Doll's House Themes

A patriarchal social structure has been a theme in another of our readings "The Yellow Wallpaper". Both John and Torvald feel as though they are their wives keeper mostly due to the fact that both of them believe that their wives are incapable of taking care of themselves. In both instances the men assume the roles set for them socially acceptable of their time. I believe that in "Yellow Wallpaper" John only assumes the role of a controlling husband because he genuinely believes that by taking charge and acting as the "parent" he believes he can cure his wife. There is no reason for the reader to believe that John acts this way as a symbol of his vanity or because he believes in his superiority. Ultimately his well meaning actions lead to his wife's breakdown. On the other hand Torvald really does believe that he and only he is intelligent enough to run the household and assumes that his wife only possesses the mind of a child. He never converses with her or tries to address her as an equal. He insists of calling her pet names and setting rules for her and when there is a treat to his good name he abandons her . Nora truly becomes his wife. He thinks and speaks for her and discards her when he no longer wants her(upon discovering about the loan). Truthfully Nora does very little to break from her role and enjoys it. This sort of reminds me of Chicago when they illustrate how the lawyer manipulates what his clients says as a way to change how she will be portrayed. Below you can see for yourself. Tell me what you think.