Comparing the Treatment of Women in Hedda Gabbler, A Dolls House and G

Women as Victims in Hedda Gabbler, A Dolls House and Ghosts In Ibsens plays - Hedda Gabbler, A Dolls House and Ghosts - the female protagonists of Hedda Gabler, Nora and Mrs. Alving demonstrate how social expectations and restrictions of women impacts the life every woman on a very personal level. Conservative social and religious leaders imposed womens restricted social roles. Women had to be marry there was not another socially refreshing option. After marriage they had to stay with their families and fulfill their social and moral duty regardless of their personal feelings or how their husbands treated them. Ibsen presents his characters Hedda, Nora and Helene as victims of the patriarchal system of family and marriage that was supported by the church and society in general. In these plays, Ibsen did not present marriage as a blissful state of love and mutual respect in the case of Hedda and Mrs. Alving the main objective of marriage was to maintain a socially acceptable im age. In Noras case her husband was constantly concern about what people might think about their family. In each play there is an emphasis on the effort of the women to maintain the appearance of happy marriage regardless of how pitiful the actual circumstances might be. Eventually, each woman becomes aware of her quandary and takes a drastic measure to liberate herself - regardless of the personal costs. Although Heddas personality is much stronger than that of Nora and Mrs. Alving, she also is victimized by the prevailing social norms. Heddas fate results from her unconscious mind decision to be like her father. Hedda is a woman with masculine view of the world. Her hobby is to shoot guns which is an... ... Sensational Heroines in Mid-Victorian Society. Thesis. Brigham Young U, 1990. Fjelde, Rolf. Henrik Ibsen The Complete Major Prose Plays. 1st. ed. Toronto McGraw-Hill Reyerson Ltd. 1978 Hemmer, Bjorn. The dramatist Henrik Ibsen. http//odin.dep.no/ud/nornytt/ibsen.html Ibsen , Henrik. Four Major Plays A Dolls House, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, The Master Builder. New York Oxford University Press, 1998. Ibsen, Henrik. Hedda Gabler. New York Dover, 1990. Lyons, Charles R. Hedda Gabler, Role and World. 1990. Twaynes Masterwork Studies 62. Boston Twayne, 1991. Mazer, Cary M. Hedda Gabler. http//www.english.upenn.edu/cmazer/hedda.html. Salom, Lou. Ibsens Heroines. Ed. and trans. Siegfried Mandel. Redding Ridge Black Swan, 1985. Worthen, W.B. Anthology of Drama. New York Harcourt Brace and Company 1993