Regardless of the infidelity of their husbands, upper-class wives were expected to be loyal, and daughters to remain virgin until marriage. Through seclusion and high regard for virginity, male domination reinforced the class structure of Cuban society during this period (Fernadez, 1998). Both Spaniards and creoles shared the notion that a man's honor and shame were directly linked to his ability to control the sexual behavior of the women in his family (Fernadez, 1998).
Besides preserving ladies from the threat of black men, keeping them at home ensured their chastity and their subservience (Fernadez, 1998). In this vein, ladies young and old were shut away like precious icons, the architecture of their houses reflecting their status as property that must be guarded, and their situation as virtual prisoners in their own homes (Fernadez, 1998). Windows needed to be kept open in order to air the rooms, but robbers and intruders must be kept out, therefore, accessible windows were heavily barred (Fernadez, 1998)."
During the 19th century women in Europe lived in an extremely unbalanced world with regard to rights and gender.
At the beginning of that century females had little if any legal, political or social rights and were simply considered property of the men in their family, whether those men were fathers, brothers, uncles or husbands (Women 19th century (http://www.enotes.com/feminism-literature/women-19th-century).
Women were not allowed to sue nor could they be sued. If there was to be any litigation it would have to involve the males in her family even if the women was the sole party responsible or victimized by the suit event.
When couples divorced women were almost never granted custody of the children from the marriage and were actually often cast out to not have a part in the children's lives. If the father remarried that woman became the new mother of his children.
Women were also forbidden to seek a higher education which helped keep them oppressed.
Women were expected to remain subservient to their fathers and husbands. Their occupational choices were also extremely limited....
Middle- and upper-class women generally remained home, caring for their children and running the household. Lower-class women often did work outside the home, but usually as poorly-paid domestic servants or laborers in factories and mills (Women 19th century (http://www.enotes.com/feminism-literature/women-19th-century)."
For the most part, women of that era in Europe and across the globe were treated as things, without brains, without feelings and without the ability to contribute to the industrialized world productively.
As long as they kept their men happy they were provided a certain amount of freedom within the confines of domestic life, such as decorating the home and entertaining her husband or fathers' business associates.
The play the Doll's House expresses the need for women of that era to escape the confines of society with regard to females at that time. It illustrated the typical mindset of those who lived during that time in which the women lived for the men and the men lived for themselves.
Her willingness to give everything up for him and to work her fingers to the bone to pay back the debt while he turned his back on her within minutes of discovering what she had done to save his life provides a classic illustration of society's way of thinking during that era. It also provides a clear need for the importance of the later women's movement.
References
Fernandez, Miguel (1998)the white man's ladies.(restricted lives of upper-class women in Havana, Cuba, during 19th century)(includes bibliography) History Today
Ibsen, Henrick, (2006) a Doll's House. 10 Pocket Series number 353.
Louis a. Perez (ed) Slaves, Sugar, and Colonial Society: Travels Accounts of Cuba, 1801-1899 (Wilmington: Scholarly Resources Inc., 1992);
Levi Marrero, (Vols 13 & 14) Cuba, Economia y Sociedad (Madrid: Playor, 1971-88);
Wildberger, Sara (1999) Role With the Changes; Exhibit Examines Lives of 19th-Century Women. The Washington Post
Women 19th century (accessed 3-22-07)
http://www.enotes.com/feminism-literature/women-19th-century
