How To Make Your Man A Sandwich
Across the globe, throughout history and even today, it has been a trend with human societies for the men to acquire the necessary resources for the survival of their family while the women work in the home and nurse the children. Unlike men, women are often treated as tools more so than human beings; women are objectified, receive lower wages, and are forced to fit into the stereotypical role of women in today’s culture. Henrik Ibsen understands this struggle and presents the problem of gender roles in “A Doll’s House.” His character, Torvald, loves his wife Nora but only as a child loves a doll; Torvald uses Nora as a decoration for their home, showing her off and dressing her up but refusing to give her a say in decisions. Ibsen created Nora and Torvald to demonstrate how stereotyping women in relationships can only lead to problems in marriage, friendship, and mutual respect.
Torvald and Nora have a strong relationship -- that is true -- but their relationship is not balanced; Torvald rules over Nora’s actions and uses her to impress his acquaintances, dressing her up as a “lovely little Capri girl” (Ibsen, 1140) and flaunting her around parties, but Nora goes along with Torvald’s demanding requests since he makes all the money. In the eyes of Torvald, Nora is not a human such as himself; He sees her as a doll, fragile and weak to the forces of the world. When Nora is worried about Krogstad, Torvald even demonstrates his dominance over her by claiming that “Whatever happens you’ll see that when things get really rough I have both strength and courage. You’ll find out that I am man enough to shoulder the whole burden” (Ibsen, 1123). There is a huge gap in power between Nora and Torvald which is evident as Nora doesn’t get much of a decision in anything except what to buy with the money she receives from Torvald.
Nora doesn’t work but she stays busy; she shops for clothes, decorates the house, practices performances for gatherings. It may seem like Nora plays a pretty large role when it comes to keeping the house and family functioning but Torvald only keep Nora around as a toy. Torvald spends most of his time at work or in his office, doing work to provide money for his family so when he takes a break, he craves perfection in his home and family. Nora is there to be the model of a perfect wife, flirting with Torvald and keeping everything “just the way Torvald likes it” (Ibsen, 1104) as long as he gives her an allowance of money. Just as when Nora was young and living with her father, she has had a male that guides her through life and tells her how she should act, what she should wear, and what she should do in every aspect of life. Because of the way her father raised her, Nora failed to develop maturity early on and, when of age to be married, was left with no option but to find a husband that would allow her to live like a child as she did with her father. In order for Nora to keep her childish lifestyle, she must stay with Torvald and therefore has to please Torvald. Without Torvald, Nora would live a very sad and lonely life which Ibsen shows by bringing in Mrs. Linde, a woman who lacks wealth, self-confidence, and a husband. By having Nora interact multiple times with Mrs. Linde, Nora is able to see that life without a husband is torturous and lonely for a woman, creating “a great emptiness” (Ibsen, 1100) in the woman’s life. “A Doll’s House” was written in the 1870’s and it is a sad truth that women of that era needed a husband to live comfortably since job options for women were scarce and commonly not as profitable as a man’s occupation; even today, finding a prosperous job as a women is far more difficult than for a man. For that reason, women are forced to go to drastic measures in order to please their men such as cleaning, cooking, and doing housework while the men relax. This occurrence is less common now but was still very prominent up until the 1970’s.
All literature is written with a purpose; Ibsen took the ideas of women objectification and the stereotypical role of women and molded them into “A Doll’s House”, the story of a woman and her relationships with the demanding male counterparts that toy with her like a puppet. Nora is subjected to objectification throughout her entire life -- being dressed up like a child’s doll and paraded around -- and the woman’s role in society prevents her from living happily without a man, a problem that is still present today. Ibsen explains the struggles of women with “A Doll’s House” using timeless ideas, allowing his story to be relatable over 130 years later.
Citations:
Avon Calling. Digital Image. Envisioning The American Dream. Envisioning The American Dream, 2013. Web.
<https://envisioningtheamericandream.com/2013/06/17/ding-dong-avon-calling-pt-ii/>
Ibsen, Henrik. "A Doll's House." 1879. Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, & Sense. By Thomas R. Arp. 11th ed. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. 1092-154. Print.
Male and Female Dominance. Digital image. ClipartPanda.com. ClipartPanda.com, 2014. Web. <http://www.clipartpanda.com/categories/dominance-20clipart>.
Mindy. The 1950s Wife. Digital image. British Bride UK Wedding Blog. British Bride UK Wedding Blog, 16 June 2014. Web. <http://www.british-bride.co.uk/2014/06/16/1950s-wife/>.
Peasant Top In Red. Digital image. Deadly Is The Female. Deadly Is The Female, n.d. Web.
<https://deadlyisthefemale.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/DD_Capris_bk.jpg>
Avon Calling. Digital Image. Envisioning The American Dream. Envisioning The American Dream, 2013. Web.
<https://envisioningtheamericandream.com/2013/06/17/ding-dong-avon-calling-pt-ii/>
Ibsen, Henrik. "A Doll's House." 1879. Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, & Sense. By Thomas R. Arp. 11th ed. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. 1092-154. Print.
Male and Female Dominance. Digital image. ClipartPanda.com. ClipartPanda.com, 2014. Web. <http://www.clipartpanda.com/categories/dominance-20clipart>.
Mindy. The 1950s Wife. Digital image. British Bride UK Wedding Blog. British Bride UK Wedding Blog, 16 June 2014. Web. <http://www.british-bride.co.uk/2014/06/16/1950s-wife/>.
Peasant Top In Red. Digital image. Deadly Is The Female. Deadly Is The Female, n.d. Web.
<https://deadlyisthefemale.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/DD_Capris_bk.jpg>