Writing Literature  is the establishment of mankind's societies, convictions, and customs. It fills in as an impression of the real world, a result of workmanship, and a window to a philosophy. All that occurs inside a general public can be composed, recorded in, and gained from a piece of writing. Regardless of whether it be verse or exposition, writing gives understanding, information or insight, and feeling towards the individual who shares it totally.

Stories in literature are a powerful and prominent way that an author can use the language of writing  to communicate complex ideas and experiences between people in a particular story. Authors cherish writing stories because  they allow us to communicate directly and transparently with people who live very far away from us or who live after their death.

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  Reading critically by understanding the language, you will have a fuller understanding of lives other than your own,will help you to be empathetic. Reading critically and attentive can give you the linguistic  tools to share your own story with more precision. Reading thoughtfully gives us better tools to connect us to each other.

Good stories give us an opportunity to learn from another person’s experience from the characters of the story and it can shape, strengthen or challenge our opinions and values. When a story catches our attention and engages us, we are more likely to absorb the message and meaning within it than if the same message was presented simply in facts and figures. Therefore stories can be used to break down barriers amidst societal issues. Henrik Johan Ibsen was an influential Norwegian author in the late Victorian era who used his playwrights as an outlet to express the need to change the view of woman’s role in society. He was one of the first influencers advocating for women’s rights at that time. 

Men and woman should be treated equally!

In the Victorian time period, women were seen as a subordinate lower inferior sex compared to the male gender. A woman's place in society was determined by their husband’s status; there was little to no way to obtain a job, a woman could not even decide for herself whether or not she wanted to be married or have a child. The male role in the woman’s life took over all decisions and property. Women were seen as the property of men, like their dolls.  In Ibsen's play,”The Dollhouse'', is a perfect example of play that sparked positive influence in the culture of the society ‘s perception of the oppression of women at the time in a feminist perspective.  In the play, a woman named Nora Helmer, a middle-class housewife, confronts the consequences of an illegal loan she took out in order to save her husband Torvalds's life. However, as she navigates Victorian gender roles and dismantles the illusions that plague her marriage, she realizes that she is no longer content to be anyone’s “doll wife.”

Link to the full play:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2542/2542-h/2542-h.htm

A look through a feminist lens of the Play

Feminist literary criticism is literary criticism informed by feminist theory, or more broadly, by the politics of feminism. It uses the principles and ideology of feminism to critique the language of literature.  Feminism at its core is about the mindset to be removed of socially constructed labels or ideals but exist as an individual; whom as such is found inherently equal to act upon one’s own discretion. In A Doll’s House, it could be said for both Nora and Christine that both display an admirable level of independence to varying degrees, but what truly separates the two is the fact that Nora displays the courage of choice.The play “The DollHouse” by Isben portrays the oppressive role of being a woman in the 19th century.  The main character, Nora is first portrayed as a woman who fits the role of the female gender stereotype at that time.  Doll’s House exposes the restricted role of women during the time of its writing and the problems that arise from a drastic imbalance of power between men and women. Throughout the play, Nora is treated like a child by the other characters. Torvald calls her his “pet” and his “property,” and implies that she is not smart or responsible enough to be trusted with money. 

Neither Krogstad nor Dr. Rank take her seriously, and even Mrs. Linde calls her a “child.” While this treatment does seem to mildly frustrate Nora, she plays along with it, calling herself “little Nora” and promising that she would never dream of disobeying her husband. However, there are clues that she is not entirely happy with the limited position she has as a woman. When revealing the secret of how she borrowed money to finance the trip to Italy, she refers to it as her “pride” and says it was fun to be in control of money, explaining that it was “almost like being a man.” Although she comes to regret her decision to borrow money, Nora’s dissatisfaction with her status as a woman intensifies over the course of the play. 

In the final scene she tells Torvald that she is not being treated as an independent person with a mind of her own. Her radical solution to this issue is to leave domestic life behind, despite Torvald's declaration that he will change. Nora's decision suggests that she, and the play, see the issue as only partially with Torvald. The more fundamental issue is with domestic life as it was conceived and lived at the time, in the way it legally and culturally infantilized women and made it impossible for them to be recognized or treated as full individuals.

The image on  the right represents Nora feeling "imprisoned" for being herself a woman, therefore making many sacrifices in her life in order to survive  societal standards at that time.