The play, A Doll’s House was written by Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian playwright
often called the Father of Realism, in 1879. The play was inspired by Laura Kieler, a
good friend of his who, just like Nora, illegally signed a loan to cure her husband’s
tuberculosis. Her husband had divorced her after finding out of her deed and had had
her put in an asylum for two years. After which under her husband’s pleading, she
returned to him and their children. Kieler had initially written to Ibsen asking for a
recommendation to his publisher for her book, but he had refused, this pushed her to
illegally sign the loan. It is believed that Ibsen had written the play because of how
shaken he was after hearing a friend of his was admitted to an asylum which was
something that could have been prevented if he had assisted her.
Persepolis is a bande dessinee by Marjane Satrapi in 2000. It was originally
published in French but has since been translated into more ten languages. It is an
autobiographical comic about Marjane’s life from childhood to adulthood in Iran,
during the bloody Iranian revolution and the equally atrocious aftermath.
Gender as a theme mainly explores how during the time period the work was
written as well as the culture of the place (time and place) had preconceived notions
about gender roles and gender norms.
The theme of Individual vs Society is about the internal and external conflicts a
character has due to a difference of opinion with the larger masses or in other words
society.
In the play, A Doll’s House, the restricted role of women in society is put under
the spotlight. In Norwegian society, women simply had to marry and give birth to
children. They were neither encouraged nor expected to have any sort of personal
achievements. In other words, their freedom was extremely limited. For example, Nora
had no control over the finances of the house. If she wanted to buy anything she would
have to first ask her husband for money. (1.2.14) (act. page no. line). Furthermore,
Torvald uses various terms to refer to Nora that is often very demeaning. For example,
in lines 19 and 21 (1.1.19-21) he repeatedly uses the word ‘little’ when speaking to her.
On the other hand, in Norwegian society men were expected to be the breadwinners of
their family. They had all the control within their family and also made all the decisions.
In line, (), Nora discloses why she had not revealed to her husband the source of the
money. Her act of helping the family will cause him to feel threatened. The role of men
in society was to the providers of the family and if it was revealed that it was his wive’s
money that helped him, he would be looked down upon.
The theme of Individual vs Society is clearly emphasized throughout the play but
especially in the third act where Nora and her husband quarrel regarding her actions.
Until then, Nora had been a dutiful wife, listening to all her husband asked of her. She
even sacrificed her own reputation by borrowing the money, all for her family. In other
words, she did exactly what society expected of her. Once it is revealed to Nora that
Torvald would not do the same for her she realises that the bond between them simply
never existed. The play ends with Nora choosing to put herself as an individual before
society’s expectations of her. Similarly, Krogstad, who was caught and punished for the
act forgery, desperately tried to regain his reputation. But, by the third act, in the
conversation with Mrs. Linde, he comes to realise that what society expects of him is
meaningless if he doesn’t respect himself first, as an individual.
In the book Persepolis, the various gender norms change over time as the old
imperialist regime is replaced by the new revolutionist regime. For example, prior to the
revolution, schools were not separated by gender, women were not expected to wear the
veil and men could wear ties. As Marjane grows up, she comes to realise that many of
her dreams would prove to be impossible due to the world around her. For example, as a
child, she wished to be a learned and educated woman like Marie Curie but she came to
realize that by the time Marie Curie went to France to get educated, she would have
children. This is the logic that forces women to wear the “veil,” a logic that reduces
women to simply being wives who bear children and represses any other dreams or
abilities they might have. In schools, boys and girls were expected to do different things
in order to support the war. The girls, for example, had to knit scarves for the soldiers or
had to beat themselves on their chests (The Key, Pg. 98). While the boys were expected
to become martyrs for their country, all for the false promise of reaching heaven.
The theme of individual vs society can be explained through two words.
Conformity and disobedience. Marjane, for example, does exactly this. She conforms to
the societal norm of wearing a veil but disobeys it by letting a few strands of hair out.
Similarly, her family was not very religious, unlike what the regime demanded the
people to be, but her parents asked her to lie about whether she prayed at her house.
The veil, that had to be worn compulsorily, symbolises the repressive nature of the
Islamic Republic but on a more personal note, it symbolised as the factor that limited
her freedom and desires.
Thus, it should be clear how the themes, Gender and Individual vs Society are
represented through the nature and actions of the characters and the environment
around them in the two literary works studied.