Women of Ibsen and Strindberg:

Women of Ibsen and Strindberg:

Ahead of Their Time

When we hear the phrase "You've come a long way, baby" we know it is associated with the advancement of women but without knowing the experiences of women before us, that phrase loses some of its power. Two stories that illustrate the conditions in which women lived in eras prior to our modern society are Henrik Ibsen's play, a Doll's House and August Strindberg's play, Miss Julie. Nora and Julie are victims and products of the societies in which they lived. These women, while not entirely similar, share common characteristics and experiences that lead them to make the decisions they do. Their lives literally swing between extremes until they find resolution. Social pressure, issues of independence, and women's roles emerge as problematic for women living in the late nineteenth century. Nora and Julie are women living outside the box at a time when that simply was not allowed.

Both women are products of society. In a Doll's House, Nora's circumstances are not extraordinary for the late nineteenth century. Women were seen as maternal figures. A woman like Nora would do well to devote her life to her husband and children. There should be no desire beyond this expectation. Nora, like a good wife, fell into this pattern quite well. Early in the play, she and Torvald share a happy existence. She politely tolerates Torvald's insults, such as calling her a "featherhead" (Ibsen 116) and carping on her eating habits to the point that she lies about what she eats. She concludes lying is better than complaining and she understands her place in the home when she tells him, "I should not think of going against your wishes" (119). Her desire to please Torvald drives her to act neurotically at times. Nora is also surface and selfish. When she speaks with Mrs. Linde, she cannot help but brag about Torvald's promotion and the prospect that they will have "heaps of money" (123). When Mrs. Lind reminds Nora of her spendthrift days when she was younger, we see this is something Nora is very accustomed to and very unlikely to change. Nora loves spending money and she loves spending Torvald's money even more. It is safe to assume any of the money Nora ever spent in her life was money she actually earned for herself. While this is not inherently evil, we can see how it would lead to a life of certain expectations. On the surface, Nora and Torvald have everything. However, know things are rarely as they seem. In Miss Julie, we see the same type of restraints placed on women, regardless of status. With Julie, however, we have the added problem of Julie's bizarre upbringing. Julie could not slip into her genteel feminine role like Nora because her mother taught her not to do so. Her mother raised her as a "nature child" (Strindberg 266) and taught her things boys learn. Julie was to be "living proof that women were just as good as men" (266) and, while this is a modern attitude, it was not executed in such a way for Julie to benefit the most. Instead, Julie loses any sense of self from two contrasting points-of-view. Nora and Julie are victims of society. Their environments shape their behavior and, without incident, perhaps they could have gone on that very indefinitely.

Both women are victims of society. Because life rarely goes for very long without incident, it would only seem natural that at some point in their lives Nora and Julie would have to face who they are. Nora becomes a victim when she actually tries to so something good for her husband. Because of society, Nora becomes a wife and mother without giving it much though. She did what she was supposed to do. When Torvald calls Nora "hypocrite, a liar . . . A criminal" (Ibsen 190), he is overstepping his bounds, even as a husband. The words sting and it is as if they open Nora's eyes to the truth. He could not see the love behind her act and his hypocrisy is apparent at this point in the play. She is a victim of the social mores of her time and without the incident with the money, Nora might have never opened her eyes. Unlike Nora, Julie's awakening leaves her feeling hopeless. Julie's eyes are open to a mountain of regret and remorse for her actions. She feels no sense of identity, so she cannot defend herself even in her own mind. In short, there is no place for Julie in this world. She admits she is the one who "has to bear the guilt -- suffer the consequences" (Strindberg 276). Nora and Julie are victims of the society in which they live. Rules, expectations, and manners get in the way of women becoming all they could in the nineteenth century and these women demonstrate the consequences of independence.