Global Issue- Social and economic marginalization of women in the society

Literary text: An extract from Act of the play “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen
Non-literary text:

Literary extract:

Nora: It is perfectly true, Torvald. When I was at home with papa, he told me his opinion about

everything, and so I had the same opinions; and if I differed from him I concealed the fact,

because he would not have liked it. He called me his doll-child, and he played with me just as I

used to play with my dolls. And when I came to live with you--

Helmer: What sort of an expression is that to use about our marriage? (Line 5)

Nora: [undisturbed]. I mean that I was simply transferred from papa's hands into yours. You

arranged everything according to your taste, and so I got the same tastes as you--or else I

pretended to, I am not quite sure which--I think sometimes the one and sometimes the other.

When I look back on it, it seems to me as if I had been living here like a poor woman--just from

hand to mouth. I have existed merely to perform tricks for you, Torvald. But you would have it

so. You and papa have committed a great sin against me. It is your fault that I have made nothing

of my life. (Line 10)

Helmer: How unreasonable and how ungrateful you are, Nora! Have you not been happy here?

Nora: No, I have never been happy. I thought I was, but it has never really been so.

Helmer: Not--not happy!

Nora: No, only merry. And you have always been so kind to me. But our home has been nothing

but a(Line 15)playroom. I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I was papa's doll-child; and
here the children have been my dolls. I thought it was great fun when you played with me, just as

they thought it was great fun when I played with them. That is what our marriage has been,

Torvald.

Helmer: There is some truth in what you say--exaggerated and strained as your view of it is. But

for the future, it shall be different. Playtime shall be over, and lesson-time shall begin.

Nora: Whose lessons? Mine, or the children's?(Line 20)

Helmer: Both yours and the children's, my darling Nora.

Nora: Alas, Torvald, you are not the man to educate me into being a proper wife for you.

Helmer: And you can say that!

Nora: And I--how am I fitted to bring up the children?

Helmer: Nora! (Line 25)

Nora: Didn't you say so yourself a little while ago--that you dare not trust me to bring them up?

Helmer: In a moment of anger! Why do you pay any heed to that?

Nora: Indeed, you were perfectly right. I am not fit for the task. There is another task I must

undertake first. I must try and educate myself--you are not the man to help me in that. I must do

that for myself. And that is why I am going to leave you now. (Line 30)

Helmer: [springing up]. What do you say?

Nora: I must stand quite alone if I am to understand myself and everything about me. It is for that

reason that I cannot remain with you any longer.

Helmer: Nora, Nora!

Nora: I am going away from here now, at once. I am sure Christine will take me in for the

night(Line 35)

Helmer: You are out of your mind! I won't allow it! I forbid you!

Nora: It is no use forbidding me anything any longer. I will take with me what belongs to myself.

I will take nothing from you, either now or later.

Non-literary text: Emma Watson Speech

The UN Speech for HeForShe 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkjW9PZBRfk
In 1995, Hilary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women’s rights. Sadly, many of
the things she wanted to change are still a reality today.
But what stood out for me the most was that only 30 per cent of her audience were male. How
can we affect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in
the conversation?
Men—I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender equality is
your issue too.(Line 5)
Because to date, I’ve seen my father’s role as a parent being valued less by society despite my
needing his presence as a child as much as my mother’s.
I’ve seen young men suffering from mental illness unable to ask for help for fear it would make
them look less “macho”—in fact in the UK suicide is the biggest killer of men between 20-49
years of age; eclipsing road accidents, cancer and coronary heart disease. I’ve seen men made
fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men don’t have the
benefits of equality either. (Line 10)
We don’t often talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes but I can see that that
they are and that when they are free, things will change for women as a natural consequence.
If men don’t have to be aggressive to be accepted women won’t feel compelled to be submissive.
If men don’t have to control, women won’t have to be controlled.
Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to
be strong.(Line 15) It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum, not as two opposing sets
of ideals.
If we stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by what we are—
we can all be freer and this is what HeForShe is about. It’s about freedom.
I want men to take up this mantle. So, their daughters, sisters and mothers can be free from
prejudice but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too—reclaim
those parts of themselves they abandoned and in doing so be a more true and complete version of
themselves. (Line 20)
You might be thinking who is this Harry Potter girl? And what is she doing up on stage at the
UN? It’s a good question and trusts me, I have been asking myself the same thing. I don’t know
if I am qualified to be here. All I know is that I care about this problem. And I want to make it
better.
And having seen what I’ve seen—and given the chance—I feel I must say something. English
Statesman Edmund Burke said: “All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for enough
good men and women to do nothing.”(Line 25)
In my nervousness for this speech and my moments of doubt I’ve told myself firmly—if not me,
who, if not now, when. If you have similar doubts when opportunities are presented to you, I
hope those words might be helpful.
Because the reality is that if we do nothing it will take 75 years, or for me to be nearly a hundred
before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work. 15.5 million girls will
be married in the next 16 years as children. And at current rates, it won’t be until 2086 before all
rural African girls will be able to receive a secondary education.(Line 30)
If you believe in equality, you might be one of those inadvertent feminists I spoke of earlier.
And for this I applaud you.
We are struggling for a uniting word but the good news is we have a uniting movement. It is
called HeForShe. I am inviting you to step forward, to be seen to speak up, to be the "he" for
"she". And to ask yourself if not me, who? If not now, when?(Line 35)
Thank you.
Commentary:

Good morning maám,

For my Individual oral, I have decided to comment on the global issue of marginalization and

economic inequality towards women. In the US, each year a new issue comes up of how women

are paid less than men while working the same job. Moreover, being from a country like India,

oppression towards women is something I have witnessed all over the media since my childhood.
According to me, most of the people blindly follow what the old generation used to follow. For

my literary work, I will be using the drama “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen and as my non-

literary work, I would be using Emma Watson’s speech in the UN “HeForShe”, using these two

texts I would like to discuss the issue of Gender Inequality and Gender Politics in our world. I

will analyze the literary extract for the use of dialogues, characterization and plot propulsion to

depict the global issue. Emma Watson’s speech will be analyzed for the use of anecdotes,

emotive diction and appeal. ( 1 minute)

I will begin with the BOW of the literary text.

The play was written during a time when women were enslaved in their gender roles and where

certain restrictions were enforced on them by male dominant culture. It was a system of

patriarchy, in which every woman was raised believing that they had neither self-control nor

self-government but that they must yield to the control of dominant male gender. In that society,

men were individuals and wrote laws, prosecuted the criminals and judged women on their own

point of view. It is those rules and norms of society that are boldly questioned by Ibsen through

the relationship of Torvald and Nora – the unequal power sharing of men and women. Ibsen

utilizes sensational and situational irony to feature the differentiation between Nora's

autonomous character and her slavish veneer around Torvald, showing the limitations of a

commonplace Victorian marriage that hinders ladies' distinction. At the point when Torvald

inquires as to whether she has been cheerful here or not she says "No; never. I used to think I

was. Be that as it may, I haven't been happy." (Line 12) This shows how she has consistently

been an adoring and whimsical spouse to Torvald while covering her autonomous self. Nora

remained tucked away in a man-controlled society, enhanced like a doll and appreciating life

from inside the doll's home. Negligent of the target truth of man-controlled society, Nora
neglects to perceive the primary issues that make precise abuse until Torvalds self-focused

upheaval. The utilization of emotional incongruity uncovered Helmer as egotistical, grandiose,

and uninformed of a few issues occurring around him.(1.5minutes)

Moving on to the extract now.

In this extract, Nora understands the wrongs that have been done to her by her dad and Torvald.

She discloses to Torvald that "I've been your doll-wife, just as I used to be papa's doll-child, and

the children have been my dolls" (Line 15) Ibsen utilizes Symbolism by utilizing an item (A

doll) that has a significance in itself, indicating how it addresses something past its exacting

importance. Dolls are significant images, addressing both Nora's relationship with her better half

and her relationship with her kids. A doll is a toy, an idle toy lacking feelings. This is actually

how Torvald sees Nora: He accepts she has no psyche of her own and uses her severally, both to

show her off at get-togethers and as an object of want in private. Torvald has regarded her as a

doll to be played with, masterminding everything to go for whatever he might prefer and

constraining her to live just to engage him. Therefore, she has not made anything of her life and

has never been genuinely glad.

This particular extract efficiently makes use of diction, symbolism and the theme of stereotypical

gender norms to explain the dynamic between Nora and Torvald. This scene comes at the

beginning of the play, establishing both characters’ personalities to justify the actions they take

in the future. The first evidence for diction comes when Torvald refers to Nora as “my sweet

little skylark”. Ibsen deliberately uses personal pronouns when Torvald speaks of Nora,

depicting a sense of ownership. This undermines Nora as an individual and portrays her as an
object that Torvald has control over. He also gives her nicknames, like “skylark” and “ bird” to

reinforce how he considers her to be his pet, on whom she is dependent. Torvald talks to Nora as

though she is a baby who lacks a sense of judgment. What might sound like a sweet endearment,

instead reinforces Torvald’s parental nature shows how he is in the driver’s seat in their

relationship, making him in charge of any decision whatsoever. Until here, the readers only get a

glimpse of Torvald’s overtly dominating personality. Ibsen uses words such as “should”, which

seem rather imperative and forceful, and eventually portray that women have no other choice

other than to follow their husband’s ‘orders’. This is how Ibsen carefully uses diction to convey

the intentions of his characters.

Moving on to the non-literary text.

Emma Watson’s speech given in the UN focuses on the campaign HeForShe which focuses on

the global issue of gender inequality. Moving on to the BOW

Emma Watson is a British Actress who is part of the UN Women’s committee, apart from the

“HeForShe” speech she gave the “One Young World” speech in 2016 and “The HeForShe

Impact” Speech in 2015. Both the speeches relate back to her “HeForShe” speech, one focusing

on the progress of the movement and the other focuses on Watson’s personal experience through

this journey of gender equality. “I found my tribe” and “I hope you find your tribe too”, these are

two phrases Emma uses in her “One Young World” speech. Watson uses emotive diction which
helps her appeal to the audience and helps the audience relate to her own personal experiences.

Emma continues to mention how “We all have feminine and masculine energies within us”

which continues to help the audience reflect on themselves and their stereotypical mindsets.

Emma Watson uses personal pronouns and selective diction throughout her speech, to portray the

issue of gender equality throughout the world. Emma’s use of words such as “I” and “We” helps

her connect to her audience very easily. The word “I” signifies her point of view towards the

problem and her personal experience, moreover, it gives the audience a sense of confidence

about the different statistics and research Emma is putting forward towards the audience such as

“it will take 75 years, or for me to be nearly a hundred before women can expect to be paid the

same as men” or “15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children” (Line 29 ),

The word “We” would bring unity among the audience and the other feminist all over the world.

This personal pronoun would help the audience realize how Emma is not talking about one or

two people alone but is talking about everyone in the world supporting this cause as a whole.

Emma Watson’s use of specific diction and personal pronouns helps her to showcase her

intended purpose of completely vanishing the issue of gender equality throughout the globe.

Emma focuses a lot on her personal experiences throughout her speech as well which raises a

sense of emotion in the audience’s mind. In her speech she talks about two past incidents, “When

at 15 my girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn’t want to appear

muscly.'' and “When at 18 my male friends were unable to express feelings”. She focuses on

issues she has witnessed while growing up in both genders. This would lead to the audience

realizing the fairness between both genders and how the two suffer from their problems

throughout the stages of life, it imposes a sense of unity between the male and female gender.
With the use of these emotive language techniques, Emma can bring out the intended purpose of

gender equality to her audience in an emotional manner

Hand in hand with emotions Emma also asks her audience certain questions through her speech

such as “Why is the word such an uncomfortable one?” where she is referring to the word

“feminism” and “If not me, who? If not now, when?” (Line 35 ) where she is questioning her

audience on who and when will the change in gender inequality prevail if we didn't start the

process and practice by ourselves. Asking questions to the audience not only makes the speech

somewhat interactive but it makes the audience question themselves and their actions since the

past years of their life.

According to me, both A Doll's House and Emma Watson's speeches target the issue of

oppression of women throughout the world. The use of Emotive Diction, Rhetorical Questions

and Personal Pronouns in both texts portray the theme of the marginalization and economic

inequality towards women Moreover, the time of creation between both texts signifies how this

issue has not changed for many decades and this speech and drama have a big impact on this

issue.

On that note I would like to end my commentary and am open to further questions.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Would you call Ibsen a feminist? why/why not?

 I would call Ibsen a feminist as he has given a strong voice to the female characters in

ADH. The idea of liberty, individuality and financial strength for women has been

displayed throughout the plot and with powerful standpoints for the female characters.

These ideas are exactly what the feminist ideology itself communicates. Even though

Ibsen was talking about having rights from a humanist level, it is not wrong to depict his

progression of Nora’s realisation of her rights and voice as a feminist move. Also, even

though the other female characters did not finish with such realization of their rights like

Nora, Ibsen was still able to start a bigger conversation through his text and helped form

a global opinion about equality between men and women. And hence, I feel that Ibsen

was in many ways a feminist indeed.

- I THINK THAT’S ALL I HAVE FOR MY ANSWER.

2. How effectively does the media use its platforms to persuade the audiences? Which are

the most used techniques and why are they successful?

Today, the media is the most powerful tool to spread awareness, social messages, stories,

and every other kind of information at large. So far, platforms like Instagram, Facebook

have played a huge role in influencing body-positive messages, gender-neutral

environments both domestically and in workplaces. Moreover, these social media

platforms have given each one of us a voice to highlight toxic masculinity and empower

individuals to promote equality. However, misinformation and fake news spread more

quickly with these forms of media and hence, one should be careful enough to

differentiate between reality and fantasy. Nonetheless, there is no doubt that media,

especially social networking has helped persuade society to treat women with respect and

honor and not with conventional stereotypes. Also, it is often noticed that people follow
the ideologies of their favorite celebrities and thus when celebrities play gender shattering

roles, in a way they help change the mindset of the conservative audience. Famous

personalities are frequently the ones that become the face of any social media movement

and this is extremely helpful as it allows a form of transparency between the actor and the

audience to be inspired by what they have to say.

That's all I have to say for my answer

Q.3 Do you think the play is relevant even today? If so, why?

There are aspects to the play that are pertinent not only to Victorian society, but also to

the present-day society, and probably even to communities in the future. Such aspects

include thematic threads that are woven into the text and subtext of the play. One of these

themes is the theme of naturalism which is most evident in Dr. Rank’s character. Through

this, Ibsen shows the audience the fact that the behavioral traits of the parents are

reflected in their children. Rank’s father is said to have been a licentious man, and his

actions are reflected in Rank’s character who suffers tuberculosis of the spine because his

father suffered from sexually transmitted diseases. Through this, and other examples such

as Nora’s profligate ways, Ibsen shows that no child can escape being influenced by their

parents’ traits, both moral and biological. Such a theme was not only relevant in the

Victorian era but also in the present time making it impactful for both the contemporary

and modern audiences.The idea of personalities and behavior being the outcome of nature

and nurture is a timeless idea projected in the play. However, Mary Christian explores the

theatrical significance of Ibsen's play in her journal Performing Marriage: (2015), claims
 that the play was a crucial step towards theatrical Realism since it defies the archetype of

an ideal marriage. This new aspect of Realism, however, did not go unnoticed. Many

London theaters began to adjust the play's ending to match the standards of the period; as

a result of this change.

That's all I have to say for my answer

- ON THAT NOTE I END MY RESPONSE.

- TY WITH THAT WE COME TO THE END OF THE RECORDING.