Female Characters in Literature

Paper Summary:

The paper relates that "A Doll House" and "Mother Courage and her Children" both have strong-minded women with three children as leading characters. The paper identifies the stark differences in these characters and discusses how Ibsen's Nora is more literal while Brecht's "Mother Courage" is more symbolical and allegorical. The paper portrays how both plays represent extremes of female characterization; Nora develops more fully into her own self, into an independent personality while "Mother Courage" pulls further away from any sense of authentic self.

Outline:
Introduction
Nora's Character
"Mother Courage's" Character
"Mother Courage's" reaction to Kattrin's death
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House (1789), is a play about a young woman named Nora Helmer, a mother of three small children, who is married to an overbearing bank president, Torvald. Nora realizes during the play that she, because of society's repressions, solely domestic expectations of women, has never really grown up into an independent adult human being. Ibsen stated when asked about his reason for writing this particular play: "A woman cannot be herself in contemporary society, it is an exclusively male society with laws drafted by men, and with counsel and judges who judge feminine conduct from the male point of view" ("A Doll's House" Wikipedia)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "A Doll's House." Wikipedia. April 10, 2006. Retrieved April 10, 2006, from:< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Doll's_House.html>.
• Brecht, Bertolt. Mother Courage and her Children. New York: Arcade Publishing; 1st Arcade paperback edition. October 7, 1996.
• Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House [full online text]. Retrieved April 10, 2006, from: <http://www.online-literature.com/ibsen/dolls-house/2/html>.
• "Mother Courage and her Children." Wikipedia. April 9, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2006, from: < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Courage_ and_Her_Children.html>.

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