Stereotypes In A Doll's House

“Feminism is a principle that promotes the idea that women and men are equal and so deserve the same rights and opportunities economically, socially, and politically” (UXL Encyclopedia). In everyday human society, gender roles and stereotypes play a very established role. Most of them vary depending on the time period and culture and include many parallels that may be found throughout history connected with the way men and women are expected to behave. In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, women are portrayed as shy and submissive. They depend on men to define themselves and support their every needs. A Doll’s House reflects the Northern European stereotypes of men and women in the Victorian era. Many of the same gender roles/stereotypes found in A Doll’s House can also be observed in contemporary North American cultures: women’s roles differ from men’s in marriage, the workplace, and in relation to parenting.
A wife’s traditional role in marriage is to be a helper to her husband. It is also observed that many wives respect their husbands by catering to their needs and helping them feel needed. Building up their self esteem and making them feel like the head of the house is most commonly known to be something every wife should do. Most women are told to “submit” to the leadership of their spouse because he tends to be the one to bring in the most money and the one to take charge of the house by enforcing rules and keeping the family together. Most couples have an established understanding of who does what in the relationship. In most cases, men tend to have the ultimate