Topic > Literary Representation of Gender Roles in Society

In the plays Fences by August Wilson and A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, both represent gender roles, in similar ways. Significantly, as in marriages today, the man's role is to provide for the family, while the woman's role is to care for the children and prepare dinner. Today, times have completely changed with gender roles in marriage and in general with how women are viewed. Nowadays it is more common for a woman to be independent because not only do women have more rights now, but the roles have changed. In some cases, husbands now cook dinner for the family. However, parents in a marriage end up representing their gender roles regardless. Not to mention understanding how both works share the complexities of their family lives. Similarly, Fences and A Doll House are comparable because Torvald and Troy are portrayed as the man of the house, the ones who have the final say; while Nora and Rose are belittled when it comes to making important decisions. The issue of gender roles in society is therefore addressed in this essay by analyzing two literary texts: Fences and A Doll's House. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay. Both A Doll's House and Fences examine gender roles in society. Both roles of the wife are confined to the home and labeled as incapable of working for a wage or supporting a family. Meanwhile, men lack relationships with their families, but this is overwhelmed by their ability to provide and control because the woman's role is described as having no say in anything. These representations shed light on the expected roles of mothers and fathers in a child's life. Fathers showed by example a position of power towards their children. In contrast, Rose disciplines her children but cares for them deeply while Nora simply “plays” with her children and is unable to care for them because she fears corrupting them. Troy and Torvald both confuse the responsibility they have for their family with reality. Love. Both characters think that supporting their wives financially is equivalent to loving them completely. Playing the role of the man of the house blinds them, which ends up backfiring on both Troy and Torvald. Throwing money in wives' faces can only do so much because wives slowly start to develop anger and then start to resent their significant other. Likewise, Troy supports his wife and children materially, but neither understands nor treats them well. Also, he tries to control everything within his family, but it doesn't work that way. Once again, gender roles have changed slightly because the responsibility of being the man of the house is no longer just the male who shows no emotion. Nowadays, the male role needs to be more emotional and loving towards his wife and children. Unlike Torvald, he treats Nora like a child, caring for her to a certain extent, feeling responsible for her. He also refers to Nora as his "squirrel" and has no relationship with her children. Both Nora and Rose have sacrificed a lot for their husbands, which goes unnoticed. Although Nora and Rose are both different people, they find themselves in similar situations. For example, Rose continues to live under the same roof as Troy after he cheated on her, but her way of dealing with the situation is to separate her emotions towards Troy. Nora, on the other hand, chooses to isolate herself from her family, which is a little more extreme but it is, 1879