A Dolls House - the Role of Women in Norwegian Culture

The role of women in Norwegian culture has been changing rapidly since the mid 1800s. Progress towards gender equality has been slow and challenging as Norwegian culture is very gender- based. Men have always been expected to be the providers and up until the mid 1800s a woman’s role was in the home; girls were married off and became the housekeepers and the center of the family. (Norwegian Natl. Commission 5) However with the beginning of the industrialization of Norway, this role was greatly undermined. Since the mid 1800s, Norwegian women have endured a rollercoaster of liberty and repression ultimately ending up with gender equality in the early 1980s. (Norweigan Natl. Commission 9) Industrialization in Norway resulted in the†¦show more content†¦Just a few decades ago, women were back to getting married and starting a family without having to work outside the home. The social standard today is that not only will a woman in a family have a career; she is responsible for the majority of the housework. This boils down to women having less free time than ever before. However, there is hope in the fact that more women than ever in Norway are single and self sufficient. It seems to me that the turbulent Norwegian culture has difficulty establishing a balanced life for women. The rollercoaster that is women’s role in Norway has ultimately been set by women stepping out into the public by being brave enough to challenge the social standards. The modern role of women in Norway can be largely credited to the Norwegian feminist movement’s boom in the 1960s. Groups such as â€Å"The Women’s Front† and â€Å"Bread and Roses† have fought for women’s rights to equal wages, a shorter workweek, and reproductive rights. The motivation that many Norwegian feminists felt can be demonstrated the in the popular suffragist poem â€Å"Bread and Roses†. Bread and Roses As we come marching, marching, in the beauty of the day, A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill-lofts gray Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses, For the people hear us singing, Bread and Roses, Bread andShow MoreRelatedHenrik Ibsen s A Doll House2348 Words   |  10 Pagesfeminine conduct from a masculine point of view.†(Author Commentary 296) Henrik Ibsen’s A doll house reflect a general household of doll like characters with a wife , husband, three children and a nanny. Nora, wife and mother of three decides to leave her family in pursuit of self purpose and self identity after withstanding blackmail which opened her eye to how her husband and men in her society value and view women individuality. 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