Gender roles have always been a topic of discussion when it comes to equality throughout the years. Obviously, today, we are far more progressive in regards to women’s rights and their lives in general. However, in what is considered the patriarchal societies of which Elizabeth (Pride and Prejudice) and Nora (A Doll’s House) live, those rights were virtually non-existent. Pride and Prejudice and A Doll’s House by Jane Austen and Henrick Ibsen, respectively, were written in the nineteenth century-smack dab in the middle of women being second class citizens to men, and leading the world. Though the books were written many years apart, they both hold a very similar message: Sometimes you have to break free from society’s rules to find yourself.
…show more content…
Honestly, Nora’s marriage appears to be less forced and happier than Elizabeth’s future, in the beginning. At first, Nora loves and admires her husband, but the life and love she knew was not the truth. In reality, Nora was just a show-dog, a pretty pet that draws the attention of the crowds on special occasions but is locked away for the rest of its life. She realizes eventually, after illegally taking out a loan with a forged signature to secure her husband’s health (women were not allowed to do so), that her husband did not cherish or love her the way she did him. He thinks of her as a silly girl, and she leaves to prove to him, and herself, that she is anything but. Both characters in the two texts believed that marriage should be about love and support, but it always came back to social classes and keeping up …show more content…
While the characters are both dying to free themselves from restrictions and false love, their reasons and approaches are actually vastly different. In Elizabeth’s society, a woman’s true characteristic is the need for a husband. In Nora’s, she has a husband that treats her as lesser, but the society is slowly changing to give women more rights. Nora came to the realization that she was allowed to think for herself, regardless of what the man she left thought. Nora was on her way to becoming independent, while in Elizabeth’s culture (though fight it, she did) marriage for money was still normal and expected at very young ages—and Elizabeth did not want to marry someone she did not love. Their wants were similar in the sense tghat they both wanted freedom from the lives the women were currently living, but while Elizabeth did want a happy marriage and a home, Nora was working her way out of
Honestly, Nora’s marriage appears to be less forced and happier than Elizabeth’s future, in the beginning. At first, Nora loves and admires her husband, but the life and love she knew was not the truth. In reality, Nora was just a show-dog, a pretty pet that draws the attention of the crowds on special occasions but is locked away for the rest of its life. She realizes eventually, after illegally taking out a loan with a forged signature to secure her husband’s health (women were not allowed to do so), that her husband did not cherish or love her the way she did him. He thinks of her as a silly girl, and she leaves to prove to him, and herself, that she is anything but. Both characters in the two texts believed that marriage should be about love and support, but it always came back to social classes and keeping up …show more content…
While the characters are both dying to free themselves from restrictions and false love, their reasons and approaches are actually vastly different. In Elizabeth’s society, a woman’s true characteristic is the need for a husband. In Nora’s, she has a husband that treats her as lesser, but the society is slowly changing to give women more rights. Nora came to the realization that she was allowed to think for herself, regardless of what the man she left thought. Nora was on her way to becoming independent, while in Elizabeth’s culture (though fight it, she did) marriage for money was still normal and expected at very young ages—and Elizabeth did not want to marry someone she did not love. Their wants were similar in the sense tghat they both wanted freedom from the lives the women were currently living, but while Elizabeth did want a happy marriage and a home, Nora was working her way out of