"To what extent are the two texts similar in suggesting that people's lives are determined by gender"?
             "I fear woman may be made a fool if she had not the power to resist" (Katerina). It can not simply be stated that gender differences affect all people's lives in all respects as there are many factors in people's lives such as personal fulfilment and financial security. There are large differences in both time and place in the two literary pieces that were studied. 'A Doll House' is written by Henrik Ibsen and is set in Norway in approximately 1879. The film: 'The Taming of the Shrew' is written by William Shakespeare and is directed by Franco Ziffirelli. It takes place in 1594 in Padua, Italy. Even though there are large contrasts in both time and location there is still huge similarities such as that woman are less socially significant as they are disallowed to make the same decisions as men and most people have goals which they want to achieve. However, both pieces: 'The Taming of the Shrew' and 'A Doll House' suggest that gender differences can result in some people's existence being changed in certain aspects. Nevertheless, for the characters who are described throughout the pieces, they are affected by their gender to a very large extent. People desire many fulfilments throughout their life, both physically and emotionally. The differences in people's lives are mostly reflected by that of their patriarchal societies.
             In both literary pieces, main characters are used to portray the thoughts and feelings of the author. Ibsen's 'A Doll House' is known as the first modern text as it describes woman's rights and the role women played in both society and in marriage. There are two main characters who are displayed in this play being Helmer and Nora. These two are husband and wife, however, they have an arti...