Comparing The Awakening And A Doll's House

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It is analyzed that throughout history that women have been held up to expectations that cause them to be treated as inferior to men. Literature often highlights the pressure women have felt and still feel today from society’s unattainable expectation. These women that defy the limitations society sets for them are some of the most powerful, strong role models for young women today. When comparing the two works The Awakening by and A Doll House by, Nora demonstrates strength that is greater than Edna’s through her ability to put others before herself, her ability to seek knowledge as a way to become her own person, and her act of leaving her husband.
Both Edna and Nora, living in about the same time period, were expected to treat motherhood
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Edna, once leaving her husband, began overcompensating for the experiences she didn’t get before her marriage, such as flirting or dating. She does this while still married to her husband, which is infidelity. She even begins to fall in love with her first lover, Robert, and their relationship is the centerpiece for her life. Once together, she said to him, “I'm jealous of your thoughts tonight. They're making you a little kinder than usual; but some way I feel as if they were wandering, as if they were not here with me" (Chopin 97). Her lack of following society’s rules is respectable, however, her need to live for a man is unreasonable and actually follows her society’s culture to some extent. The fact that she seeks attention, from both Robert and Alcee Arobin, shows that she is seeking the attention from men that had been lacking in her younger years. Edna’s split from her husband only lead to her trying to find herself in someone else, which led her astray from the happy, independent life she was seeking. Nora, on the other hand, for most of the book, is completely devoted to her husband. There is no wavering; however, once he exposed his true self, she immediately changed her mindset. He demonstrated that he was not dedicated to his wife, only to his reputation. Nora observed his behavior and took initiative to end their unhealthy relationship. …show more content…
Nora’s strength outshines Edna’s when she begins to respect herself while becoming determined to become her own individual. Both women showed they were much smarter that the society that taught them how things should be. The characters and their authors took one step closer to shattering the glass

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