A Dolls House And A Dolls House Essay - 1656 Words

Commonly, we see female characters in literature completely at the discipline of their male counterparts. However, some females challenge the notion that subservience to the patriarchy is absolutely ‘necessary’. A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen and Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd both create interesting female characters in Nora Helmer and Bathsheba Everdene respectively. Whether these women are truly either independent or dependent, is ambiguous in their pieces of literature. Authors’ own political and social views often infuse their writing, as Hardy frequently commented on the hypocrisy of Victorian attitudes to women. However, in contrast, Ibsen’s play was received very differently to how it was intended, as he said ‘I†¦show more content†¦Whether Bathsheba and Nora need strong men in order fulfil their basic, psychological and self-fulfilment needs is a concept, which whilst the society of the time would have given a definitive ‘yes’, is far more complex. Far from the Madding Crowd’s Bathsheba’s basic needs (her psychological need for food and air, and her safety needs of shelter and law), in the beginning of the novel are fragile. Bathsheba is residing with her Aunt, and they are not ‘rich enough’ to pay someone for labour, which exemplifies how women struggled without ‘a man to do these things’. However, as soon as Chapter 5 Bathsheba had left Norcombe to inherit her Uncles farm. Whilst it was legal for Bathsheba to inherit this land, it was highly uncommon. Through this farm, Bathsheba had the potential to account for her own survival, without a strong male. This is reinforced by how, in chapter 10, she announces ‘the bailiff is dismissed for thieving’ and that she has ‘formed a resolution to have no bailiff at all, but to manage everything with [her] own head and hands’ to which the men delivered ‘an audible breath of amazement’, highlighting how extrao rdinary Bathsheba’s independence is. On the other hand, Bathsheba owns and maintains the farm through her inheritance from a man, and her employment of men. Without her uncle giving her the farm or her workers labouring, Bathsheba certainly would not have been able to survive independently. Oak, although was only an employee ofShow MoreRelatedA Dolls House And A Dolls House Essay1421 Words   |  6 Pages Henrik Ibsen one of his most famous literature works â€Å"A doll’s house† and Kate Chopin’s short story â€Å"The story of an hour† portrays to the Victorian era, when women didn’t have rights. Both authors were born in an era where women didn’t have rights, and that women faced many aspects in life, such as being submissive to their husband’s, they were viewed as possessions than as people, and live a life that they didn’t want to live during the Victorian age. 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The values of the society are described using the actions of a woman, Nora, who rebels against the injustices inflicted upon her gender. Women’s equality with men was not recognized by society in the late 1800’s. Rather, a woman was considered a doll, a child, and a servant. Nora’s alienationRead MoreWritten Task Dolls House1173 Words   |  5 PagesOutline Prescribed question: Power and privilege: â€Å"How and why is a social group represented in a particular way? Title of text for analysis: A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, Norway 1879. Task is related to course section: Part 3: Literature texts and context Task focus: This essay focuses on Ibsen’s way of representing women, it explains why does he represent them in that specific particular way and how the time, era and context he lived in affected this aim. It states that women are