Research Paper on:
Men in Henrik Ibsen's Social Dramas Hedda Gabler and A Doll's House

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
plays of social realism, textural psychological character studies which addressed societys ills. There was no dramatist more masterful at this new, incisive psychosocial genre than Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.  His works often featured feminine protagonists whose actions were dictated by the social roles that were inflicted upon them. Men in Ibsens plays were purposely cast in secondary roles  in direct contrast to real life. In two of his most profound plays, A Dolls House (1879) and Hedda Gabler (1890), the central focus is the female characters desire  to liberate themselves from the constraints of marriage and society. However, it is the behavior of the male characters which has, in many ways, defined these women, as Ibsen  attempts, through the interaction of the characters and through the unspoken, to explain their conduct, within the context of their society. In A Dolls House, Nora has been married to  Torvald Helmer for eight years. She busies herself with domestic chores and child rearing while Torvald, like her father before him, tends to the more serious business of making  money, as both an attorney and bank manager. He treats his wife more like the family pet than he does marital partner. He makes frequent animal comparisons to  his wife, referring to her as "my little lark" (43) or "my squirrel" (44). These terms of endearment speak volumes, for they not only imply that Torvald regarded his  wife as "my" property, but in their condescension, symbolized the status of Norwegian women as second-class citizens. When Torvalds health began to fail, Nora arranged to take him on  an extended vacation, which seriously depletes their savings. She is forced to forge a bank note to finance the trip, because in those days, only men were allowed to