Research Paper on:
Comparing Marriage in Mary Wollstonecraft's 'A Vindication of the Rights of Women' with Ibsen's 'A Doll's House'

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Mary Wollstonecrafts "A Vindication of the Rights of Women" (1792), Ibsen tells the story of an unequal relationship in the marriage of Nora and Torvald; an inequality which Wollstonecraft states  shouldnt exist in a marriage. For Wollstonecraft, a marriage is a social contract in which both partners are equal in their education and commitment to the education of the children  and the betterment of the social and public life of the state. Without this equal commitment and mutual respect, the education of the children, a priority for the wife, will  suffer and it will also lead to an eventual demise in the strength of the ties which exist between the social and public life of the state. Nora and Torvalds  marriage does eventually break down because of the inequality which does exist in the relationship with Nora having little or no control over her own life or the lives of  her childrens. Another relationship within "A Dolls House" which is more consistent with the ideas of Wollstonecraft does exist between Mrs. Linde and Krogstad. Their relationship is built on mutual  respect, affection and the equality they offer each other in regards to their hard work and business matters. From Wollstonecrafts perspective, their relationship would be one that is more consistent  with that described in her "Vindication". Henrik Ibsen wrote "A Dolls House" in 1879 during a time when womens rights were still in  relation to their status within their fathers or husbands home. The love between Nora and Torvald is essentially superficial and she has stayed with him in order for him to  retain his status in the business world. Throughout the play, Torvald is extremely selfish in his attitude towards the maintenance of his social image and his preoccupation of Noras spending