Feminism is defined as a particular movement that is organized to achieve the rights of women. The use of it is etched throughout literature. Two works where feminism is heavily illustrated are Henrik Ibsen's play, A Doll's House and Kate Chopin's The Awakening. Both works present prime examples of feminism in their display of breaking away from the traditional roles, and the consequences of moving away from masculine conventions. These works from the perspective of the writer, highlight the importance of women in society, and their respective roles and functions being different from the conventional viewpoints by the masculine gender. Both Eden from The Awakening and Nora from A Doll's House achieve their rights as women in different ways effectively illustrating the power and potency of women in society.
A Doll's House begins on Christmas Eve, with the main character Nora, having a conversation with her husband, Torvald about money. Nora is seeking to splurge, while Torvald is hesitant about doing something out of the ordinary, and breaking away from the traditional. The opening lines of the play by Nora provide a glimpse into this breaking away from what has been traditionally done. Ibsen displays Nora's determination early on to move away from how she has been living to something different. It is almost as if Ibsen is revealing that if the roles were reversed and Torvald was the one who had spent an extensive amount of money on Christmas gifts, he would not have had an issue with it – and would have expected Nora to fall in line. Their conversation, which lasts until Torvald gives in, after debating about not having debts showcases that to a certain degree, Nora does have a certain form of control over Torvald. He relents when he states "come come, my little lark mustn't droop her wings like that [] there!" (Ibsen 2). Ibsen’s use of the two debating back and forth further identifies the conventional differences between men and women. Cynthia Wolff in an article in The Massachusetts Review writes that stereotypes are ever present in literature. Women figure prominently in stories, even if they are not shown to have any relevance or principal roles (205). Essentially, much of literature is focused primarily in showing that men are dominant, and women - subservient. Thus, for Nora to be depicted as something different is the first sign of feminism within A Doll's House.
Chopin's The Awakening offers the theme of feminism. Thought to be a rather bold piece of literature, the story consists of the main character, Edna, who is trying to break free of the structures that have been forced upon her. An extensive amount of passages throughout the story reveal Edna's determination to break down the proverbial barriers that masculinity has inflicted upon her. One in particular, "she wanted something to happen - something, anything: she did not know what” (Chopin 196) speaks to the agitation that Edna feels from having to accept the current status quo and her wanting more than what life happens to be providing her at the time. Like Nora, Edna she desires an existence free from the definition of feminine roles. The status quo is no longer working for her as far as what she has done previously with her husband, and being a mother. The specific shift that has occurred is her identifying the barriers that have been placed on women by society (men, particularly) and the need for these barriers to be broken.
Chopin writes Edna in such a way that initially illustrates the life she has fashioned for herself is much like the conventional roles of women – in literature and society. Chopin writes, “she was becoming herself and daily casting aside the fictitious self which we assume like a garment with which to appear before the world" (57). This statement is perceived to be Edna’s recognition that what she has fashioned for herself is very different from how she actually feels. The metaphor of the garment is to inform the reader that it can be cast off and thrown away with effort and determination. This garment, or rather the fictitious self that Edna has constructed is based primarily on the traditional ideals that women are known to have, particularly as a mother. Despite this, Edna is determined to cast the garment aside for what she believes is a better, or more appropriate existence – one free of masculine notions and rules.
Similar to Edna, Nora in A Doll's House also is conforming to the standards and notions that women are conventionally illustrated in, but is awakening to femininity and understanding that she can be independent from Torvald. As the play progresses, it becomes clearer that Nora is discovering that what she previously thought to be an acceptable practice is no longer needed. She remarks later in the play that "I no longer believe. I believe that before all else I am a human being [] I must think things for myself, and try to get clear about them" (Ibsen 43). This is indicative of her realization that she can be independent and can cast off her garment as well, as Edna does in The Awakening. Nora is determined to relinquish the conformist identity that Torvald has created for her and that she has complied with. What has been is no longer what needs to be from Nora’s perspective. It is a realization that Ibsen presents for her at the onset, but the concept is heavily articulated as the play progresses.
There is considerable evidence that Edna is confused about what to do as she is awakening however. She recognizes that staying with her husband, Leonce, and taking care of the children and home are only satisfactory to a certain extent. She is observant of the women in society who have not been awakened and questions whether she can maintain the role that she is been relegated to play. On the one hand, it is a devotional life full of conformity to the current societal lifestyle that women are to emanate - while on the other, it offers minimal freedom, and only continues to perpetuate the feminine roles that are representative of anything but independence. Through the statement on the clamoring of the sea, Chopin provides a metaphor for the emotions and feelings that Edna is experiencing having to deal with the lack of independence that she so wants. Early on in The Awakening, Edna seems content like a quiet sea with the life that she is leading as a dutiful wife and mother, but as the story progresses, like the sea – she begins to crash and clamor.
There are additional similarities in the character of Nora in A Doll's House where she observes that she is like a sea so to speak, understanding the role she plays as a dutiful wife to Torvald, but also seeking independence. She says to Mrs. Linden that
"many years from now, when I’ve lost my looks a little. Don’t laugh. I mean, of course, a time will come when Torvald is not as devoted to me, not quite so happy when I dance for him, and dress for him, and play with him" (Ibsen 8).
Here, Ibsen is presenting the side of her that is dedicated to being the dutiful wife and serving the man, as was the conventional conception of women at the time. It is evident, however, that she wants to be free as she insists that she feels like a tiresome creature in the lines that follow the aforementioned passage. Nora ponders what this freedom would feel like, particularly given the roles that women were playing during the time the play is set in. The life that she currently lives is tiresome and bothersome – and subsequently, she desires more than what life is offering her presently.
Nesar Uddin in the article in the International Journal of English Literature comments that Nora is the songbird and mouthpiece for women in the play. She is written to address the problems and plights of women at the time while simultaneously showcasing the expectations of women as well. The character is constructed in such a way where it is as if Nora perceives a life outside of Torvald, but is hesitant to make the move because of the cost associated with it. Torvald chastises her belief in a life where she exists on his level. She is trapped by anxiety, fear and breaking societal norms. Her home life with Torvald is similar to a doll's house in the sense that she abides by his rules, and allows him to do what he wants in spite of her feelings, or emotions (294). Essentially, from Uddin’s perspective, Nora is confined by her own fear of breaking free from the ‘doll’s house’. Although she perceives that there is an excellent existence outside of Torvald, she has become so accustomed to living with him, and enduring the chastisement from him as the role a wife should play, that she is like a doll in a house being controlled and restricted.
While similar in terms of the feminist theme of independence, there are differences in how the characters seek to achieve this freedom. Both writers inquire as to whether is such a thing as being too free once freedom has been obtained. In order to awaken, Edna becomes immersed in a summer romance that she keeps behind her husband's back. The thought process behind Chopin can be argued to be that if men are able to do it, then why can't women? By Edna cheating on her husband, it presents a similarity to that of men and puts the two genders on an even keel. Chopin does provide clues that Edna's marriage to Leonce is essentially something she felt she had to do. Chopin writes:
“her marriage to Leonce Pontellier was purely an accident, in this respect resembling many other marriages which masquerade as the decrees of Fate. It was in the midst of her secret great passion that she met him. He fell in love, as men are in the habit of doing, and pressed his suit with an earnestness and ardor which left nothing to be desired" (Chopin 22).
The point with the passage to reveal to the reader how restricted Edna felt to marry Leonce in spite of the fact that the passion was more accidental, than poignant. The habitual or perceived ideal for Edna to marry because she is a woman is something that Chopin highlights further by stating that the marriage is not necessarily blissful or no longer meeting the needs of Edna. Basically, the marriage to Leonce is not something that she, Edna wanted to do, but felt it was what she had to do in order to comply with society’s perceptions about women and their respective place within it. The awakening for Edna is that she discovers that she wants out of the loveless marriage – and begins the affair to get on the road to accomplishing this objective.
Conversely, Nora does love her husband and wants to be the wonderful wife that society has fashioned for women. She identifies that she wants to do right by Torvald, in spite of the chastisement, but that it has become overwhelming to continue the farce. Ibsen illustrates this when Nora expresses that she does not know if she can exist as she has been existing. The awakening that she is experiencing is no longer helpful and useful to her with respect to being the submissive wife. Nora is ultimately hesitant about achieving and attaining the freedom that is in actuality, available to her despite what she initially thought. She feels beholden to Torvald, because she does indeed love him.
Nora, according to Uddin, comes to realize that what she has with Torvald in spite of the love she feels is nothing but a playroom. She is the doll wife, used as a doll. She is done with the illusion and being instrumental in Torvald's game. This is echoed when she comes to the realization that husbands treat their wives as honorable and shower them with affection and love only to satisfy the conventional norms. She wants free of the illusion since she has now recognized she is living one. The realization that she undergoes is very shocking because she can clearly see the evil that lurks behind the relegation of women in society by men (294-295). The theme of feminism is heavy in this particular part of the play, because it is similar to a kind of movement by Ibsen to stress the importance and relevance of women's roles in society. The character of Nora comes to a realization, albeit late, that she can attain and obtain the freedom she so desires, even though she has traditionally believed that she does not have the option to do so.
The realization comes to Edna sooner than it does Nora. Chopin states that "Edna recognizes that she is infatuated with a lifestyle that she has believed is the proverbial way to operate and exist in. Chopin also shows this in the statement "there was something in her attitude, in her whole appearance when she leaned her head against the high-backed chair and spread her arms, which suggested the regal woman, the one who rules, who looks on, who stands alone" (94). This is a stunning difference, not so much in the fact that both women come to the realization at different times, but in the fact that arguably it reveals the conceptions of the writers in the roles that women play in society. Chopin is a woman, and Ibsen is not, and while A Doll’s House does heavily display the feminism theme, there is still an argument to be made that Ibsen conceives the concept differently as he is not a woman.
There is also a difference in the belief systems of the two women, which further highlight the differences between Chopin and Ibsen regarding feminism. Uddin writes that Nora must exorcise the doll life, including the attitudes and beliefs that have formed being married to Torvald. She must also refute the belief systems of her father and family that she has become satisfied with. The males’ projection of the woman becomes a significant issue for Nora after awakening. She is forced to deconstruct her beliefs and come to terms with the identity that was created for her (295).
In contrast to Nora, Edna's awakening while coming sooner than later, leaves her trapped. She is not ready to accept that she is living a life that has been constructed for her. The awakening is too much. Chopin comments that
“there were days when she was very happy without knowing why. She was happy to be alive and breathing, when her whole being seemed to be one with the sunlight, the color, the odors, the luxuriant warmth of some perfect Southern day. She liked then to wander alone into strange and unfamiliar places. She discovered many a sunny, sleepy corner, fashioned to dream in. And she found it good to dream and to be alone and unmolested” (63).
The essential aspect of this passage is that Edna is confused about the realization. She is so accustomed to the aspects that she is supposed to play that even though she had the affair, she is not ready to leave what has become second nature. Cynthia Wolff argues that a significant amount of literature that speaks to the feminism theme tends to address the tragedy and travesty of male dominance and women's suffrage. The tone and voice, stance and overall encoding found in literature and poetry tends to cause the reader to be sympathetic, while also unbending in their beliefs like the characters or subject of the prose. Feminist literature does address the destructive force of dominance, but also unmistakably expresses the anguish of breaking away from said dominance that many women encounter (205-207).
Conclusion
Ultimately, both works reveal the theme of feminism in unique ways. The characters are similar, but also uniquely different. For Nora, the search for freedom is obtained through leaving Torvald, while Edna’s determination leads her to commit suicide because she is overcome with the changes that will undoubtedly accompany breaking free from the conventions that she has been instructed by society and her husband to play. Each character provides a substantive and significant rationale for women to continue seeking and trying to accomplish the societal perspective of being seen on the same level as men. The characters are timeless because they both are depicted as having strength to overcome the ideals and make the best decisions they can at the time this unseen strength is revealed.
Works Cited
Chopin, Kate. "The Awakening." The Awakening and Selected Short Stories. reprint. The Pennsylvania State University, 2008. 1-158. Print.
Ibsen, Henrik. "A Doll's House." Etudes, 1879. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. <https://myetudes.org/access/content/user/mazu48009/PDF%20Files/DollsHouse_full01.pdf>.
Uddin, Naser. "Nora in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Komol in Saratchandra’s Shesh Proshno : A comparative study from feminist perspective." International Journal of English and Literature 4.7 (2013): 292-296. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. <http://www.academicjournals.org/journal/IJEL/article-full-text-pdf/75E6ED25332>.
Wolff, Cynthia G. "A Mirror for Men: Stereotypes of Women in Literature." The Massachusetts Review 13.1/2 (1972): 205-218. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25088222?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents>.
