Comparing Edna of Kate Chopins The Awakening and Nora of...

Comparing Edna of Kate Chopins The Awakening and Nora of Henrik Ibsens A Dolls House Kate Chopins work, The Awakening, and Henrik Ibsens play, A Dolls House, were written at a time when men dominated women in every aspect of life. Edna Pontellier, the protagonist in The Awakening, and Nora, the protagonist in A Dolls House, are trapped in a world dominated by men. The assumed superiority of their husbands traps them in their households. Edna and Nora share many similarities, yet differ from each other in many ways. Two main similarities of Edna and Nora are that they both have an awakening and are like caged birds without freedom; one main difference is that Edna lives in reality and Nora lives in a fantasy†¦show more content†¦When the saying is translated into English it means, Get out! Get out! Damn in!; the caged bird sends the message that Edna needs to get out of her marriage to make everything right in her life. Like Edna, Nora is reflected as a trapped bird. Nora, in A Dolls House, is constantly referred to as a bird by her husband, Helmer. As in the quote, And I couldnt wish you anything but just what you are, my sweet little lark (Ibsen 972). Helmer show his ownership of Nora and how she is his little bird. Unlike the image of a caged parrot, Nora is a bird trapped by the dominance of her husband. A second similarity is that Edna and Nora each had an awakening about her own marriage. Ednas awakening took place early in the novel, while Noras awakening occurred at the end of the play. The realization that she was not happy taking care of her husband, house or children began Ednas awakening. Represented by the quote, An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in some unfamiliar part of her consciousness, filled her whole being with a vague anguish (Chopin 14). Edna feels the entrapment of her marriage that has been present subconsciously, and it fills her mind and soul with pain and hurt. At the end of A Dolls House, Nora announces to her husband the need to leave the marriage due to the oppression caused by his power over her. Nora feels as though their marriage has never been a true marriage, and that Helmer and herself never truly knew