Many individuals would agree that men and women are not treated as equals. Over the existence of the human race women have been seen as the weakest link, and men have always been expected to be the family’s provider. The setting of A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen takes place during Christmas time in a Victorian middle class household belonging to Torvald and Nora Helmer, their three children, their nurse Anne-Marie, and their maid Helene. In the beginning of the play Nora is asking Torvald for money for Christmas shopping and goes on to talk about how Torvald will be making so much more money with his new position at the bank. Towards the end of the play Nora’s untruth over the forgery of her late father’s signatures on important documents comes
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The gender roles portrayed in Ibsen’s A Doll House are accurate representations of the gender roles during the Victorian Era. Once a woman was married, she practically took on the role of a child, as in she had absolutely no rights “After a woman married, her rights, her property, and even her identity almost ceased to exist. By law, she was under the complete and total supervision of her husband” (Zeltser, 54) “women were considered physically weaker yet morally superior to men, which meant that they were best suited to the domestic sphere” (Hughes, 27) meaning because of their moral superiority they were better suited for the jobs of a “good wife” such as cleaning, cooking, and of course taking care of their children. Although women had better morals than men, “Men were superior over women and received many more rights, such as the right to vote and own property” (Knotts, 35). Men were expected to be their family’s provider, “This was a chivalrous time, and men took great pride in being the protector of the home and family” (Knotts, …show more content…
Most of the time women were housewives; they stayed at home to take care of their children, clean the house and of course make the family’s meals. Some women, also known as spinsters, did have jobs; “about 3% of all white women and 25% of all black women were a part of the work force” (Knotts, 40).Usually when women did have jobs “they were nurses like Anne-Marie, maids like Helene, laundresses, teachers, psychiatrists, or social workers. Most people in the Victorian Era lived in the middle class society so in the common households you would find domestic help such as mains, nurses, and laundresses” (Knotts,
The gender roles portrayed in Ibsen’s A Doll House are accurate representations of the gender roles during the Victorian Era. Once a woman was married, she practically took on the role of a child, as in she had absolutely no rights “After a woman married, her rights, her property, and even her identity almost ceased to exist. By law, she was under the complete and total supervision of her husband” (Zeltser, 54) “women were considered physically weaker yet morally superior to men, which meant that they were best suited to the domestic sphere” (Hughes, 27) meaning because of their moral superiority they were better suited for the jobs of a “good wife” such as cleaning, cooking, and of course taking care of their children. Although women had better morals than men, “Men were superior over women and received many more rights, such as the right to vote and own property” (Knotts, 35). Men were expected to be their family’s provider, “This was a chivalrous time, and men took great pride in being the protector of the home and family” (Knotts, …show more content…
Most of the time women were housewives; they stayed at home to take care of their children, clean the house and of course make the family’s meals. Some women, also known as spinsters, did have jobs; “about 3% of all white women and 25% of all black women were a part of the work force” (Knotts, 40).Usually when women did have jobs “they were nurses like Anne-Marie, maids like Helene, laundresses, teachers, psychiatrists, or social workers. Most people in the Victorian Era lived in the middle class society so in the common households you would find domestic help such as mains, nurses, and laundresses” (Knotts,