A Doll's House And The House Of Bernarda Alba

Suppression of women was a serious issue in several countries over the past few centuries. The women of Spain and Norway were suppressed at the time the two plays A Doll’s House and The House of Bernarda Alba were written. Although this issue has improved in most countries, it still is occurring in some countries. This issue was portrayed in the themes of these two plays.
Both A Doll’s House and The House of Bernarda Alba portray the suppression of women and their lack of freedom in different ways. In a Doll's House, Nora has always appeared to be obedient to her father and her husband. However what they do not know of is that she only acted that way in front of them, giving them the perfect impression of her. On the other hand she went and did all the things she was
not intended to do behind their backs their backs. For instance, when Torvald asked Nora to stop eating macaroons, she still did whenever he was not around her.
Nora dreams of freedom through out the play.
However, her vision of freedom changes. “Free. To be free, absolutely free. To spend time playing with the children. To have a clean, beautiful house, the way Torvald likes it.” In this quotation from her conversation with Mrs. Linde in Act One, Nora claims that she will be “free” after the New Year. After New Year is when Torvald gets his promotion and she would have paid off her debt to Krogstad. However, this freedom that she dreams of at the beginning of the play is the materialistic life that Torvald wishes to have and not what she truly wants. As Nora describes her expected freedom, she highlights the thing that is holding her back. She thinks that freedom will give her time to be a better mother and wife with a beautiful home, just like her husband likes it. But the message of the play is that Nora cannot find true freedom in this household. As the play continues, she realizes that she must change her life to find true freedom, which is what changes her vision of freedom. By the end of the play, she notices that freedom requires independence in the society, not only in the household and the ability to explore her own personality, goals, and
beliefs.
In The House of Bernarda Alba suppression is also clearly vividly portrayed. The play is warning the leaders about the tragic cost of repressing any of its members. Adela’s dilemma is the author’s central concern. She has more to lose than the others because of her two hopes, men and freedom. Her optimism is foolish because of the isolation in which Bernarda keeps her and her sisters. Adela should have been aware that men and freedom are two things that are extremely difficult for a Spanish woman to reach. But even being a slave to a husband would give Bernarda’s daughters more freedom than they have under her authority. The land, which produces wealth, also serves as a metaphor for power and freedom. For Bernarda’s daughters, the fields are a place where they can escape from the suppression they face at home. They see the men who work the land as free and independent, as having everything the women who are prisoners in the house do not have. “I’d like to be a reaper so I could come and go at will. Then I’d forget what’s gnawing at us.” Adela speaks those words in Act two when the reapers pass by their home. Adela is the most passionate and the most hopeful out of all of her sisters for reaching freedom one day. She really wants to be free from their mother who is constantly “gnawing” at them.
Another theme the two plays have in common is the importance of maintaining a good reputation in the society. In A Doll’s House Torvald is very devoted to create an image instead of creating true happiness. “From now on, forget happiness. Now it’s just about saving the remains, the wreckage, the appearance.” Torvald speaks these words in Act Three after discovering that Nora forged her father’s signature and that Krogstad was threatening to expose her. Torvald’s reaction to Krogstad’s letter reveals that he is a shallow man who only cares about appearances and maintaining a good reputation. Here, he states that the appearance of happiness is far more important to him than happiness itself. Torvald refused to sacrifice his own reputation for Nora in order to ensure that it remains pure. Because Torvald desires respect from his employees, friends, and wife, his reputation is the most important thing to him. By the end of the play, we see that Torvald’s obsession with controlling his home’s appearance and his suppression has ruined his household.
Maintaining a good reputation is just as important to Bernarda as it is to Torvald. Both characters care about maintaining a good reputation far more than happiness. Due to their obsession with controlling their homes’ appearance and their suppression they both end up ruining their household. Bernarda’s sense of honor is formed by her awareness of the judgmental opinions of her neighbors. As Bernarda constantly tried to control her daughters she ends up losing her youngest, Adela. Adela was constantly dreaming of the freedom that she was forbidden from. She chose death, as a way to escape from an unbearable life since her only other option of freedom, which was Pepe, was no longer available. Even after her daughter’s death, all Bernarda could think about was the reputation of her home. “No one will say anything! She has died a virgin!” That is what Bernarda said after the death of her daughter. That revealed how shallow Bernarda’s character is, just like Torvald.
In both plays the suppression of women and the maintenance of a good reputation are significant themes. Both plays ended in a tragedy corrupting the household. These two plays are very similar and many women can relate to them because even though this issue has improved, it still is occurring in many areas around the world.