The Portrayal of Women in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House

Abstract

This research investigates the portrayal of women characters in Henrik Ibsen's play, A Doll's House. Ibsen is the father of modern theater and often advocates for social issues in his plays. This study aims to shed light on the portrayal of women in this play and how they are different from each other, the study is an important to portray women's experiences in Ibsen's era. Ibsen himself champions gender parity, reflects in characters like Nora Helmer, Mrs. Linde and Anne Marie. The study uses a feminist framework to analyze the play's multiple feminist trends. Considerable attention will be devoted to illuminating the inequitable marriage system, the constraints impose upon women's autonomy, and their endeavor for emancipation. The study concluded that those women fought a lot to be free and did many unfortunate things to solve their problems. Researcher strongly suggested that there are stark differences between the women characters in this play. While Nora Helmer, Mrs. Linde, and Anne Marie seemed happy as the play began, they moved in parallel but in opposite directions. Nora left her husband's house to live an independent life, having her thoughts and decisions, and facing her fears about the future; Mrs. Linde and Anne Marie quickly overcame obstacles in life and grew up. They sacrificed a lot to get safety and provide for their families.