Women Of Play Research Paper

American Literature has always been about men and for men. In this essay, we are going to analyze the women’s role in the book, as inferior and weaker gender.

The plot of both Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” and Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll House” provides scope for a few scenes that lack the presence of all or any men. These scenes, consisting of communication between the female characters, assist in developing the theme of women openly defying the fact that the society they live in is primarily run by men. All the power and authority in their society, no matter the situation, belongs to the men while the women are simply excluded. The women in these plays defy the norms set by society and manage to evade the expectations of their patriarchal societies.

Reflecting upon their role in society, women in literature are often portrayed in a position

Often in literature characters are presented as victims of society. There are many examples of this in Henrik Ibsen’s controversial play, “A Doll’s House”. Written during the Victorian era, Ibsen’s play would have raised a lot controversy on the roles of males and females in society. The audience would have noticed the constant similarities between themselves and the characters that are presented as victims of society. A lot of the audience would have found the play shocking and disturbing.

Throughout the course of time, women have been discriminated against and have been viewed more as objects than humans. Both authors, William Shakespeare and Henrik Ibsen, express the inequality of women throughout the two plays. In A Doll’s House, Ibsen expresses how women are degraded by society. Henrick characterized Nora Helmer as an average, “stay at home mom” who takes care of the children, and has no job to provide for her family. Throughout the story the reader sees how Nora fuels the play and also helps develop the plot. Although in Othello, Shakespeare presents women using the same approach, on the contrary, Shakespeare gave women more freedom, as we see in A Doll’s House, Nora is isolated from the outside world, while in Othello, Desdemona and Emilia are free to wander without supervision. Through the duration of both plays, the reader becomes aware of the characters flaws, Nora and Desdemona both demonstrate flaws as they become naive and allow their trusting and reassuring nature to deceive them. Also, both Torvald and Iago speak and view women in a prejudice manner, additionally; both male characters view women as possessions. Finally, the female characters disregard males dominance in the current society as the reader sees Nora and Emilia have a different approach on men, rather than being obedient as other women do in that current society.

Throughout history women have been handed a subservient role to her male counterpoint. Females in the late 19th and early 20th century were treated like a second-class citizen, and were thought of as being the weaker sex. It was the women’s job to stay home to cook and raise the children. While these are still prevalent issues, it is also true that things has gotten better for some women in recent years. Works like “The Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen and “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell have helped advance the idea of what roles women should play in society. In each play there are strong, female protagonists who, despite being oppressed by the societal rules against women, learn to rebel and fight for what they believe is right. While there are

During this time, women were often looked at as less than men in reference to intelligence, capability, and overall strength. Reading this work from the perspective of a woman during that time presents an interesting thought, which is the importance of self-expression. Later on as the wife continues to get worse, she expresses again of her desire to write to ease her mind and pain, “I think sometimes that I were only well enough to write a little it would relieve me the press of ideas and rest me” (420). Had the perspective been altered in any way, the readers would not have discovered the same message because the other character is a man, and men were free to express themselves however they wished. Women were limited, which is why the point of view used developed this central

The Portrayal of the Plight of Women by the Author, In Their Particular Period of Time

In Shakespeare's tragedies and his plays in general, we can come across several types of female characters. Their influence with other characters and their purpose or role, often underestimated like women themselves, will be this essay's main subject.

A Doll’s House is a play written by Henrik Ibsen during the Victorian era that portrays the role of women at that time, not only in marriage but in society as well, the gender discrimination suffered quietly by the women and witnessed impassively by the men, and subsequently reflects on the attitude each gender has towards itself as well as towards the other gender. In this paper the following is discussed – how Nora became aware of this inequality and the oppression she faced in the course of the three Acts in the play, what gender equality really meant at that time, and how the writer integrated such messages of inequality and oppression into the play.

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

Throughout this course, Feminism has made its appearance in several works. The profound effects of patriarchy in the late 1800 's to the mid 1900 's allow society to view the oppression of women as being a social norm. Many of these early works, whether it may be a novella, a play, or a poem, depict women as being inferior to men. These works exemplify the power of words, but more so the power of action, where it takes only one woman to break through traditional gender roles and to counteract the patriarchal stigma of its time period. The importance of feminism in these works show that the female protagonists are often underestimated and devalued. This is a major component of history that is explored throughout this course, and the

Female characters are portrayed in a variety of ways from the damsel in distress to the heroic female lead. The following female characters are females who happen to be the main characters of their stories Sylvia from “The White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett, Mrs. Mallard from “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and Katherine from The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. These characters all have different character traits, but all relate on the idea of being a restricted female. Each of these characters have qualities that make them unique characters but due to the time period of which these stories are taken place each female lead is restricted by the gender barrier placed by men at the time. Looking at the three stories to show how female characters are portrayed in these stories but are limited by the gender barrier which restricts their character traits.

The period of the nineteenth century until the twentieth century was viewed as a patriarchal male society and female dependence; women had to obey men because in most cases men held all the resources and women had no independent means of subsistence. Women were solely controlled by the society crafted by men and expected to act as a feminine ideal of that period, in addition, women were supposed to live a highly restrictive life with their life centered round their husband and subsequently their children. Although, women were supposed to be treated with respect by men, most men viewed women as weak and having no ability to perform any task. In the play “A Doll’s House” the character Nora shows how these expectations affect her behavior which reflect her desire to change the traditional gender roles in the demanding society she was obligated to adhere to. When a couple got married in this period her property was now her husband’s and as a result, married women were barred from making contracts, appearing as witnesses in court, and initiating lawsuits. Nora like the wives of her time had to subject to her husband and Nora is often treated as a superior servant not as an equal; therefore, she lives without self-identity and gender equality.

In the realistic play “A Doll’s House” by Henrick Ibsen’s the cultural conflicts of the nineteenth century are shocking and controversial. The play helps portray the struggles women and men were faced with during that century with their roles. Being a male during this period showed more importance than the female’s role would have been. In the end this theory proves women can be just as responsible as a man.