Mia Grunburg

Cairns

English 2H

Essay

Men and Women Portrayal

And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought

her unto the man. (Genesis 2:22). God fabricated women from Adam's side, not his head nor

foot, indicating the truth that men and women are equal. In the novel "The House of the Spirits"

by Isabel Allende, and the play " A Dolls House" by Hendrick Ibsen, societies majorly lacking in

gender equality and fair treatment of humans are depicted. In "A Dolls House" by Hendrick

Ibsen and The House of The House of the Spirits, men are illustrated as both controlling and

violent while women are displayed as inferior, demonstrating the authors' distain toward their

societies unequal gender roles.

In A Doll's House and The House of The Spirits, Men are portrayed as controlling and

violent to illustrate the authors distain toward their societies harsh gender roles and inequality.

While conversing with Nora, Torvald,in a degrading tone of voice, states, Come, come, my little

skylark must not droop her wings. What is this! Is my little squirrel out of temper? (Taking out

his purse.) Nora, what do you think I have got here?... There you are. (Gives her some money.)"

(Ibsen 9). Torvalds choice of words when he calls Nora a "little skylark" and a "little squirrel"

demonstrates to the reader that he does not see Nora as an equal, but instead as a little girl whom

he is in charge of. The fact that Torvald controls even the small aspects of Nora's life, like how

much money she can have, shows how controlling he is. Women, like Nora in the Victorian era,
had to answer to their husbands and were under their husbands control. Ibsen tries to illustrate to

his readers, with the example of Torvald and Nora as an extreme example, that relationships with

these values are weak and not real. After hunting down the girl he fell in love with at first sight,

Esteban, "realized too late, from the blood spattered on her dress, that the young girl was a

virgin, but neither Pancha's humble origin nor the pressing demands of his desire allowed him to

reconsider. [] Before her, her mother and before her, her grandmother had suffered the

same animal fate. (2.63) Esteban blatantly disregards Pancha's worth as a human when doesn't

"reconsider". Allende points out that generations and generations of women before her had

suffered the same "animal fate", demonstrating that this great injustice is a practiced inequality.

Allende uses the greatly disliked character of Esteban's horrid act to point out that this has been

happening for ages. Women are trapped in a vicious cycle and cannot escape. Allende shows us

how the awful nature and happenings they come from this unequal patriarchal society. She

shows us The cycle of violence occurring within their societies for generations and generations

need to be stopped. The controlling and violent natures of men convey the authors' great

disapproval of societies' strict inequalities.

In A Doll's House and The House of the Spirits, women are treated as inferior showing

the author's distain toward the inequality in their societies. Describing societies rules, "It was the

custom then for women and children not to attend funerals, which were considered a male

province." (34, Ch 1). Allende illustrates to us the patriarchal society by showing us one blatant

example of inequality. Women not bring allowed to go places because they are "male provience"

shows the harsh nature of the gender rules in society. Women are grouped together with children
and viewed as not an equal, but an inferior being. Allende chose to add this quote in because she

is trying to demonstrate to us the injustices and inequalities within their societies. After walking

through the door, Torvald greets Nora, Is that my little lark twittering out there?...Is it my little

squirrel bustling about?... When did my squirrel come home? Torvald's persistent use of pet

names like "little lark" and "squirrel" shows his blatant lack of respect for his wife as his equal.

He dismisses and ignores her intelligence and treats her as his inferior. Ibsen is trying to

demonstrate to us from the very beginning of the book the rude treatment of women. This blatant

lack of respect is just the beginning of the injustices and inequalities in their society. In "A Doll's

House" and "The House of the Spirits", women are illustrates as inferior which shows the authors

dislike of their societies.

In "A Dolls House" by Hendrick Ibsen and "The House of the Spirits", men are shown as

controlling and violent, while women are illustrated as inferior showing the authors' dislike

toward their societies harsh gender roles. Throughout the ages, women have been treated as

lesser than men. The inequalities and harsh gender rules have become the norm. Men and women

are not greater or lesser than the other. The are made from the same flesh and bones and should

be treated as equals and partners.