Theme of Self-discovery in The Awakening and A Dolls House Essay

The Theme of Self-discovery in The Awakening and A Doll folk In Chopins The Awakening and Ibsens A Doll House, the main sources all(prenominal) experience an awakening. Although they lead different lives, Nora Helmer and Edna Pontelliers respective awakenings are caused by similar factors. From the beginning, neither character fits the standard stereotype of women in the society in which they lived. A nonher factor that influences Nora and Ednas awakenings is their marital relationship. Neither Nora nor Edna are treated as an equal by their husband. When each woman realizes that she is unhappy, she understands that she must depart her position and role in life in order to fully find herself. Nora and Edna are not perfect models of the juvenile nineteenth century woman. Women in this time period were under the control of either a father or a husband. Each woman was judge to become a wife and mother. Both Edna and Nora have nurses to care for their children, taking over the ro le of mother. In The Awakening, Edna is described as a woman who is not a mother-woman (Chopin 10). During the summer at Grand Isle, the other mother-women watch their children carefully, clothe them, bathe them, and take care of them. Unlike the others, Edna walks the beach while her children are world protected by their nurse. Ednas sentiments toward her children are best described in Chopins narrative She was fond of her children in an uneven impulsive way. She would sometimes gather them passionately to her heart and soul she would sometimes forget them (24). In A Doll House, Anne-Marie is the nurse who watches over Nora and Torvalds three children. Anne-Marie is more of a mother to the children than Nora is. For example, when the... ...ad to their respective awakenings. Edna and Nora are not true nineteenth century women in respect to their roles as mother and wife. They both have marriages in which true love does not exist. Later, each must leave her life to discover the woman who lies hidden inside. Works Cited and Consulted Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Nina Baym et al. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. New York W. W. Norton & Co., 1985. Durbach, Errol. A Dolls House Ibsens Myth of Transformation. Boston Twayne, 1991. Ewell, Barbara C. Kate Chopin. New York Ungar, 1986 Henrik Ibsen, A Dolls House. capital of Delaware Thrift Edition, 1992 Martin, Wendy, ed. Introduction. New Essays on The (Awakening. New York, NY Cambridge UP, 1988. Templeton, Joan. The Doll House Backlash Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen. PMLA (January 1989) 28-40.