women have come a long way

A detailed Summary of women have come a long way

Carin Y. Brown 4/27/01

"Women Have Come A Long Way" "A Doll House" is no more about women's rights than Shakespeare's Richard II is about the divine right of kings, or Ghosts about syphilis . . .. Its theme is the need of every individual to find out the kind of person he or she is and to strive to become that person." (Bloom 28) Ibsen portrays this behavior in A Doll House through one of the main characters, Nora Helmer, by setting the scene in Norway in 1872. In the late 1800s, women did not play an important role in society at all. Their job was mainly to cook, clean, sew, take care of the children, and keep the house in order. They were treated as a material possession rather than a human being that could think and act for themselves and looked upon as a decorative member of the household. Women were robbed of their true identity and at the end of the play; Nora leaves everything behind to go out into the world to seek her identity.This behavior can be traced back to the begin!

ning of time when women were to stay home and gather nuts and berries, while the men would go out and do the hunting and fishing. The male

ve both treated me like a doll." (Ibsen 191) Therefore, her whole life was based around other people making decisions for her and conformed to their way of thinking until the end of the play, when she walks out and makes her own decision. Nora shows her childish ways throughout the play by eating macaroons, listening by Torvald's door, and by playing with the children. It is apparent that she is confused about marriage and her role as a woman in the 1800s. She does, however, make the right decision to leave although society views this as an immoral thing to do. This was considered sinful and God would punish you if you committed such an act of wrongdoing. In conclusion, I think that women have made an incredible appearance and have play an immense role in today's society. Women are basically treated with equality today with men and the times sure have changed. Ibsen's play is a very good example of how life was like for women in the past and they have obviously mad!

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Bloom, Harold. "Ibsen, Henrik, 1828-1906-Criticism and Interpretation." New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1999. Close Up Foundation "Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls, New York, 1848." http://www.closeup.org/sentiment/htm. 1997Eisenberg, Bonnie. "Legacy of '98: A Short History of The Movement." http://www.legacy98.org/move-hist,html. 1997Ibsen, Henirk. A Doll's House and Other Plays. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc.,1965.

of the children, and doing all the household chores. She does, however, go behind Torvald's back when she takes out the loan. When she realizes that she is unfit to do anything in life and announces her remedy-"I have to try to educate myself" (Ibsen 192) she walks out the door and expresses a deal of fem

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Approximate Word count = 1208
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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