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Compare Pygmalion And A Doll's House

Decent Essays

Modern Period brought about many transformations in economy, politics, sociology etc. which were reflected in literature such as Drama as well. Literary works are opened for different discussions and point of views. By the dawn of the twentieth century women’s roles and position in the society had changed a lot. The women entered the public and also were allowed to work, but it wasn’t accepted by the male dominate society yet. Two important Modern Drama’s masterpieces written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen and George Bernard Shaw; a Doll's House play written in 1879 by Henrik Ibsen, and George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion written in 1913, depicts the men’s view toward women and their position in the society. Also it is perfectly …show more content…

In each play we have two main characters; in ‘A Doll’s House’ Torvald and Nora who are married and it’s been many years that they are living with each other, on the other side we have Henry and Eliza in ‘Pygmalion’ who have a teacher-student relationship, but it is clear that the attitude of Torvald and Henry is very similar most of the time. Henry as a teacher, encourages Eliza with chocolates to accommodate her with himself, while Torvald, with a father-like behavior, ignores Nora’s rights and demands such as forbidding her to bring her favorite sweets into the house. Moreover, both men name Eliza and Nora not only with their own names but whatever make them satisfied; Torvald calls Nora as his "little songbird" or his "squirrel", but Henry calls Eliza anything that occurs to him like a "squashed cabbage leaf." besides, by considering the conversations between Torvald with Nora, and Henry with Eliza it becomes clear that none of the men ever consider their partners as an adult by entering a serious conversation to them, as if they have lesser intelligence and understanding. Second, the judgement of men toward women is somehow shown in the plays. Torvald and Henry both misjudge Nora and Eliza, and it can show the fact that even the society of that era misjudged women in general. Consequently, both Pygmalion and A Doll's House are about women trying to find their position in the minds of Torvald and Henry that resist it as unfair; so it can be relevant to the begging of the time when women demand their rights in the society. Talking about the attitudes of the male character in ‘A Doll’s House’, declares that Torvald thinks of Nora only as a wife and a mother, not as a woman. She is only a doll for her husband. The setting in the whole play is a room which is a cage for Nora and she’s been keyed in. This condition is because Torvald thinks he has the right to possess his wife. It was a good condition to

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