Introduction
The playwrights Henrik Ibsen and William Shakespeare provide entertainment and elucidate how unequal societies create barriers to individuals achieving their potential. The Doll’s House is a drama by Henrik Ibsen that tells the story of Nora Helmer and her Husband, Torvald, in a patriarchal Norwegian society (Ibsen 8). On the other hand, Shakespeare introduces a minor character, Ophelia, whose infatuation with Hamlet turns to spite and oppression (Shakespeare 79). Nora and Ophelia share similar themes in their respective plays, as both explore oppression through different aspects of their lives, characterized by male dominance, unreciprocated love, and the consequences of biased societal norms.
Female Oppression and Male Dominance
Ibsen’s Play
The story of Nora highlights how women are downplayed by male society. The play debuts with an ascriptive note, highlighting Nora as a child assigned a husband, overseer Torvald. At the beginning of the play, Nora requests that Torvald hide the Christmas tree she bought, and subsequently, Torvald comes out of his room asking, “When did my squirrel come home?” (Ibsen 6). The name Squirrel represents a small animal without any power, demonstrating his authority over her as her master (Ibsen 6). Nora was also banned from eating macarons because he thought they were unhealthy for her teeth, which depicts a sadistic control that portrays Nora as someone who cannot discern the consequences of her actions.
The story unfolds further to illustrate oppression by exploring the limitations of women’s free will in a society dominated by men (Akter 80). In subsequent scenes, Henrik Ibsen highlights Torvald’s dominance by illustrating instances in which he calls his wife a spendthrift, an incompetent, and destructive. For instance, in Act One, Torvald asks, “What are little people called that are always wasting money? (Ibsen 8). Nora responds, “spendthrifts,” which is an indirect insinuation that she is a careless spender. This dominance illustrates an oppressive masculinity whereby the woman’s free will in decision-making is significantly limited.
Shakespeare’s Play
Female oppression is also highlighted in Shakespeare’s script in Hamlet. The focus is that women should submit to their husbands to show coercive dominance (Arcilla JR 3). In Act I of Hamlet, Ophelia is introduced as a submissive character to the male authority. When she reveals Hamlet’s affection towards her father, she dismisses this by saying, “Affection! Pooh! You speak like a green girl, Unsifted in such perilous circumstance” (Shakespeare 19).
This dismissal indicates that her father considers Ophelia a weakling, unable to make rational decisions and discern deceit. She affirms her father’s advice, does not defend her love for Hamlet, and mentions, “I shall obey, my lord” (Shakespeare 20). In this scene, Ophelia’s father, Polonius, exercises his authority to persuade Ophelia against her newly found love, considering it a fantasy and irrational.
Love Rejection
Ibsen’s Play
The idea of oppression is also illustrated by the unreciprocated love for Nora and Ophelia, which results in significant turmoil. In Nora’s story, she borrows money from Krogstad so that Torvald can be treated, which illustrates her compassion and love. However, when Nora requests her husband to take a loan to sustain them until he gets paid, he states, “How like a woman! You know what I think about that. No debts! Never borrow! (Ibsen 9) which is a selfish directive focused on the man’s ego rather than his wife’s welfare. The reason is that Nora depends on the monthly stipend Torvald gives her, and without this money, she cannot meet the household’s needs. All these illustrations indicate that Nora was oppressed in a relationship in which she invested all her emotions, finances, and physical well-being to ensure its longevity.
Shakespeare’s Play
Ophelia’s oppression was illustrated by how the men she encountered rejected her. Like Nora, she experienced rejection from men she hoped would reciprocate their love, resulting in emotional reproach. After a long love tussle between Ophelia and Helmet, he finally revealed that he had never loved her, and this rejection became oppressive because he never justified the sudden change of heart.
In Act III, Scene One, Hamlet tells Ophelia, “You should not have believed me; for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock, but we shall relish of it. I loved you not” (Shakespeare 57). This rejection indicates that he no longer cares for her as she did, and, given Hamlet’s social status, she has to move on.
Similarly, Hamlet killed Ophelia’s father, and this drove Ophelia to madness (Shakespeare 79). Polonius’s death could not be avenged, considering that a royal prince murdered him. These scenarios indicate that Hamlet used his power to play with Ophelia’s emotions and destroy her by killing the person she cherished, knowing she could neither reproach him nor take revenge, as he was the King’s son, which illustrated oppression.
Societal Norms
Ibsen’s Play
The final seasons of both playwrights illustrate how the consequences of biased societal norms can result in oppression. In the end, Nora decides to walk away from her marriage to Torvald after eight years, leaving her children and the wicked husband behind. This new phase illustrates how women are oppressed by social conventions even after marriage, considering that equity is not guaranteed (Akter 80).
After she left, she was not given any pension, despite having lost her family and contributed to its well-being. This is illustrated when Torvald asks, “All over! All over! –Nora, shall you never think of me again?” and she responds, “I know I shall often think of you, the children, and this house (Ibsen 58). Such a response illustrates that she is left with nothing despite her contributions to this family, and this depicts the inequality and oppression of the woman.
Shakespeare’s Play
Similarly, Ophelia is oppressed even on her deathbed by the biased judgment of her cause of death. In Act Four, Scene VII, Princess Gertrude announces Ophelia’s sudden death, and the cause of death is suicide, which at the time was considered a cowardly act (Shakespeare 106). However, this death is a symbol of an ultimate act of obedience to her oppressor, as this act was triggered by her unstable mental health caused by the sudden death of her father. Claudius mocks Ophelia by informing Gertrude that she succumbed due to Hamlet’s departure, which is contrary to the pain she felt after her father’s death, increasing the controversy in the cause of death and the type of burial she should be accorded” (Shakespeare 106). All these indicators illustrate how biased rationales steered oppression.
Conclusion
The works of Henrik and Shakespeare, through the characters of Nora and Ophelia, demonstrate the pervasive theme of oppression within an unparalleled society. Both playwrights masterfully demonstrate how male dominance, as seen in Torvald and Polonius, results in harsh repercussions stemming from overindulgence and dictatorship. The characters also reveal how rejection and unrequited love lead to oppressive emotional turmoil. These characters explore the theme of oppression, as societal structures perpetuate imbalance and inequality, resulting in significant distress.
Works Cited
Arcilla JR, Felix E. “Exploring the Dichotomy of Power and Oppression in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest: A Formalistic Analysis.” Journal of Namibian Studies: History Politics Culture, vol. 34, no. 1, 2023, pp 1-4.
Akter, Saima. “Re-reading Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House: A Modern Feminist Perspective.” International Journal of English and Comparative Literary Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, 2021, pp 79-87.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House, 2023. Global Grey Ebook.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet, 2023. Global Grey Ebook.