Nora and Women of the 19th Century
Women in the nineteenth century were valued very little by society. They were treated negatively and were expected to stay home and fulfill domestic duties. In Henry Ibsen's A Doll House, Nora portrays the negative treatment of women throughout society, but in the end proves that women can be responsible and equal to men. Economic factors reflected the discrimination and inferior roles of women. The marriage vows that the women take are suppose to evoke the image of mutual trust, yet the women enter the marriage not having the same legal and economic rights. One of the main roles of the man is to control the money (Longford 45). Nora has the same money issues. When Torvald asks her what she wants for the holidays, she replies, "you can give me money, Torvald. No more than you think you can spare; then one of these days I'll buy
The women of the nineteenth century helped to shape the society that we live in now. Elizabeth Longford states, "Society's general attitude towards women was that her place in society was to be controlled or dominated by a male figure" (25). "Is that my little lark twittering out there" (1. In today's society, women have just as much responsibility as men, if not more. She makes that clear when she says, "I have to stand completely alone if I am ever going to discover myself and the world out the there. Nora promotes this role by accepting her husband's humiliating treatment. Torvald speaks to Nora as if she was inferior to him; every time he calls her a pet name, it is usually preceded by the word "little". Despite the oppressions forced upon them in a masculine society, the women are willing and able to rise above them. She appears to be happy and content with the pet names that her husband has given her, feeling that they are not insults, but words that represent his affection for her. Many women were fine with their position in society, and some were totally against it. Nora is very dependent on her husband for money, and he gives it to her when he feels it is necessary. Nora and the women of the nineteenth century have overcome many obstacles to develop individuality. Nora comes out and tells Torvald that before anything else she is a human being.
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