply unsatisfied with life and that she cannot bare her married life anymore. She even considers suicide, shown by the lines “Never, never. Oh, the freezing black water! The depths—down— Oh, I wish it were over” . This alone shows the watcher of the play the desperation that Nora feels, and sheds light onto the context of the play, set in the 19th century. Women were forbidden to borrow money without a signature of a husband or father, and a forged signature by a women…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, portrays a young married woman, Nora, who plays a dramatic role of deception and self-indulgence. The author creates a good understanding of a woman’s role by assuming Nora is an average housewife who does not work; her only job is to maintain the house and raise the children like a stereotypical woman that cannot work or help society. In reality, she is not an average housewife in that she has a hired maid who deals with the house and children. Although Ibsen focuses on these “housewife” attributes, Nora’s character is ambitious, naive, and somewhat cunning. She hides a dark secret from her husband that not only includes borrowing money, but also forgery. Nora’s choices were irrational; she handled the situations very poorly in this play by keeping everything a secret. The way that women were viewed in this time period created a barrier that she could not overcome. The decisions that had the potential to be good were otherwise molded into appalling ones. Women should have just as many rights as men and should not be discriminated by gender; but they should also accept consequences in the same way without a lesser or harsher punishment.…

    • 3445 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When reading A Doll’s House, one would think it’s just a normal play centered around an average family during Christmas time. They may appear perfect like a doll house, but behind the curtain they have their share of problems. This play mostly follows Nora, who is seen as a typical housewife and mother. Throughout the story, her character evolves the most in this play and one would believe she changes her life for the better; even going so far as to show feminist qualities of self-sufficiency and liberation. Not all Holidays can be joyful and perfect and her decision of leaving her family behind paved the way for many women to question their own treatment in society.…

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a doll's house summary

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The theme that women have a low status in society is one of the main aspects of the play. Though Nora is economically advantaged in comparison to the play’s other female characters, she still lives a difficult life because society dictates that Torvald be the marriage’s dominant partner. Torvald issues decrees and condescends to Nora, and Nora must hide her loan from him because she…

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Doll's House Women

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the play, A Doll House, Nora is having trouble identifying herself, and this reveals how men and women were unequal in that time. During that time, men usually had more power than women. Women were expected to be at home and be a good wife or mother. Men didn’t expect women to run a big business or big loans. During that time, women were struggling to have equal rights.…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Feminism is a principle that promotes the idea that women and men are equal and so deserve the same rights and opportunities economically, socially, and politically” (UXL Encyclopedia). In everyday human society, gender roles and stereotypes play a very established role. Most of them vary depending on the time period and culture and include many parallels that may be found throughout history connected with the way men and women are expected to behave. In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, women are portrayed as shy and submissive.…

    • 1088 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Doll's House Oppression

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Playwright and writer, Henrick Ibsen, in his play, A Doll’s House, illustrates how women were oppressed during modern-day Victorian Era. Ibsen’s purpose is to express how Nora, along with thousands of other women, are being being psychologically oppressed by their husbands, creating broken homes controlled by separate minds. He adopts an empathetic tone in order to display his perspective on oppression, and bring deep insight in his audience.…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gender Role and Doll

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Woman and Feminity: Nora (The character in Doll's house) has often been one of modern drama's first feminist. Over the course of the play, she break away from the domination of her overbreaking husband, Torvald.…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays