Examining the Status of Women implied by a doll
In today's society it is expected that one will come across female lawyers, doctors and even police officers. This has become common and expected, since women and men are equal and given the same chances for an education and receive the same job opportunities. However, many women had to fight long and hard to receive this state of equality; one must not forget that it was not too long ago when women were not even permitted to vote. The disparity of the sexes was far more wide spread in the 19th century and is ever apparent in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House. In the play women are portrayed to posses a state of dependence upon men. This is implied through their legal status where they require a man's signature on all legal documents. As well as in a professional and economic standpoint, women are required to depend on a man to provide for them. Finally, merely examining a woman in married life will clearly demonstrate her lesser role in the marriage. In the time of Ibsen's play, women were not entitled to any legal power. Nora drastically needed money to pay for a trip to southern Italy for her husband, Torvald, to basically save his life. Unfortunately, she was not able to do this legally. Mrs. Linde states this to Nora, "No, a w
A wife's job was to take care of the children and if she were not lucky enough to have a maid she would also be the sole cleaner of the household. Above all else, a woman's state of dependence was heavily demonstrated in her interactions with her husband and her role in married life. This was Nora's situation and the ideal of 19th century. He even berated her by shouting "blind, foolish woman" and "heedless child". In Torvald's case, if his employees were to discover that he changed his decision on Krogstad's termination due to his wife's demands he would be ridiculed. For a look into the professional and economic situation of women it is best to examine the characters of Nora and Mrs. A wife was the mother to her children but had to report to her husband as a child herself. Linde, contrary to Nora, was not with a man, who could possibly provide for her adequately, so she left Krogstad to marry someone who offered greater prospects. At the time, it was not only not thought of for Mrs. First and foremost men made the decisions. An adult woman does not require a man to possess all her legal rights, as in the time of the play in the 1870's. In the time of the play, it would completely wrong for a man to sacrifice his career and reputation for the sake of his wife. The man of the family was supposed to acquire the high paying job therefore making it unnecessary for his wife to find work. Linde to find a good job for herself but it was actually impossible because of the lack of education available to woman and the domination of any good lines of work by men.
Common topics in this essay:
Linde Women,
Doll's House,
Linde Nora,
,
19th century,
legal power,
male figure,
legal documents,
examining woman,
married life,
play women,
women gained,
minors require,
women equal,
|