Compare and Contrast How Gender Roles Are Presented in the Importance of Being Earnest and a Doll’s House in Light of Ibsen’s Statement That “There Are Two Kinds of Moral Laws, Two Kinds of Conscience, One for Men and

In The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde portrays a relationship between two men, Algernon and Jack, which is filled with constant arguing and disagreement. Their first dispute over a cigarette case is presented early in act one, leaving the reader with a lasting impression of the flaws in their relationship. Algernon and Jack disagree over who holds ownership over the cigarette case leading Algernon to remark “I think that is rather mean of you, Ernest, I must say” (Wilde 462). Being that both of these men are members of the upper class, the case clearly does not have true monetary value to them except to use an a manipulating factor. Algernon eventually trades the case in order to receive an explanation from Jack about why he is “Earnest in the town and Jack in the country” (464). The trivial nature of this strife shows the weak bond between Algernon and Jack. This weakness is reinforced when Jack and Algernon meet again in the middle of the play. After returning from town, Jack finds Algernon at his house and is forced to listen to Algernon lie about being his brother. In response, Jack says “nothing will induce me to take his hand. I think his coming down here disgraceful. He knows perfectly well why” (498). This is another example showing the poor relationship between Algernon and Jack. Jack’s distrust of Algernon due to his habitual lying goes hand in hand with several of their disagreements, further preventing a successful friendship between them.

Marriage is meant to be a cherished union between two lovers; however, Algernon’s behavior towards marriage is inherently selfish. Many times throughout The Importance of Being Earnest, Algernon acts as though marriage is an outdated and boorish concept. Directly after Jack confesses his proposal plan to Algernon, Algy says “I thought you had come up for pleasure? … I call that business” (Wilde 3). Algernon takes the romance out of the proposal. Algernon’s shallow nature lends

In “A Doll House” Ibsen uses his male character, Torvald to be controlling towards his wife Nora, which lacks understanding in the play. This allows the plot development in the play to develop between the couple and shows the problem they face. This play allows me to compare Torvald and Nora to the american man and the girl in “Hills Like White Elephants.” The short story and the play are similar to each other because of the way the couples acts in both, they lack their communication skills, the males try to control the females and they lack understanding.

Ibsen wrote this play in 1879. It is a three-act play with prose dialogue. The play takes place in the 19th century in Europe. It is a play about a woman, who struggles to find her own identity. The main point is women need treated as humans and not dolls. Women need to know their place and that they have rights. They also have duties as a wife and mother. As a wife, they need to be trustworthy and as a mother, they need to be role models. As do husbands need to respect their wife and know that, they have their own opinions and titled to them. Women cannot be good wives and role models to their children, if they do not know who they are and what their roles are in life. Ibsen uses the symbolism in his setting to show various

Ibsen’s character Nora in A Doll’s House, shows gradual development throughout the play to support his theme that above all else, you are human; even in marriage both parties should be given the equal opportunities, rights and respect. While Nora may at first seem happy with her life inside her “doll house”, she begins to recognize that she must find herself, and stop being a toy in the lives of men.

On gender roles and the pressure put on women by society’s given expectations, Psychologist and writer, Cordelia Fine says “blatant, intentional discrimination against women is far from being something merely to be read about in history books.” Society has been raging psychological and emotional warfare against women, since what seems like the beginning of time. Throughout history, women have been held by the standard of men and confined to these invisible barriers, threatened to never to step outside their “role”. In both plays, Susan Glaspell’s Trifles and Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, we get to explore this theme and the havoc it wrecks. While all the characters seem to be content with these ideologies, it eventually peaks into a stand-off between society and the women. We will explore the trials and tribulations of these women in both plays.

Ibsen makes use of many stereostypical characters throughout his play, “A Doll’s House”. The use of stereotypical characters allows the audience to predict the character’s response to different situations. However, when a character responded in a way that was opposite of what was expected, it challenged the audience’s thinking. It also allowed Ibsen to reveal his purpose of challenging the reader to contemplate the role of women in society and their ability to be independent.

Ibsen reveals that despite her interactions with her husband, Helmer is well indebted to the actions of his wife, who unbeknown to him, are responsible for saving his life. Nora is elated at the fact that she is able to finally disclose her secret to someone, she then proceeds to declare that she has no need to reveal this to her husband as Torvald is already so devoted and so smitten by her current beauty. It is Nora’s false belief in the power she has over her husband, that when it is shown to be misplaced, she reaches the extreme of deciding to leave for ever. The theme of power and control in the text is not merely demonstrated by one character over another, but also by society over the actions of Krogstad and Torvald in particular.

Ibsen uses Torvald’s study to symbolize male dominance and superiority in order to connect to the theme of social oppression towards women. The first scene develops this symbol through Nora and Torvald conversation in the study. Nora enters his study to ask for spending money, but she must perform childish tricks as payment.

In the end, each character has played a role based on the expectations society creates. The men and women all have their own ways of manipulating one another. “The woman is judged by society under the man’s law (Rosefeldt).” Society’s expectations of woman back

In the play “A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen the story focuses on the gender differences between a man and woman. One way Ibsen display feminism in A Doll House is through the relationship of the two main characters Torvald and his wife Nora. Nora and Torvald to have the perfect life, however behind closed doors it isn’t as it seems. The play begins with a happily married couple and ends with a woman wanting to be her own human being. Nora has been treated like child throughout the play by Torvald, she finally decides she has other duties such as herself that are just as important as everyone else. Through the play Ibsen provides the readers with insight how society views women. During this particular generation men were much higher ranking in society than women, women were not viewed as individuals but as shadows of their men. Ibsen provides many examples throughout the play how women were treated less than men.

First of all, Ibsen shows women’s struggle in Nora. In Act I, there’s part where Nora and Krogstad talks and he says,” When your husband was sick, you came to me for a loan of four thousand, eight hundred crowns.” (Page 1037) This was Nora’s

In “A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen was created during 1800s time period. This play helps shine a light on the gender roles of the 1800s while also creating a twist that was uncommon for this period. During this time period, women were left home to oversee the domestic duties, while men went to commuted to work (Hughes). Men were seen as physically superior but morally inferior to women; which is also portrayed within this book (Hughes). This play marks the beginning of Henrik Ibsen’s realist period, which he explored the ordinary lives of small-town people (Kirszner and Mandell 881). This “modern tragedy” helped make Ibsen famous internationally because of the real-life story it captured (Kirszner and Mandell 882). Henrik Ibsen uses an array of literary devices to help keep the reader captivated from beginning to end. Three of the most prominent literary devices used by Henrik Ibsen are symbolism, foreshadowing, and an array of themes. These literary devices help transform a basic play into a complex story of lies and deception.

As a proponent of the woman as an individual, Ibsen used symbolism, amplification, and motifs to express his views. In addition he utilized metaphors as he compared Torvald’s view of Nora to a parent’s view of a child, or even to a “doll” (Ibsen 126). Ibsen also had Torvald refer to Nora as an

There are two other major themes in this play, femininity and masculinity. Nora has often been given the title of one of modern drama’s first feminist heroines. She breaks away from a dominating and opressive marriage. Ibsen, denied that he had intentionally written a feminist play and preferred to think of it as humanist. This said though, the traditional roles of women and the price of them breaking tradition is a constant thread throughout the play. The men of this play, in many ways, are just as trapped by gender roles as the women. An example of this is the job that Torvald Helmer holds at the bank, chief. The men must be providers and alone must support the entire household. At the end of this play these traditional ideas are put to the test, when Nora leaves and Torvald must care for the children and be their provider.