Role of Women in Society

In the contemporary society, we reside in, women have played a significant role to be mimicked by other people in the society. Women have gone an extra mile to have their way in a male-dominated society. The boychild has always had the upper hand in the opportunities present in the world compared to the girl child. In the past women were viewed as an item of ownership rather than as a human being which promoted inequality among people in the society. The place of the girl child belonged in the kitchen. Women were not allowed to occupy leadership roles in the society or positions. Women were inferior in the society that was male-dominated. The plays Top Girls and Doll House highlights the roles that were previously held by women in the society. The play Top girls reflect the various functions of women in the society while the play Doll House outlines the struggle the girl child undergoes to climb to the social ranks. In the play, the top girls the ladies converge in a restaurant to explain the various hardships and bitterness they had undergone to acquire their life goals in the society. The Dollhouse play signifies the problem that women undergo in marriage and the harsh conditions that they are usually subjected to in the society.

In the play Top Girls, it reflects how a lady who Marlene is interviewing a lady who wants to tour the world with the primary aim of being with her husband. In the society, most women usually cling onto their husbands for their survival. The fact is supported by when Marlene recalls interviewing a girl by the name Jeanine in the agency where she claims that she only wants to acquire the job so that she can be at the side of her husband. Most women in the society made it a habit of depending on their husbands. Jeanne tends to believe that she can only make it only if she works for hand in hand with her husband. Jeanne attitude reflects the perceptions of most women in the world. Most women tend to depend on their husbands to survive in the society solely. The women tend to believe that men as their superiors in the male-dominated world and every decision they make has to be followed to the later by them. The dependency of women in the society has played a significant role in diminishing the role of women in the society. Women need to make decisions that ensure that the decisions affect them positively.

In the play of the Dollhouse, the dependency of women is shown when Kristine admits to her friend Krogstad that she only married her husband with the sole reason of acquiring funds to support her financially challenged family. Kristine got married not for love but to obtain material gain form her husband. The Dollhouse play reflects the issues that women are usually faced around the globe to meet the needs of their families. In the society, the question of women getting married to cater for the needs of their extended families is not a new case. Most low-income families tend to marry off their daughter to acquire financial support from their husbands. Other families also go ahead to force the girls into marrying the men for economic benefits. The issue is always devastating as the women tend to undergo life torture living with a partner whom she can not love for her rest of her life. The case clearly shows the troubles which the girl child is exposed to compared to the boy child. Boy child in the society is usually not obliged to enter into forced marriages. Most women tend to hold on to the grief for many years which tend to affect them both psychologically and emotionally. However, the play depicts the courageous side of women in the society despite the social factors that are surrounded them in the community. Kristine decides to come out of the closet and tell the truth to her husband on the circumstances that led to their marriage and her true feelings towards him without being held back by the consequences that will fall upon her if she decides to tell the truth.

Women are more exposed to physical violence than men in the society. The physical torture which women tend to undergo are such as rape and being assaulted in the community. In the play Top girls, one of the girls narrates the bitter ordeals that she has gone through in her life. Most women are usually raped in the society, and little is usually done about the matter. However, rape also tends to occur in marriages. Most women who are typically married forcefully to fulfil their marital obligations. The women do not have sexual interactions with their partners due to love, but as a result of the forceful marriage, they are enjoined.

Men in the society have always been favoured in the society more than women. In the contemporary society, men are usually on the highest pecking order in contrast to women. Opportunities which tend to appear in the community, men are generally preferred more than women. The case has traditionally been noticed in workplaces and leadership roles in the society. Women are viewed as incapable of occupying the various leadership positions. Women tend to work extra hard to be promoted in the organisations, but their efforts usually tend to go unnoticed. The case is vividly witnessed in the play Top Girls where Louise claims that she has been working extra hard for many years, but her fruits have never been rewarded by the management of the organisation that she has been working. Louisa claims that she had dedicated all her energy to her job and yet she has nothing to show for her dedication. Louisa feels like she wasted all her life for all the years that she dedicated to her career. Louisa case tries to explain the problems which the girl child faces in her daily activities in the society.

The two plays show the various antagonising situations in which girls usually face in their daily lives. Women in most society are usually having the figurehead role in most societies. Women in most societies tend to keep the interests of their families before their interests. Women tend to feel the struggle of raising a child more than the men. Women are usually tasked with the responsibility of taking care of their families. In the play the Dollhouse, Nora foregoes her choice which will serve her interest and decides to stay with her husband. However, she is ready to face the harsh consequences that are about to befall her if she decides to leave her husband who has been married to for many years.

Women in most societies are usually treated as an item or property that is either owned y their parents or their parents. Women in the society have no equal say as men in a society that is dominated by men. Women are usually put in a position by the society that does not allow them to attain self-actualisation in their lives. Women are usually tied on the dark sides of life. Male supremacy is usually witnessed in most societies as they are allowed to make their personal decisions without being interfered by third parties. Unlike the women in the society, they have to ask for permission before making any decisions that either affects them directly or indirectly. In the play, Doll House, Nora claims that she has been treated like a doll for many years by not her father but also her husband. Nora feels that the society has neglected her. Nora feels that she has never made decisions that will positively affect her lifestyle. Nora claims that her happiness has been significantly interfered by her father and her husband in her entire life. Nora feels that she does not understand herself and she needs a break that will enable to discover herself.

In most societies, men are usually viewed as the head of the family. The fact has made most women be victimised and controlled in most marriages. Women tend to have no say in the families. Men tend to make all the decisions and women are to follow without questioning the choice of their husbands. In the play Dollhouse, Nora’s husband tends to have a controlling habit over Nora.

Circumstances that women are usually exposed to in the society usually push them to harsh living conditions. Most women who have been forced to join the life of prostitution not by their liking but due to the circumstances that tend to surround them. People tend to harshly judge these women without knowing the sole reason that pushed them into joining the life prostitution. Most of the people in the society tend to treat these women as low lives, and yet they can create feasible solutions that will enable them to evade these dangerous lives. The society we live tends to increase the problems that tend to affect the individuals rather than create a haven for these women who engage in prostitution. The culture tends to stigmatise the women involved in prostitution in the community. The culture should establish a rehabilitation forum that will enable these women to leave these dangerous lives. In the play Top Girls, Lady Nijo is Japanese girl who is engaged in the life of prostitution. Churchill is quick to harshly judge Lady Nijo without knowing the circumstances that led to her joining the life of prostitution. Lady Nijo blames her upbringing conditions as Lady Nijo initially wanted to be a nun. However, the story shows the robust nature of women as she works her way up to become a successful businesswoman in the society.

Women tend to have the same capabilities as men in the society. However, the community tends to believe that they are usually jobs that are meant for men and jobs that are intended for women. Women tend to have the same capabilities as men. The case has been proved before during the world war 1 in the United States where omen occupied men’s jobs while they had gone away to fight in the world war 1. Ladies have proved that they are competitive as the men in the society when it comes to jobs. However, women are usually required to work extra hard in the society as compared to men.

In the society, people tend to go ahead to judge the various people who tend to steal without knowing the circumstances that usually push them to steal in the community. People tend to harshly judge these people in the community without knowing the real reason behind their situation. In the play Top Girls, a lady is seen dressed in an apron and using harsh words. Dull Gret is stealing from people in the society as a means of survival in the organisation. The society is quick to judge her character not knowing the real reason behind her lifestyle. The society, in my opinion, should always create strategies that will enable to incorporate such people in the community. The community should give such kind of people a second chance by offering an appropriate action that will allow them to get away from such kind of dangerous lifestyle. Furthermore, such kind of people tend to attain the violent nature due to their surroundings, and if rehabilitates and given the required love and affection, they can change to be productive members of the society.

Men tend to have a compelling character in the society. Most men to believe that in the marriages their spouses are to obey their commands without being questioned by their female companions. The case has not been new to our society as it has existed in the past decades. Men are usually believed to go to work while their female spouses are to stay home and take care of the families. Women are not often given an opportunity to explore their careers and talents in the society. The case typically discriminate women as they are not allowed to acquire equal opportunities as men in the society. In the play the Doll House, Kristine has for years been victimised by not only her father but also her husband. Kristine claims that she is always around the house and she is only allowed to take care of the home and the family. The case makes Kristine economically and socially dependent on only her husband. Kristine’s husband has mentally enslaved Kristine in such a way she only follows his command.

Marriage has been a source of grief to most people in the society. Marriage is not seemingly happy reunion as most people tend to perceive in the community. In the two plays, marriage is seen as a source of grief as compared to beliefs of people in the society. Kristine in the Doll House claims that she only got married only to acquire financial support to carter for her family and not for the sole purpose of love. In the Top Girls, Isabella Bird is a hard-working woman who claims that she no longer enjoys her marriage due to the abrupt end of her love. Isabella and Kristine both feel devasted and feel that their marriages should come to an end for them to enjoy their happiness.

All in all, we tend to judge people in our society not knowing the real reasons that surround their way of living. Women, as witnessed in the two plays, are usually at higher risk compared to men in the society. Women are generally required to work extra hard compared to men in the society to achieve their personal goals.

Reference

Churchill, C., 2008. Top girls. A&C Black.

Goddard, L., 2007. Staging Black Feminisms: Identity. Politics, Performance, 229.

Ibsen, H., 2008. A doll’s house. A&C Black.