Patriarchal Victorian Society

Paper Summary:

The paper compares the marital relationships of the couples in in "Hedda Gabler" by Henrik Ibsen and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The paper shows how although these four characters provide differing levels of abuse and conflict, there is the central premise of female submission in the institution of Victorian marriages.

From the Paper:

"Hedda Gabler is yet another play in which Ibsen is blatantly misogynist in his values toward women, but not without ding an element of revolt in their lack of conforming to patriarchal Victorian principles. Gabler is invariably the same type of woman that desires to be respected by the men in her life, but she does not often go against social norms to eradicate the institutional misogyny that she faces with George in her marriage. Ibsen seeks to show the difference between social independence and social acceptance in many of the characters that he presents in this play. George Tesman is the Victorian intellectual that sees his wife as a caretaker for the house, and he often neglects to treat her as an equal."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ibsen, Henrik. Hedda Gabler. Whitefish, Montana: Kessinger Publishing, 2004.
• Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." 2005. Virginia University. 24 April. 2006. <http://etext.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=GilYell.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div1>

More papers on Patriarchal Victorian Society:

• Book Review # 100914 : "Trifles" and Victorian Society"
• Book Review # 112844 : "The Power of "No"--Rejections of Proposals and the Redemption of Self"
• Analytical Essay # 144151 : "Jane Eyre's Rebellion Against Gender Conventions"

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