Dominance over Women by Men Essay

A Doll House gives us a true insight into the roles for men and women during the late 1800’s. This is why the play has been said to be able to take place in any and all suburbs. At this point in history, the roles of gender were mainly consistent across the world. Men vs. women in economics, social status, gender rights, marriage and divorce, and occupation can best describe this.

Torvald lets his time period and culture of male dominance get the best of him, and this leads to the downfall of his marriage. Gender equality definitely wasn't a part of Torvald's book. There was a lack of equality in Torvald's home; it was evident from the beginning that Torvald had all the power in the house: he dealt with the money, holds the keys to the mailbox, and controls all the major things. He was a man that always wanted control of every situation, while Nora was just a puppet that listened to all the commands and had no say. Torvald personality is not a friendly one; he is the antagonist of the drama because of his arrogance and controlling attitude.

The roles of men and women evolve over time. In 1879 the roles, obligations, and expectations of a man and woman were very different from those today. In A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen illustrates the reproachful role of women in society and how appearances can be deceiving.

Throughout history there has always been male dominance culture. In all societies men have been superior than w the omen. In the play "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen, the main character Nora, by the end of the play goes against the male dominance culture. “A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell shows how women prove the men wrong in the sexism culture which goes against them (women). This controversy is something interesting as there can be two sides of it.

This is men talk, woman" (1.1.41). This can be read in connection with Torvald’s attitude towards Nora. He does not want any woman to interfere in any serious matters. The same mentality of the patriarchal society is highlighted here as well.

In the play “A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen, Torvald Helmer is husband to Nora Helmer and a newly appointed bank manager. Torvald is a diligent business man spending most of his time in his study watering the roots of his newfound social status. The play is set circa 1879 when men dominated society and women were oppressed and expected to fulfill their role as the good house-wife. During a time where social expectations were high, Torvald is obsessed with patriarchal ideals, being a powerful business man and seeking a good reputation, but at the expense of others. Social norms at the time are what lead Torvald to believe himself a protector and guardian for Nora.

In “A Doll’s House”, Torvald and Nora each have a unique role in their marriage. Torvald treats Nora as his little doll, or plaything, while Nora treats him as the man of the house who has the authority to do anything he wants. These ideas form because the society within the play does not allow much freedom for women. According to this society and culture, a women’s role is depicted by the man she is with, the female character’s all exemplify Nora’s assertion that women have to sacrifice a lot more than men. In this play, Nora, Mrs. Linde, and the maid all hold sacrificial roles depicted by the society they

In this day and age, it was normal to husbands to take the leadership role and to treat their wives as property. Although she recognized Torvald was controlling for so long, she never wanted to hurt his ego. She had once said, “He has such strict rules about these sorts of things. And, well, like most men, Torvald has his pride” (Ibsen 28).

Nora's unusual behavior doesn't meet the norms of society. Ibsen displays this when Nora borrows money to care for Torvold and the kids. "How painful and humiliating it would be for Torvald with his manly independence to know that he owed me anything," Nora says when discussing the issue with Mrs. Linde. Here Nora reveals that borrowing is an action that is negative within society, but, Ibsen also insinuates with this comment that being in debt to a woman as a man is a semblance of shame. Ibsen uses Nora to reveal that, in general, women are less than men in the late 19th century. Furthermore, in the conversation between Nora and Mrs. Linde, Nora expresses her experience of working to pay off her debt as "...almost like being a man". Ibsen unveils the taboo of women working in society. He is able to show the roles household roles of men and women. The statement Nora said exhibits men as breadwinners and women as the caregivers.

Nevertheless, Ibsen is able to present to the reader the thoughts of Torvald through his home and what is inside of it. The reader is able to view the pride and almost obsession Torvald holds in being higher class, viewing himself above most of society. As the reader, we can start to discover more about Torvalds’s character, especially his perspective on social class. Even though there are many differences between Torvald and Krogstad, they both have similar views on social class. While Krogstad interacts with Nora the reader is able to discover the importance that social class plays in his life “My sons are growing up; for their sake I must try and win back as much respect as I can in the town. This post in the bank was like the first step up for me- and now your husband is going to kick me downstairs again into the mud.” (Ibsen, Page 21). Krogstad is similar to Torvald with worries in social status in addition to the way he is

In order to meet the social and Torvald’s expectation, Nora finds it is necessary to sacrifice her “useless” independence. Therefore, she enjoys keeping everything as Torvald likes instead of having an antipathy towards Torvald’s full control of her. Furthermore, Nora has to suffer the ill effects of the loan individually for meeting the social and Torvald’s expectation. Despite she saves her husband’s life by taking out a loan from Krogstad, she still has to keep the loan as a secret and pay the debt alone. In society, it is illegal for a woman to obtain a loan without her husband’s permission. In Nora’s family, Torvald would not accept the truth that his wife saves his life. In order to maintain her obedient wife appearance which is her husband’s and the society’s traditional standard, Nora has to suffer the undesirable results that saving as much money as possible and working secretly for paying off the secret loan by herself. In conclusion, the quote clearly demonstrates women have to sacrifice their unique characters in order to please the men’s domination

For most in Thebian society, the social isolation and induced shame brought about by being 'unique' would steer the individual back towards the widespread held principles. However, it can be observed that Antigone is far too strong willed to submit to society's standards for behavior, and even Creon states "submission [to men] is a thing she's never learned." (211) In A Doll's House as well, women such as Nora have many restraints that keep them from performing certain actions, even if they are good intentioned. For instance, in Nora's society "a wife cannot borrow without her husband's consent." (12) Not only that, but Nora seems to rely on the men in her life, mainly Torvald to perform various tasks for her. "I can't hit upon anything that will do; everything I think of seems so silly and insignificant." "Does my little Nora acknowledge that at last?" (27) Torvald here illustrates the fact that Nora's and consequently women's place in society is dictated by the rule of man - women can make few decisions without the assistance of men. Moreover when Nora asks Torvald to reinstate Krogstad to the bank, he blatantly refuses, stating, "Is it to get about now that the new manager has changed his mind at his wife's bidding ¾" "Do you suppose I am going to make myself ridiculous before my whole staff...?" (35) For anyone to sway Torvald would be 'ridiculous', but it being his own wife, that he supposedly has ultimate control over, would be

Gender inequality has been an issue since long before the 1840s, when feminists finally brought the problem to light. Most ancient cultures were societies based on gender inequality, skewed towards male-dominance. Most societies are still mostly patriarchal, in fact. Patriarchy is the root of discrimination between sexes and genders and has been for a very long time.

Gender played an enormous role in shaping Nora, Torvald, Ivan, and Praskovya’s identities. Society had very clear views of what a man should be and what a woman should be. The men were to be the providers for the family, they had to have a respectable job and take care of all the family’s financial needs. The women were to stay at home and tend to her husbands and children’s needs, whatever they may be. Nora and Torvald were the perfect example of this. Nora stayed home with the children and the nanny and decorated the house and made everything comfortable for everyone while Torvold worked at the bank. When Nora took the loan out from the bank she had to hide it from everyone because that was a very disrespectful thing to do in society’s eyes at that time, which is why when Torvold found out he was infuriated. When Torvold realized that if anyone found out their reputation would be destroyed and everything he worked hard for would be gone because it would have seemed that they have stepped out of their gender roles and gone against society, he said to her, “Now you have destroyed all my happiness. You have ruined all my future.” (Ibsen 77).

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.