Similarities Between A Doll's House And Girls Like That
Throughout ‘A Doll’s House’ and ‘Girls Like That’, both Nora and Scarlett are placed in situations where they are expected to behave in ways that society has pressurized them to. In ‘A Doll’s House’ Nora seems to be aware of the pressures society force upon both women and men, but for the early stages of the play she still implements her role as a “kept woman” despite it not being what she wants to say or do. Part of Nora wants to live up to what is expected with her, and have an easy, happy, work-free life with her husband and children, while the other part - the more dominant half - knows that it’s wrong. She doesn’t want to live under societal pressures, and inevitably it is the reason she leaves her family by the end of the play. Scarlett,
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however, has grown up into a society believing that one girl’s reputation affects the lives of the girls surrounding her. Scarlett is abandoned by her once called “friends” because they’re worried the “slut” in Scarlett will be contagious, so Scarlett is forced to keep silent about her situation and allow society to determine her social status. “The problem with girls like that is they give all give all girls a bad name”.
At first glance we see Nora as a “kept woman” or “child-like wife” to Torvald. It appears that she cannot make decisions for herself and answers only to Torvald when spoken to, because society has taught her that married women are to be inferior to their husbands. The first act of bravery we see in Nora is when she openly asks Torvald to give her money, albeit being for vague reasons. This is when we first notice that Nora may not be as unaware as we are made to believe. We later on realise that her behaviour is more choice than societal influence than we first thought, Nora is using the pressures that society has put on women to get what she wants. She uses the “kept woman” front to distract Torvald from her scheming and decision making when she’s out of sight as to not raise suspicion.
The restrictions that society had put on Nora meant that she could not stand up for herself in times that she had a point to make or something to prove of herself.
Society in Norway in the 1800s stated that a women under the age of 25 was under the authority of her father. After that, she was her own person until married, she would then move into the house that her husband provided for her, take his name, have his children and not speak a word against it. An example of when we see this is when Nora distracts Torvald from Krogstad’s letter by dancing the tarantella for him. Nora is clearly not dancing the way Torvald had taught her to [“I would never have believed it. You have forgotten everything I ever taught you”], and Torvald is getting frustrated. He exclaims that Nora is dancing “wild” and as if her “life depended on it”, and he wants her to dance slow and calm. Society has put pressure on Torvald here, instead of Nora, for him to want Nora and himself to appear to others as a happy, stable, married couple. He believes that if he can keep Nora under his control and not let her dance the way she wants, it would come across to everyone else that he is the dominant figure in their marriage. This in turn forces Nora to have to shrink away and be the “little skylark” that Torvald so often calls
her.
There is no clear reason given as to why Scarlett took and sent the photos of herself, but it can be presumed from the play that she had been pressurized into sending them by someone, most likely a male. It is hinted that she had sexual encounters with Russel, and that he is the one who had the pictures in the beginning. After the photos that she took were sent and seen by everyone in her school, Scarlett is now known as the “school slut”. Slut shaming has become a thing of the norm in society at the time of the play, and used as a way for males and females alike to degrade someone into making themselves feel better, less insecure. There is a whole passage in the play of the girls pointing out Scarlett’s “flaws” [“And I feel good because...not even that pretty”] to make themselves more comfortable in their own bodies. Scarlett cannot speak out against it though, for they do this behind her back where she cannot hear what they say about her. Throughout the play Scarlett is constantly ignored by students to the point where she stays silent and moves school. This decision was not Scarlett’s, it was a decision made by society in order for them to get rid of the “disease” that Scarlett had about her.
however, has grown up into a society believing that one girl’s reputation affects the lives of the girls surrounding her. Scarlett is abandoned by her once called “friends” because they’re worried the “slut” in Scarlett will be contagious, so Scarlett is forced to keep silent about her situation and allow society to determine her social status. “The problem with girls like that is they give all give all girls a bad name”.
At first glance we see Nora as a “kept woman” or “child-like wife” to Torvald. It appears that she cannot make decisions for herself and answers only to Torvald when spoken to, because society has taught her that married women are to be inferior to their husbands. The first act of bravery we see in Nora is when she openly asks Torvald to give her money, albeit being for vague reasons. This is when we first notice that Nora may not be as unaware as we are made to believe. We later on realise that her behaviour is more choice than societal influence than we first thought, Nora is using the pressures that society has put on women to get what she wants. She uses the “kept woman” front to distract Torvald from her scheming and decision making when she’s out of sight as to not raise suspicion.
The restrictions that society had put on Nora meant that she could not stand up for herself in times that she had a point to make or something to prove of herself.
Society in Norway in the 1800s stated that a women under the age of 25 was under the authority of her father. After that, she was her own person until married, she would then move into the house that her husband provided for her, take his name, have his children and not speak a word against it. An example of when we see this is when Nora distracts Torvald from Krogstad’s letter by dancing the tarantella for him. Nora is clearly not dancing the way Torvald had taught her to [“I would never have believed it. You have forgotten everything I ever taught you”], and Torvald is getting frustrated. He exclaims that Nora is dancing “wild” and as if her “life depended on it”, and he wants her to dance slow and calm. Society has put pressure on Torvald here, instead of Nora, for him to want Nora and himself to appear to others as a happy, stable, married couple. He believes that if he can keep Nora under his control and not let her dance the way she wants, it would come across to everyone else that he is the dominant figure in their marriage. This in turn forces Nora to have to shrink away and be the “little skylark” that Torvald so often calls
her.
There is no clear reason given as to why Scarlett took and sent the photos of herself, but it can be presumed from the play that she had been pressurized into sending them by someone, most likely a male. It is hinted that she had sexual encounters with Russel, and that he is the one who had the pictures in the beginning. After the photos that she took were sent and seen by everyone in her school, Scarlett is now known as the “school slut”. Slut shaming has become a thing of the norm in society at the time of the play, and used as a way for males and females alike to degrade someone into making themselves feel better, less insecure. There is a whole passage in the play of the girls pointing out Scarlett’s “flaws” [“And I feel good because...not even that pretty”] to make themselves more comfortable in their own bodies. Scarlett cannot speak out against it though, for they do this behind her back where she cannot hear what they say about her. Throughout the play Scarlett is constantly ignored by students to the point where she stays silent and moves school. This decision was not Scarlett’s, it was a decision made by society in order for them to get rid of the “disease” that Scarlett had about her.