Demonstration of Gender Ideology in “A Doll House” by Yoshiki Watanabe

Demonstration of Gender Ideology in “A Doll House”

Gender ideology is one of the arguments that has been discussed for years. The concept of gender ideology was established based on the gender roles decided ages ago. Men work to maintain their family, and females support the husband in the house. Japan was one of the countries where its culture was deeply affected by gender ideology. In ancient Japanese culture, men were superior, and women could not move to other provinces without a male. After 1869, women gradually obtained their rights as citizens. But, in the 1900s, Italy where Henrik Ibsen wrote “A Doll House” was also dominated by the male superior gender ideology. The main character of this story Nora Helmer is based on Laura Kieler who was a friend of Ibsen and the story is based on the relationship between her and her husband. Nowadays, sexual discrimination has greatly improved, and many people assume that “A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen was one of the things that assisted women’s liberation in the world.

In the story of "A Doll house", Ibsen wrote the backgrounds of two women who came from completely difference circumstances. Nora Helmer was born in an affluent family and had a successful life. She grew up in a wealthy and did not have to face difficulties within her daily life. On the other hand, Mrs. Linde was poor and had to sacrifice herself to maintain her family. Both of them had different life experience, but I think Ibsen expressed the gender ideology through them. Nora was treated as a doll by her father and her husband, not loved as an individual. Mrs. Linde did not have a chance to get a job that was enough to maintain her family and had to get married to a person who is wealthy enough to take care of them. Their lives were dominated by males. However, at the end of the story, Nora obtained freedom and Mrs. Linde also found a new life and partner. It was difficult for women to become independent from men and obtain their individual rights. Ibsen experience demonstrates the society of male pre-dominance over women and referred to the problem of gender ideology and the importance of women’s liberation.

Nora Helmer:

Nora Helmer was written as a typical rich woman in the 1900s. She was born to a wealthy family and did not have economical difficulty until Torvald contracted a disease. They needed a lot of money for Torvald’s cure, at the same time her father was bedridden and could not support Nora and Torvald. She might have thought about going into debt for the trip, but her husband hates the thought of debt. As a result, she decided to go into debt without his permission, and she put the name of her father on the promissory note as the warrantor. However, while she was processing the contract, her father passed away and she had to commit perjury. After the trip to Italy for the cure, her family had financial difficulties. Nora said, “Oh, but Torvald, this year we really should let ourselves go a bit? It’s is the first Christmas we haven’t had to economize” (Ibsen 785). Since Torvald became the president of a bank, they would obtain high income, and Nora expected that she would not have to economize to pay off her debt. She was excited about a hopeful future and was looking forward to Christmas. However, Nils Krogstad who was the moneylender threatened her. She struggled and tried to solve the problem before Torvald learned about her crime. She was afraid her crime would be exposed to Torvald, and she decided to commit suicide; nonetheless, Torvald knew about her crime and abused her. Then, she realized that her life was dominated by men and left the family.

Nora was representing a typical woman who was under the control of a man. Guo Yuehua wrote about the relationship between gender ideology and Ibsen’s “A Doll House” in a magazine of Canadian Social Science. Yuehua explains that in the 19th century, Europe ideology of gender role was such that men had the responsibility to provide for the family, and women were in a subordinated position, trapped in the home (Yuehua 80). Also, breaking this custom is regarded as an impingement of male’s dignity and power. Nora was raised and educated as a dependent woman, but also like a doll, thus she could not reprove Torvald. Therefore, she had to go into debt without permission from Torvald and had made the resolution to pay back the money by herself. She successfully kept returning the debt to Krogstad, and she rejoiced when she knew about the Torvald’s new job. According to Boeninger, Ibsen used food to express the character’s emotion in his middle-career works (454). Nora ate couple macaroon furtively. “She continues to laugh quietly and happily to herself as she takes off her things. She takes a bag of macaroons out of her pocket and eats one or two; then she walks stealthily across and listens at her husband’s door.” (Ibsen 785). According to Boeninger, the expression of eating forbidden macaroon furtively illustrate Nora’s delight (456). Also, she felt relieved to be released from the pressure of lying to her husband. The conversation between Mrs. Linde illustrated Nora’s mind. She talked to Mrs. Linde about how she had a difficult life and if and she revealed the secret about the debt in order to receive sympathy. Nora wanted someone who would honor her for saving her husband’s life and being an ideal wife. Ibsen compares Nora life to controlled women who could not be rewarded in the public society.

Torvald rejected Nora’s entreaty, and sent the dismission to Krogstad. The main reason for his anger was the fact that Nora broke the rules of gender ideology and hurt his pride. For him, the interference to his business was a minor problem in comparison. Ibsen stated the gender hierarchy through this scene. Yuehua is right about Torvald having the idea that women are less intelligent than men because his behavior towards Nora was contemptuous throughout the whole story (81). Torvald compared Nora to a small animal and call her the names of those animals. He called Nora a squirrel and lark. It sounds like he compared Nora to animals, but in truth, they are a metaphor that she is that of a dependent pet that is kept by him. This shows that Torvald assumed that Nora is an inferior person.

Afterward, Nora contemplated suicide because of the intimidation of her crime being exposed to Torvald by Krogstad. She behaved as the ideal wife and fawned over Torvald in an attempt to cause him to stay away from the letter of Krogstad until the dance party. This is because she had decided to leave the home after the party. “It is her perception that hundreds of thousands of women would have sacrificed their honor for the sake of their husbands’ well-being, just as she has done to save her husband’s life by forgery” (Yuehua 83). Until Torvald read the letter, he considered Nora to be the ideal wife for him, but him changing his mind and his abuse led her realize how she was treated as a belonging of her father and her husband. “I’ve lived by doing tricks for you, Torvald. But that’s the way you wanted to it” (Ibsen 838). Then, she decided to leave the family and begin her new life. “I’m not up to the job. There’s another job I have to do first. I have to educate myself.” (Ibsen 839). At the time, living alone as a woman was difficult, and if she chose to live with him she could have lived a stable life, but Nora left the family and became an independent person. she escaped from the control of Torvald. Ibsen argued that going against the rules of gender ideology was arduous for women, but that it is not impossible if a woman has determination. Ibsen stated that woman should be released from the subordination, and obtain their right to be an independent individual in society.

Mrs. Linde:

Mrs. Linde was written as an independent woman. She went the same school as Nora, but her life was in contrast to Nora’s. She got married to a wealthy man, but her husband had passed away three years before, and she maintained her family by managing a small store and a small school. Since her mother who needed care passed away, and her younger brothers became independent, she moved to the town where Nora was living. She visited Nora and asked for a job from Torvald at the bank. She behaved as the best friend and counselor of Nora when she was threatened by Krogstad. Since she had had a relationship with Krogstad before she got married, she interceded Krogstad for Nora, but she let Torvald read the exposition letter and triggered Nora’s independence. According to Gelber and empleton, “Mrs. Linde has a particularly crucial role in the drama, for she, far more than Torvald” (360). I agree with the idea that Mrs. Linde had an important role in this story because she is contrasted against Nora and is an example of the inferior position of woman in old society.

Ibsen wrote Mrs. Linde as another representative of woman who struggled in the man’s pre-dominance over woman society. Compared to Nora, the initial difference is family. Nora had financially stable family environment, but Mrs. Linde’s family was considered meager. When she visited Nora, she pretended that it was coincidence that she visited during Torvald’s job transfer, but actually, she had known about his new job, and her visit to was planned. Ibsen demonstrated the difference between two women in their conversation. Nora innocently spoke of her experience of the difficulty of her life thinking without a doubt that she can get sympathy and credit for the work. Nora’s experience was insignificant for her, but she listened because she had to ask Torvald for a job. According to Yuehua, it is the proof of authority in which Torvald who had newly obtained superior position in society that Mrs. Linde asked him for a job (82). I think that her patience and shrewd thoughts were cultivated by her hard experiences, and it clearly shows the difference of her independence in comparison to Nora’s. This is a prime example of Ibsen’s argument of gender inequality.

As Ibsen expressed her as a woman who was struggling with gender ideology, he used her as a successful example of someone who was released from the restriction of man. Mrs. Linde overcame some difficulties that she had, then she got back together with Krogstad. “Yes, Mrs. Linde loves Krogstad, and he, her; but their marriage, based on openness, is a foil to the Helmer marriage, based on lies.” (Gelber and Templeton 362). Their reconciliation ironically contrasted Nora’s marriage, and foreshadowed her future marriage. At the end of the story Nora was released from the control of Torvald, but since she did not have any support and or enough money to educate herself, she still struggled in society. However, Mrs. Linde experience can be applied to Nora, and it also shows Ibsen’s opinion that women will have difficulties in trying to be independent, but they can find freedom.

In conclusion, Ibsen stated his argument about gender ideology and inequality of gender power. Nora was a representative of a traditional woman who was trapped under the rule of gender ideology. Mrs. Linde was an example of someone who suffered in the society of male pre-dominance, but who obtained independence. Both of them struggled due to gender ideology in the 19th century, and Ibsen emphasized the importance of women’s liberation through them. “Ideological power embodied through gender relationships in “A Doll House” helps people to reflect on the stereotyping of both men and women in literary works and have a new and rational perception of the gender roles in our modern world” (Yuehua 87). For a long time, “A Doll House” was interpreted as a symbol of the gender ideology, and this literature will continue to remind people of the gender inequality in the past in the past.

Work Cited

Ibsen, Henrik. “A Doll House.” The Norton Instruction to Literature, edited by Mays, Kelly J, 11^th ed., New York : W W Norton & Co Inc, 2014. pp784-84.

Yuehua, Guo. "Gender Struggle over Ideological Power in Ibsen's a Doll's House/La Lutte Des Sexes Sur Le Pouvoir Ideologique Dans Maison De Poupee D'Ibsen." Canadian Social Science, no. 1, 2009, pp. 79-87. EBSCOhost, byuh.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.208336714&site=eds-live.

Boeninger, Stephanie Pocock. "Teacups and Butter: The Importance of Eating in Ibsen's a Doll's House and the Wild Duck." Modern Drama, vol. 57, no. 4, Winter2014, pp. 451-468. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3138/CART.0666.

Gelber, Michael Werth, and Joan Templeton. “Ibsen and Feminism.” PMLA, vol. 104, no. 3, 1989, pp. 360–362. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/462452.