Gender Roles In A Doll's House

Many confuse gender and sex due to their role in describing the characteristic and biological differences. Gender is defined as characteristics that a society or culture describes as masculine or feminine, while sex refers to the anatomical differences between male and female. As society progressed gender roles have become more dynamic, while sexual orientation has remained static. During the 19th century, the social constructs portrayed by Western Europe and the United States reflected the Victorian ideals of the family unit in two separate spheres, domestic and public. As seen in A Doll’s House, gender roles during the 19th century were very limited. Now, the gender roles are much more egalitarian and allows people of either sex to enter

As a woman in the 19th century, she appeared to fill the general female stereotypes such as submissiveness and her role in the domestic sphere. Because she was delegated to domestic work, she had no experience in finances and therefore was portrayed as extravagant and wasteful, as seen in act one where she tries to convince Torvald to splurge for the holidays. However, when Nora was pressed with dire circumstances, she deviated from her gender role. Her new role became more prominent when Torvald became ill, and refused to comply with his treatment, a trip to Italy. During Torvald’s illness, Nora was faced with the decision of forging her father’s signature to co-sign her loan or having Torvald’s health deteriorate and potentially die. This decision forced her to change her role and become financially responsible to take care of her husband and pay back her loan. Nora was able to deviate from social constructs to gain the freedom to engage in finance. This experience in saving to pay back her loan influenced her decision in attempting to live independently. Compared with Torvald, who complies with his gender role by providing for the family and assuming authority as the head of the family. However, he uses his gender role to marginalize Nora to the level of a child or doll. In act three, Torvald says that he wishes Nora was in danger so he could risk it all to save her. However, when he discovers Nora’s forgery and loan, he instinctively worries about his reputation and shows no concern for Nora’s