Patriarchal Society Essay

In a patriarchal society the bonds and limitations were quite clear: a woman has “sacred duties” to her husband and children. Anything that goes beyond these bounds is prohibited and shameful.

Henrik Ibsen’s play “A doll’s house” is a worthy illustration of what it is for a woman to live in a “man’s world”, and what could come of it. In this context, the comparison of Marge Piercy’s poem “A work of artifice” and Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s house” is quite relevant and sound, for it depicts the gender roles in a patriarchal society. If we draw a parallel between these two literary works, it would be clear that the bonsai tree, in a way, symbolizes Nora Helmer’s character, and her husband, Torvald Helmer is a gardener. The allusion is clear, though the essence of the ideas and conditions is not similar in all ways.

Ibsen in his play compares Nora to a doll, and her life and entourage also seem to be toy. In “A doll’s house”, Nora’s character and essence are gradually discovered, and all that the thoughts the audience has collected along the play, are summed up in the end of the play, during her final conversation with Torvald. The link between the characters of “A work of artifice” and “A Doll’s house” is most clearly seen in the similarity of the gardener and Torvald Helmer.