Socratics Seminar

Writers may use literature as a vehicle for social criticism. Compare and Contrast
the ways in which writers criticize society in atleast two texts that you have
studied.
A Doll’s House
A Doll's House is a play of social criticism in the sense that it has criticized the
traditional marriage, male figure dominance in marriage and the role of women in
society.
Ibsen has taken up the problem of marriage to expose a number of problems inside
a perfect relationship between a husband and wife. For example, husband in the
society like Torvald turns out to be a hypocrite and egotist. When a crisis comes,
he is able to discard his wife as a nobody, scold her in an unimaginable manner and
forget all her lifelong love and sacrifice. She is treated like his doll and his pretty
possession. Lastly, she had saved him from death, and instead of saying 'thank
you', he feels that it is shameful to be saved by his wife.
Ibsen has criticized society through male figure dominance in a marriage as one
example of Torvalds dominance was the forbiddance of macaroons in the house
and other was that he dressed her for the costume party.
Ibsen has also criticized the role of women in a society. It was a time when women
could not do anything for herself. For example, Nora could not take the loan
herself due to the only fact that she was a women and only men could take out
loans.