A Doll's House Gender Roles

Women in Norway during the nineteenth century were expected to fulfill a certain role-the domestic housewife. These domestic duties placed on women brought along a powerful feminist movement that produced the independent woman. In A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen he compares two different types of women placed in nineteenth century Norway with allusions to typical economic situations and cultural roles in order to compare and contrast the domestic housewife and the independent woman. In order to understand the women in A Doll’s House it is vital to understand the typical Norwegian woman. The typical Norwegian woman had many duties to fulfill as a mother, wife, and caretaker. As industrialization progressed in Norway, “the powers and responsibilities

Linde as foil characters to compare and contrast the domestic housewife and independent woman. Isben shows us the type of woman they are immediately however, as the story continues he begins to show the negative sides of both women. Mrs. Linde shows signs of anger towards Nora with small remarks about the support Nora has which can also be perceived as jealousy. “I have no father to give me money for my journey, Nora” (Isben 9). Mrs. Linde believes that Nora lives the high life of a typical housewife. Nora calls Mrs. Linde out on her attitude towards her, but then she tries to change her mind by revealing her secret. “…I have something too to be proud of and glad of. It was I who saved Torvald's life.” (10). The dialogue between them shows that Nora is childish. As the climax rises, Nora starts to realize her childishness which is why she compared to her life as a doll’s life. She expresses to Torvald how she feels. “I have been your doll wife, just as I was Papa’s doll child” (67). Torvald subtly dismisses her statement by telling her that “playtime is over”(67). His dismissiveness shows the control that he had over her. He wants her to be the “proper wife” for him, which Nora realizes is something she does not want to tolerate any longer (67). The control he had over her was typical for a husband and wife in Norway. Nora is beginning to want a sense of independency-- the same independency Mrs. Linde

Isben’s goal for A Doll’s House was make people want to criticize society and challenge the social norms. He wanted to expose the everyday experiences and struggles of the different types of women in the play. Realism drama is realistic in the portrayal of everyday life however, it still features some unrealistic aspects. He includes these unrealistic things such as outside noises at convenient times to enhance the drama in the play. For example, the doorbell conveniently rings when Torvald is in the middle of an angry rant with Nora (63). The drama filled climax is also another feature of Isben’s realism drama. He builds the plot with drama in order to have an emotional climax and ending. These writing techniques are what define Isben’s style of writing in order to deliver the message of his story to the