Kelly Thompson
Gender Studies
Dr. Smith
6-18-09
Ibsen's" A Doll’s House" and Gender Roles
Introduction
It has been experienced from time immemorial that there has always lain a very big and noticeable gap in the roles that both women and men play in the everyday societal developments. The issue according to most of the renowned researches is more elusive to the women as they are the ones that are mostly faced by the double standards in the society and this could include very harsh challenges as far as economic and financial status is concerned. Some of the roles of women in the society and more typically, in the house-hold, were very much considered inferior as compared to that of the men who in addition, were given an upper hand
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This served a very likable element for the women as the got a much fair consideration, i.e. the Act was absolutely meant for their survival and well being .
The most important ways the 1935 Social Security Act was gendered, and why women reformers supported that legislation The very provisions for The Social Security Act of 1935 was one of the very important functionalities in the revolution against the gender bias in the society and had a lot of embodiment concerning the many number of assumptions that were based on gender issues. It was acting and shifting its responses to the various diverse concerns as per the economies of the country and the ever dynamic roles of women and the positions taken by the minority groups in the United States of America. In regards to the economic dependence that stood as one of the greatest challenges of the times, it volatility was much addresses since there was a dire need for an equal protection to be guaranteed across the gender, with more emphasis on the women who encountered so much suffrage .
According to the Act, it was worth noting that the women (mothers) were entitled to benefits with a directive from the Courts, that
Publication of books and periodical revealed to the public the problems that women endured within their homes, education, labor, and health. In a male dominant society, men premeditated what roles women should play at home. Women were perceived as weaker than men, unable to think for themselves and their opinions were view as useless. Male dominating view of a woman’s role was to have no other aspirations but to take care of her husband, family and home.
Humanism is an idea which focuses on the importance of oneself, rather than the importance of divine or supernatural matters. Humanism is often mistaken for feminism which is one of the major controversies of A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen. The idea of humanism becomes apparent through Nora’s interactions with Torvald, Torvald’s interactions with Nora, and Torvald’s interactions with other characters in the play. Many argue that A Doll House, is a feminist play due to its portrayal of the characters which emphasized many values of feminism, but in actuality the play addresses views on the value of dignity in one’s character and the need for one’s identity to be found based on positive choices which defines humanism. Ibsen was able to develop the idea that A Doll House was a humanist play through the way characters made decisions within their lives, even though within the play there were related notions of feminism.
In Henrik Ibsen's, A Doll's House, the character of Nora Helmer goes through the dramatic transformation of a kind and loving housewife, to a desperate and bewildered woman, whom will ultimately leave her husband and everything she has known. Ibsen uses both the characters of Torvald and Nora to represent the tones and beliefs of 19th century society. By doing this, Ibsen effectively creates a dramatic argument that continues to this day; that of feminism.
Scholars have researched on how to integrate gender within the main organizing constructs of social life. One social realm where scholars have vastly research is family structure. The family institution has encountered much gender problem issue, starting with "who does the housework". During this period of time, where women are gaining more civil freedom in society, there has still been a struggler for equality within society and family spheres. I investigated how gender role is significant within the family institutional context, especially in the division of labor in household. The second shift, which is used by Hochschild, "borrowed from the industrial life" is an "idea that homemaking was a shift", it is a second shift because the first shift is labor force." Moreover, the idea of the "devotion to family scheme" is a culture model that defines marriage and motherhood as a women's primary vocation. Therefore with these two notions on the family roles, the main driving question of this research is how do urban employed married couples with children divide the housework.
The book, Beyond Suffrage; Women in the New Deal, presents the role of women in the 1930’s in a much different light than many people think of it. The goal of this book is to enlighten the reader as to what role women played in politics during the New Deal. Because of it’s broad view I have taken several specific examples from the book and elaborated on them in order to give you a better understanding.
Society at this time did not view women as equals and the pay they received reflected this attitude. ?In 1939 male teachers made an average salary of $1,953 while female teachers were paid a mere 1,394; male social workers averaged $1,718 while their female counterparts received a salary of $1,442. There was an expectation that women worked until they married then their husband would support the family.? (Chafe, pg. 63) This attitude was seen in the salaries women throughout America received prior to and during the early part of the war in small communities and the United States Government.
In his play, A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen depicts a female protagonist, Nora Helmer, who dares to defy her husband and forsake her "duty" as a wife and mother to seek out her individuality. A Doll's House challenges the patriarchal view held by most people at the time that a woman's place was in the home. Many women could relate to Nora's situation. Like Nora, they felt trapped by their husbands and their fathers; however, they believed that the rules of society prevented them from stepping out of the shadows of men. Through this play, Ibsen stresses the importance of women's individuality. A Doll's House combines realistic characters, fascinating imagery, explicit stage directions, and
Throughout this paper I will be discussing the role of women in the American society. I will reference the importance of gender and gender inequality. The definition of gender aims to clarify for of all the historical framework of the topic, the role of women in the American society. The paper will lead from the role women were given around World War II and then transition into the role women can now choose in the American society today. Addition to the role of women I will also discuss the differences of how the genders are treated in the same places, for example work place. Men and women are culturally molded when referring to gender in the American society. The gender roles play a lead part into how the model family, education, and liberty are. The reason I chose to write about this topic is due to my strong belief that although I don’t agree with the characteristics society gave to gender, I do believe in gender equality.
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 one quite different, for women.”
What comes to mind when the word morals is said? Whose morals should be followed, individual or group? In A Doll House, Ibsen portrays the protagonist, Nora, to follow the morals of her husband, Torvald. Four key aspects that help Nora decide to change her mind and make a decision to leave Torvald. These include the constant change of nicknames, the questioning of her own independence, the questioning of Torvald's love, and the realization that Torvald loves his reputation more then herself. As a result, Nora sets out to find her own individuality and moral beliefs.
Life is a play, everyone is a character playing a part putting on different masks so no one knows the true person inside. Dominated women are more likely to wear a mask in order to hide the horrible reality of a dark, oppressive world in which they live. This allows the women to maintain what little self-esteem they have left, while at the same time they are screaming on the inside yearning for freedom. A prime example of such a woman would be, Nora Helmer, in Henrik Ibsen’s play, “A Doll House,” she wears the mask of a submissive, loving, housewife but in reality she only wishes for freedom and independence. Her husband, Torvald is not an abusive man, although, he is controlling and treats her as a child, instead of an equal partner in the marriage. Throughout the play, Nora with the aid of Kristine and Dr. Rank, progresses into a more prevailing role which leads to her ultimate freedom when she leaves her husband and family. Henrik Ibsen created a very complex character with Nora Helmer, in one instance she is a loving, submissive housewife and the other she is a manipulative, dishonest person, where Torvald is controlling, but at the same time, devoted to his family and loves his wife dearly.
The old saying that “A woman’s place is in the home” has always been defined by the fact of motherhood. According to traditions a girl belonging to a middle class westernized family, learned from her mother that washing, cooking and the other household chores were the expected behavior when they grew older and entered into marriage stages. Educations for girls have always been secondary to boys in the past. Higher education for girls was only possible during the summers when the boys were working. This trend however, has changed since the end of the 19th century, with the opening of many women colleges and the right of their admission to regular colleges.
Ibsen contradicts the idea of gender roles through the use of the relationships in the play in order to prove women superior through their actions, dialogue, and symbolism. In the play Nora is portrayed as the ‘’doll’’ whose trapped inside the house with a compressed marriage with her husband Torvald who represents Europe’s society during the 19th century. The realistic ideals used made it hard for people to comprehend, the book captured a time era in which the people were too caught up in their own ideologies to see reality, the realistic portion. In order to portray his idea on gender roles he uses the idea of self-scarification, on the woman’s part, proving them superior. The characters of Nora and Ms. Linde all have to sacrifice something or the other to be accepted, or even to survive.
English A1 Oral Presentation Transcript Portrayal of Sexism in Henrik Ibsen’s ‘The Doll’s House’ Ibsen was a pioneer of the realistic social drama. Unlike playwrights who came before him, he was very concerned with portraying realistic social settings and illustrating a conflict resulting from social pressures and mores. Ibsen also endeavors to show the blatant sexism rampant in the country at the time. This is shown In part by the unequal nature of Torvald and Nora’s marriage.
8). The traditional views of gender roles are indeed quite different from the modern views. The men in society are the bread-winners where as the women take care of the children and home. There are basic and common work roles, however in terms of behaviour and involvement there are gender role distinctions. The sex roles generally play out in modern society as well, some sex roles and stereotypes for girls are that they are “nonaggressive, nonathletic, emotionally expressive, tender, domestic, and nurturing. Boys on the other hand are “aggressive, value achievement, attain goals through conflict, and work towards monetary success” (Whicker and Kronenfeld, 1986; pp. 8). The males in the society are “emotionally anesthetised, aggressive, physically tough and daring, unwilling or unable to give nurturance to a child” (Lewis and Sussman, 1986; pp. 1). These traits are carried out by this particular gender mostly outside the society to demonstrate their strength. Those individuals who ignore to carry out these personality traits are seen as weak and unmanly. The women on the other hand are given the responsibility of looking after the family and are supposed to have the opposite personality traits. For instance a woman can show emotions but not outside of the family because of the shame that would bring to the