A Doll's House Gender Roles

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Humans have survived on communication because it is one of the largest ways humans interact with each other. What one says and how they say it can tell one a lot about that person, whether it be their struggles, happiness, or experiences. Our communication is a tool for other people to see who one really is. In the play A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, a struggling marriage is at its breaking point over assumed powers. He mainly uses the character, Nora, a devoted wife who is struggling to have her voice heard in her marriage, Torvald, Nora’s wife who assumes he has all the power and appreciates only Nora’s looks, and Christine, a moderate voice in an unknown struggle between Torvald and Nora, to show the power issue personally. The use of their…show more content…
In the play A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, Ibsen uses Nora and Torvald’s diction to show the issues of Traditional Gender roles. Torvald’s diction proves he assumes he has power over Nora because of a traditional gender role society. During the beginning of the play Nora asks to borrow money from Torvald frequently. Torvald's response to Nora is “That is like a woman! But, seriously, Nora, you know what I think about that. No debt, no borrowing” (pg 4). When Torvald says “that is like a woman” he makes the assumption that all women are reckless. Torvald relates the issue of carefree spending with women. Torvald also says “seriously” before he says his point of view. To him he does not take what nora is saying as serious and when it is time to get serious in his mind, it is when he is saying his philosophy. Although a relationship should be a balance of ideas between partners, Torvald's only worries are about Nora retaining what he says. This is evident when he says “you know what I think”. In Torvald's eyes if the man…show more content…
She “had to provide” for them. She needed to feed them, support them, take care of them. Contrary to Torvald’s belief, she was the strong one, she had responsibility, she provided but in Torvald’s world only men provide. Christine is living proof that Torvald is wrong.Two males had to rely on a female and if it was not Christine, the mother was the support for the family. Also the mother was only helpless when she was bedridden, before that she was perfectly capable of supporting not only herself but her family too. On the other hand, Christine seems to follow in the footsteps of what the original gender role society has setup. After learning about Nora's rampant borrowing she says, “No, a wife cannot borrow without her husband’s consent” (12). It may seem that Christine supports traditional gender roles but taking a step back, what she says is absurd. Why can't a wife borrow money? The traditional gender role society has indoctrinated her to believe that women can not possibly be responsible. Managing money is one of the most important responsibilities to learn in life. To her all men are in control of the money because they are responsible, however, Nora is perfectly capable of managing money. That is how she saved Torvald's life, by borrowing money for medical expenses. To ask for consent that means the other party is in control of what one needs or wants. The problem with the assumed power by men is that women must gain consent to do

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