By Nishtha Rampuria
Today, living in the 21st century as a feminist and liberal person, I find the strong significance of appalling gender roles in the society of 19th century Europe truly oppressing. It makes me realize how far we have come as a society however also that mindset change is still an issue we face even after all these years. I believe John Stuart Mill, a 19th-century philosopher describes the situation quite accurately in his essay titled "The Subjectification of Women" where talks about women's role in society saying they are "wholly under the rule of men and each in private being under the legal obligation of obedience to the man with whom she has associated her destiny". In the 19th century, the norm was that women were made to do housework, babysit, serve their families, be selfless etc and this did not seem absurd as most were oblivious to the issue. Women were not allowed to work, not supposed to study beyond high school, dependent on men all their lives (fathers before marriage and husbands after), they could not hold responsibilities in terms of land, money, power, banks, debts. Even if a woman had to work and take responsibilities, she was pitied and it was out of need. It seems completely unorthodox now. Females were raised with the thought that they are enslaved to the gender roles to them. Henrik Ibsen's play-A Doll's House- served as an eye-opener to the society as he addressed the then-unconventional issue. I perceive Ibsen to be a very bold person as he was able to step out of society's boundaries and talk about such an imperative issue. A Doll's House and the characters give a deep insight into how gender roles were integrated into society. While the gender roles that Ibsen blatantly discusses in his play may seem obnoxious at first, I believe it is still quite relevant and applicable in the backward Indian society even today. Laws may empower us and women may be allowed to work and study but I believe at the end of the day a majority of parents still want their daughters to "get settled". I have personally experienced and seen various incidents wherein when thought about, Nora's situation seems relatable. The notion of control surrounds us still.
Today, living in the 21st century as a feminist and liberal person, I find the strong significance of appalling gender roles in the society of 19th century Europe truly oppressing. It makes me realize how far we have come as a society however also that mindset change is still an issue we face even after all these years. I believe John Stuart Mill, a 19th-century philosopher describes the situation quite accurately in his essay titled "The Subjectification of Women" where talks about women's role in society saying they are "wholly under the rule of men and each in private being under the legal obligation of obedience to the man with whom she has associated her destiny". In the 19th century, the norm was that women were made to do housework, babysit, serve their families, be selfless etc and this did not seem absurd as most were oblivious to the issue. Women were not allowed to work, not supposed to study beyond high school, dependent on men all their lives (fathers before marriage and husbands after), they could not hold responsibilities in terms of land, money, power, banks, debts. Even if a woman had to work and take responsibilities, she was pitied and it was out of need. It seems completely unorthodox now. Females were raised with the thought that they are enslaved to the gender roles to them. Henrik Ibsen's play-A Doll's House- served as an eye-opener to the society as he addressed the then-unconventional issue. I perceive Ibsen to be a very bold person as he was able to step out of society's boundaries and talk about such an imperative issue. A Doll's House and the characters give a deep insight into how gender roles were integrated into society. While the gender roles that Ibsen blatantly discusses in his play may seem obnoxious at first, I believe it is still quite relevant and applicable in the backward Indian society even today. Laws may empower us and women may be allowed to work and study but I believe at the end of the day a majority of parents still want their daughters to "get settled". I have personally experienced and seen various incidents wherein when thought about, Nora's situation seems relatable. The notion of control surrounds us still.
In my view, this play is not about Nora's extraordinary journey of finding herself but instead is about the shocking treatment of women in the 19th century. Every character, in my opinion, represents a particular aspect of society: Nora - suppressed and oblivious women, Torvald - strong, dominating, stereotypical man of the 19th century, Krogstad - man oppressed and pressured by society into responsibilities a man must fulfill, Mrs. Linde - view of society in general. This characterization plays a key role in unfolding the theme of Ibsen's story. In this play, Nora is perceived as a doll and does exactly what she is told to do. She is Torvald's doll of pleasure. The idea of men to command and women to obey is seen greatly in Act one. For instance, Torvald does not like Nora eating macaroons hence she hides behind the Christmas Tree to do so. What to eat should be a person's personal choice and this shows how Torvald controls every little aspect of her life. Even today men in India and across the globe want to control what women do, think, say etc just like Nora and Torvald. I personally have seen similar situations around me. Just like Krogstad, there are frustrated people pressured by society and their expectations which results in losing themselves. This can be prominently seen in the young generations and in young women in India today. Nora, as she has never seen and been responsible in life, is quite reckless and naive. In the first act it is seen that when the delivery person comes, she pays him almost the double amount as she is too impatient or does not understand the value. This shows she is still quite like a child. Fiscal irresponsibility in Nora caused her the problems she was in as well such as not understanding the degree of trouble she may be in for not repaying a loan or forging signatures. Today as well many husbands treat their wives as their children hence disabling them from maturing. A small yet intriguing thing to notice throughout the play is that Torvald always has a "my" connotation before any nickname he calls her. This shows her passiveness and how Torvald sees her as his property. Similarly, today many parents and husbands see their children or wives as their property as there is a strong sense of control involved.
When I first read The Doll's House, I felt a strong sense of rage within myself seeing the injustice and the wrongful treatment of women in the play however after when thought about, Ibsen's perspective on society is still quite prominent. While we have made significant progress-abolishing demeaning laws, allowing women to work, getting access to education, getting to make their own choices and simply getting some freedom-we still in the back of our heads hold back as women because we are afraid of the society even today just like Nora and Mrs. Linde. No matter how many women's marches and pride parades we do, the one thing that needs to change in order to ever truly progress is mindsets. If not, our society at the end of the day will remain just like the one in The Doll's House-opressed, unfair, unjust and not liberal.
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