Gender and Literature – Is Gender Gendered? Female Protagonists in Macbeth (1606), Thelma and Louise (1991) and A Doll’s House (1879) – Three Different Genres of Literature across Centuries

This paper examines how men and women have been conventionally portrayed in gender stereotypes in various genres among different cultures through centuries in world literature, with reference to the classical Shakespearean play Macbeth (1606) by the British playwright William Shakespeare, the Hollywood road movie Thelma and Louise (1991) directed by Ridley Scott and A Doll’s House (1879) written by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. The research will explore the common themes embodied by the notion of gender almost in all literature work in the world which include patriarchy and order, masculinity and femininity, fabrication of identities, and binary opposition with the close textual analysis of the process of self-discovery and empowerment by the female protagonists, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Thelma and Louise in Thelma and Louise and Nora in A Doll’s House through the eyes of the male authors, namely playwrights and film director. By comparing the fates of aforementioned female protagonists in the three endings, the actual autonomy that women can take the lead in their life or act outside the normalized gender binaries is further studied. With the analysis of the literary devices and the depiction of the female characters’ psychological change with the visualization of symbols and attires in the texts, the relationship between form and content is also investigated. There is also the discourse analysis on the use of gendered language through soliloquies and dialogues, implication of gender roles in society and culture and the consequences of these females in transcending the gendered roles.

Investigating the Concept of Absurdity in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen: A Critical Study

This study aimed at investigating the concept of absurdity in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House is the primary source in the present study. The data that is applied in this paper belongs to library studies and research since the focus is on or literary works and materials. The results showed that miscommunication is one of the themes of absurdity, which was identified in the present play. There is a master-slave relationship, one of the themes of absurdism, between Nora and Helmer, which can be traced in the play. Materialism is also portrayed in the play as one of the themes of absurdism. The relationships between characters are based on profit. Telling lies, which can be a sign of absurdism, is shown in the play.

Reaching Happiness beyond Emancipation: A Study on the Human-Centric Role of Linde in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

Henrik Ibsen’s drama A Doll’s House portrays the late 19th century Norway where protagonist Nora and her eventual manifestation of Feminism are almost all the time at the centre of critical attention. But Mrs. Kristina Linde is also a character of magnanimous stature with her enthusiastic sense of belonging and heart-felt services to family and society. In this manner, the human-centric role provides Linde with satisfaction that amounts to happiness, taking her ways ahead of emancipation in a world where women’s emancipation from sufferings is still an unresolved issue. Notably, Linde’s human-centric role gains authenticity as a true means of women’s emancipation by reflecting higher knowledge which is essential for any human affair to be true and real. Thus, this paper aims at exploring how Mrs. Kristina Linde in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, being in her family and society and playing vital roles accordingly, derives happiness proving the truth that all women can be human-centric in family and society, and can have happiness going far ahead of emancipation changing the global scenario of women’s misery. The methodology of thematic analysis was followed in this research. The research may contribute in propounding human-centric family and social life as the proper means of women’s emancipation.

RELIGIOUS OBLIGATIONS AND MORAL DILEMMAS: A FEMINISTIC PERSPECTIVE OF IBSEN’S PLAY A DOLL’S HOUSE

Purpose of the Study: This research paper attempts to examine the play A Doll’s House through the perspective of challenges faced by the protagonist against moral authority and censorship and her resilience in the face of difficulties. Methodology: The research paper proposes to make use of the secondary data including related articles and web sources. The data collected are words, phrases, clauses, and sentences related to women's problems and their struggles found in the play. Main Findings: Nora revolts against male-formulated social structure repressing women in the name of religion, conventions, and breaks the framework set up by men and she dashes for a liberated life. The finding of the study is that through the play, we learn how important the interplay of religion and free spirit is to Nora’s evolution. Applications: This paper can be used by literary scholars and students. Novelty/Originality of this study: This research paper has used the contrasting forces of moral obligation and the free spirit of Nora to see how they have helped Nora to come out from a rosy-colored view of her dream world. The present study demonstrates how the protagonist feels entrapped and suffocated in her home, forced to live a life of false hope due to the impositions placed on by her husband and the patriarchal society which resultantly creates a feeling of isolation.

Teaching Literature in A Doll’s House Drama

In education, teaching literature is an essential way to strengthen students’ character building. A kind of literature to teach character building is drama. Drama is literary work that contains so many characters. It can be used as a tool for character development to students who have been taught with literature. This article aims to discuss the characters of Nora Helmer (a woman lived in Victorian era when women had powerlessness) in A Doll’s House Drama written by Henrik Ibsen. The method used is descriptive qualitative. It concentrated on providing explanation in the form of description about Nora Helmer’s characters that could be taught as students’ character building. The analysis of Nora’s characters results several findings. Woman’s figure represented by Nora’s characters are loyal, love and compassion; obedient; care and helpful; patience and spirited; responsible; brave. The findings show that a woman at that time even though she had a lot of difficulties, she tried to solve the problem, she tried to be the best for her husband and family. But when she was disrespected, she had to be brave to uphold her dignity. This article expects the students can increase their good characters, competence, conscience, and compassion in learning language.

An Interpersonal and Appraisal Analysis of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House

This paper attempts to analyze Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House through linguistic perspective where conversational exchanges of the characters are laden with power and dominance. In most of the earlier studies done on A Doll’s House, feminism has been discussed along with the basic socio-economic differences between males and females. The analysis of differences between the language of male and female characters, however, were scanty. But in this paper, an attempt has been made to study differences between the language of male and female characters of the play with the help of theoretical framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics as proposed by M.A.K. Halliday and Appraisal theory as described by Martin.

Re-reading Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House: A Modern Feminist Perspective

This article aims to present a re-reading of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House from a feminist perspective. Ibsen’s play is a pioneering feminist play, and he is credited for creating the first real feminist character in the history of theatre. The central female characters are analyzed, and the article also addresses the attitude of society towards women and how they struggle to prove themselves. Feminist literary criticism and feminism constitute the conceptual framework of the paper. In this play, Nora Helmer is under the illusion that her married life is perfect and that she owns what she deserves. Torvald, her husband calls her a ‘twittering lark’, ‘squirrel’, ‘song-bird’, and she is pleased with it. However, her illusion shatters when she faces the reality of finding herself being treated like a doll. As soon as she realizes that there exists an individual self of her, she revolts. She leaves the house, challenging the social institutions which contribute to women’s subjugation. Nora protests against the ill-treatment towards her by society for her willingness to get her right back, for her self-respect, and for finding herself.