What is Feminism? Jina and Lukas

Who were the Suffragettes? In the 1870’s the argument against women voting was dwindling. Taking care of a husband, children and a home was still important but women wanted to be able to make decisions and not feel inferior to men. When Ibsen wrote “A Doll’s House” the suffragette movement was an issue of that era and his main character, a house wife, Nora want to express her independence by borrowing money without her husband's consent even though it was for her husbands benefit. Suffragettes were members of women's organization (right to vote) movements in the late 19th and early 20th century, particularly militants in Great Britain such as members of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU).

What is women’s liberation? Womens liberation is a movement directed towards the removal of attitudes and practices that preserve inequalities based upon the assumption that men are superior to women. It’s a movement to combat sexism and to gain full political, social, and other rights and opportunities for women equal to those of men. In a doll’s house, the main subject of this play is the emancipation of women from the restrictions that society and men place on them. When Ibsen wrote this play he was making a statement about a woman's role in Victorian society. That statement is that society should allow women to be independent, and that women should free themselves from the restrictions that society places on them.

What is a patriarchal society? A patriarchal society is a society where men overpower women and children in society.It is also where men are mainly in charge of businesses and the government, whereas the women is to support the men by staying at home to do household chores and take care of the children. In ‘A Doll’s House’, it can be seen that it is mainly based on a patriarchal society since ‘Helmer’ the husband works whilst ‘Nora’ stays at home and takes care of the children. However, since ‘Mrs Linde’ runs a “little shop” and a “little school”, it shows that the play is set around a patriarchal based environment.

What are the ‘traditional’ roles of husband and wife in a patriarchal society? Husband -Work and support the family financially -In charge everyone in the family/ house Wife -Do household chores -Take care of children -Support the husband

To what extent is today’s society a patriarchal society? In the 21st century, many countries are still mainly based on a patriarchal society.However, because of the economic perspective, that women can help the economy improve and advance from many researches, many countries are now starting to change where women now have more power in society. Other than the economic perspective, organizations like UNICEF (Millenium Goal) have set goals to improve gender equality so that women have a larger impact on society. However, many traditions/cultures and religions still run in a patriarchal system that favors men heavily.