The Awakening, A Dolls House and the Quest for Freedom essays

The Awakening, A Dolls House and the Quest for Freedom essays THE AWAKENING, A DOLLS HOUSE AND THE QUEST FOR FREEDOM Both The Awakening by Kate Chopin and A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen involve a quest for freedom. Both lead characters, Edna and Nora are trapped by societal rules and regulations. The women are also controlled by their husbands. In The Awakening Edna obtains freedom through committing suicide, and in A Dolls House, Nora leaves behind her husband and children. At the beginning of The Awakening, Edna is trapped, living in a cage, where her role in society is to be a mother and a wife. Her husband, Leonce believes that Ednas role is to look after the children: He approached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children. If it wasnt a mothers place to look after children, whose on earth was it? He himself had his hands full with his brokerage business... However, Edna does not suit the role as a mother: In short, Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman. The mother-women seemed to prevail that summer at Grand Isle. It was easy to know them, fluttering about with their extended, protecting wings when any harm, real or imaginary, threatened their precious blood. They were women who idolized their children, worshipped their husbands... Edna has been placed into the role of motherhood without having any talent for it. She does not want to live the life of Adele Ratignolle, who is a great mother and wife. Instead she aspires to be an artist like Mlle Reisz. In New Orleans, she ignores her housekeeping chores, and engages in painting, to discover her inner self. She begins to do and feel whatever she wants. Her neglect of her household duties angers her husband, but she no longer submits to his domineering. Edna has the housemaid looking after her children while she is painting. In A Dolls House, Nora puts on a facade in her home. She plays the role of a pet to her husband, Torvald: Th...