Dollhouses and gender roles

Literature is heavily influenced in most cases by the period of time when it was written. They can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the historical context. Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 novel A Doll House places a lot of emphasis on gender roles in the time period. Gender roles are only just beginning to change from the centuries-old norms. Ibsen’s choices in the play were controversial during its first year of performance. Some directors even changed the ending to have Nora return to her husband. This alternative ending was more in line with the society’s expectations at the time. Ibsen insists that this play was not written to promote women’s equality. But it has been a major topic in recent discussions. Nora Helmer plays a central role in the development of theories on gender roles. Commentators usually classify Nora either as “a feminist heroine” or “a courageous, perhaps tragic, human person”. Ibsen portrays the zeitgeist in his plays by using each character. Women were still subject to the laws and rules of society.

The theme is feminism, and it’s evident that the play was written with this in mind. Ibsen starts the story by presenting Nora as a stereotypical 18th century housewife. Helmer first refers his wife to a “lark”. He then calls her “squirrel”, as well as “spendthrift”. He talks down to the girl to show his authority. Ibsen creates a picture of the typical family during the time period by establishing the relationship at the beginning. This allows for the dramatic ending.

The ending of the play is intended to be a full-blown Ibsen effect. It’s important that Nora is established early on as the typical wife. In the final scenes, Nora realizes that her role as “doll of her husband” is no longer necessary. She can be an independent woman. A Doll House has a strong feminism message because it shows the courage of a wife to leave a husband during a period when women were oppressed.

Professor Joan Templeton says Ibsen’s personal life provides a testimony to the true motivation for his writing A Doll House. Laura Petersen Kieler’s life is the basis for Ibsen’s story. Laura married an extremely debt-averse man. She secretly borrowed money to pay for a trip in Italy. She hoped that the vacation would aid her husband’s recovery from tuberculosis. She worked hard but it wasn’t enough. Her husband discovered that she had forged a cheque. She was put in a mental hospital after her husband, who claimed she was “unfit to be a mother”, left her.

Ibsen was clearly angry about the way his female friend was treated unfairly. He blamed the husband of his friend for letting her do “unworthy works” and not caring about her well-being. She did all she could to love her husband, but was still treated like a monster.

Ibsen’s remarks at the Norwegian Women’s Rights Festival of 1898 are often used by those who criticize A Doll House’s feminist themes. Ibsen replies, “I am grateful for your toast, but I disclaim any honor I may have had in consciously supporting the women’s movement.”

“It seemed to me a universal problem. My books will help you to understand. It is true that it would be desirable to solve women’s issues along with the rest of the world, but this was not the main purpose. “My task was to describe mankind” (Ibsen. Speeches & New Letters, 65).

This statement supports the theory A Doll House doesn’t really have anything to do with feminism. Instead, it is a larger message about mankind in general. According to this theory, Nora is Everyman. Eric Bentley is one of the supporters who claim this. in Brunnemer 10).

Templeton’s argument for feminism is among the best. She spent a lot of time studying Ibsen and his life in order to build her argument. She removed gender completely from her statement, and I found that particularly interesting. What remains of the tale? She remarked,

“Now remove the woman question from A Doll House. Give Nora Helmer all the rights of Torvald Helmer. He should consider her equal. What remains of A Doll House? The only answer that is honest is nothing. Because if Nora is emancipated, she is freed from her dollhouse. There is no play.

Why is it important that A Doll House’s main character is female? The story would not exist if the main character did not have a gender. She is only notable because it wasn’t common for women in that era to leave their husbands. If a man had left his wife, the critics would have still talked about her and how tragic it was to be a mother alone in an era when women were denied many rights. This story revolves around Nora, a female character.

The play is also a source of evidence for other critics. Other critics find their evidence within the play. Templeton’s “The Doll House Backlash” (29). Nora’s exit at the end of the film can be dismissed as “silly drama”. She lies when she tells her husband that she had eaten sweets. Even after she is repeatedly asked, she denies that sweets were consumed (Ibsen in “A Doll House,” 1601). One might argue that the fact she ate what she wanted despite her spouse’s orders was a sign of things to come. Others say that,

“Even Nora’s Sweet Tooth is Evidence of Her Unworthiness. As we see, she’surreptitiously eat[s] the forbidden Macaroons.’ She even ‘brazenly offered[s] macaroons… to Doctor Rank. And finally, lying in her deny that these macaroons are mine’. Eating the macaroons a secretively suggests that Nora is manipulative and deceitful right from the Templeton, “The Doll House Backlash”, 30.

Nora’s flirtatious exchanges with Doctor Rank are another argument against her role as a feminist heroine. Feminism is not about using sexuality for one’s own benefit. It is a point that I can accept. I am not sure how this fact is related to the themes of humanity or feminism. It would seem that Nora has a selfish nature. Ibsen has every right to include details in order to create drama, even though they may contradict the main theme.

The final argument is that Nora abandoned her children when she left, and they were taken care of by the same man as treated Nora like a doll. Betsy Bowden at Rutger University replied to Templeton’s ‘Doll House Backlash’ article.

“…Nora closes the door behind her and leaves, leaving a monster in charge of her children, who will be distorted just as Nora claims. When you picture the children, suddenly awakened from their sleep by the slamming, coming into the room to confront their father, it’s clear that this male-oppressive pattern must repeat itself if there’s no strong woman to stand up and stop it. The deserted Ivar, Bob and Emmy will all be Torvald clones. Emmy’s fate is to repeat the tragic story of her mother. Templeton’s “Ibsen’s Nora”.

I find it difficult to understand how a mom could abandon her kids. Nora is modeled on Ibsen’s friend. It was not the most honourable of decisions, but it wasn’t unjust. Laura was forced to give up her children by the law. Ibsen wanted Nora to have the power, but still achieve the same result of losing everything. Many people criticize men for leaving children but not women. Nora was not forced to stay with her abusive husband because she was a mother. But it would have been difficult for Nora to take the kids away from their father.

Both sides of the argument have valid arguments. Ibsen’s play seems to make a larger statement, either about women in particular or humanity as a whole. Ibsen could have been reluctant to publicly support such an issue at the time. Maybe he thought that by focusing on such an important issue, he would be able to draw attention towards his main theme. A Doll House seems to be an issue that will never go away. Despite the progress made in establishing equality, gender in literature will remain controversial.

michaellang

Michael Lang is a 33-year-old professor and blogger who is passionate about writing. He has been blogging for over 7 years and has written for various online publications. Michael is also a seasoned professor who has taught at the college level for over a decade. He is currently a professor of English at a community college in the Midwest.