The role of women has changed significantly throughout history, driven in part by women taking risks in setting examples for others. During the Victorian era, women were beginning to take a stand for their rights.¹ Even as they struggled with their expected roles as women, some of them managed to escape society's demands and expectations. Playwright Henrik Ibsen reinforces the idea of ​​women's rights by creating two female characters embody the struggle for freedom from their restricted roles In Henrik Ibsen's plays A Doll's House and Ghosts, both Nora and Mrs. Alving deviate from the roles expected of them. Victorian women Shouldn't video games be banned? During the nineteenth century, women were expected to marry and remain faithful to their husbands regardless of their situation to stay with her husband whatever the circumstances..." (Hunt 111). However, Nora deviates from her expected role and duty as a wife by leaving Torvald at the end of A Doll's House. Her desires and her own happiness are more important to her than her duties to her husband, regardless of "...what people will say" (Ibsen 64). Although Torvald reminds her that one of her most sacred duties is to him, Nora takes her bag and leaves him calling out her name as "the sound of a door closing is heard below" (Ibsen 68). In Ghosts, Mrs. Alving also leaves her husband despite what is expected of her. It is Mrs. Alving's unhappiness that forces her to leave her husband during the first year of their marriage; however, she returns to him after her priest and good friend Manders leads her "...back into the path of duty..." (Ibsen 89). Although it is clear that Mr. Alving was not faithful to his wife and drank excessively, Manders ignores his actions and continues to lecture Mrs. Alving about her pursuit of happiness, similar to Torvald's reminder of Nora's duties to him . What right do we have? to happiness? NO! we must do our duty, Mrs. Alving. And your duty was to remain faithful to the man you had chosen and to whom you were bound by a sacred bond (Ibsen 89). Although it appears that their circumstances and social standing are the same, the key difference between the two women is that Nora is not religious and Mrs. Alving follows and obeys very much the rules established by the church. After leaving her husband, Nora only disobeys the rules established by society, while Mrs. Alving disobeys the more consequential rules established by the church. Along with being a wife in the nineteenth century comes the role of mother. It was believed that “women's God-given role was that of wife and mother” and that “children should be cared for and raised” (Hartman 1). Abandoning one's children was unacceptable behavior on the part of a mother and despised by both men and women. By leaving Torvald, Nora also abandons her children by not taking them with her. Instead, she leaves them with Torvald under the care of the maids. In a less literal sense, Nora fails to fulfill her role as a mother by instead handing over the responsibility of the children to the maids. Instead of treating them like her own children, she treats them as if they were dolls, playing with them when it suits her. When the children want Nora to play with them, she sends them off with the maid and begins decorating the Christmas tree. Likewise, Mrs. Alving loses responsibility for her son Oswald when she sends him to Paris to go to school. Manders once again lectures Mrs. Alving on what is expected of her by saying, “you have abandoned your duty as a mother” (Ibsen 90). ANDIt is evident that she chooses not to fulfill her duty as a mother by entrusting Oswald to the care of strangers. Manders' disapproval of his actions describes what reactions society would have to such a breach of duty during the 19th century. Even though both women choose to give responsibility for their children to someone other than themselves, they do so very differently. Nora takes her responsibilities as a mother rather lightly, inviting her children only when she feels like playing with them. Mrs. Alving, on the other hand, protects her son from domestic events and therefore chooses to send him far away so that his childhood is not overshadowed by domestic unhappiness. As a wife and mother, a woman was expected to uphold the honor and appearance of the family¹, which often involved keeping secrets about what happened behind closed doors. In A Doll's House, the plot revolves around the loan Nora gets in secret and her attempt to hide the fact that her father's signature on the bail is forged. Nora ensures that Torvald does not find out about the loan to maintain his honor as the family's provider. However, Nora reveals the secret to her good friend, Mrs. Linde, in an attempt to demonstrate her understanding of "...the burdens and problems of life" (Ibsen 11), thus diminishing her husband's honor by implying that he cannot support his family. .When Torvald learns of Nora's loan and forgery, he insists, "the matter must be put to rest at all costs" (Ibsen 60) and that "it must appear as if all between us were as before" (Ibsen 60) .As a result of Nora's secret, Torvald's honor is at stake should the secret get out and become public knowledge. Instead of keeping herself looking good, as she should, Nora leaves Torvald, diminishing the family's honor as well as Torvald's. In Ghosts, Mrs. Alving must keep to herself the fact that her husband has impregnated the previous maid, whose son now serves as her maid. her maid. If the secret were revealed, his surname would be stripped of the honor it has achieved. To maintain a good appearance, Mrs. Alving keeps the family secret from everyone, including her son Oswald. Because of Manders' remarks about her abandoned duties as a mother and wife, she reveals to him the secret to justifying herself. his previous actions. Then she tells her son and her maid the secret she has kept all these years, revealing the truth once and for all. As a result, the honorable name Alving is tainted with an act of infidelity and a child born out of wedlock. During the 19th century it was said that "a woman cannot be herself in modern society" (Meyer 254), leading to the role as "guardian of the home, guardian of the moral purity of all who lived there" (Hartman 1). As guardians, both women hide secrets, and ultimately both of their motivations are to protect the family's honor. Nora's secret is to protect her and her husband's social standing by ensuring that their financial problems are not revealed. After being confronted about revealing her secret, Nora leaves Torvald. Mrs. Alving's secret, however, is to protect her and her husband's honor and, ultimately, that of her son. During their marriage, she never reveals this secret and does not reveal it to anyone until after her husband's death. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay In Henrik Ibsen's plays A Doll's House and Ghosts, both female characters, Nora and Mrs. Alving, deviate from the roles of Victorian women. Both women are very unhappy and willing to disobey the expectations and rules of, 1980.