AS English Literature Coursework (grade D)

AS English Literature coursework

Victoria Munro

Compare the ways in which Henrik Ibsen and Oscar Wilde present the theme of outsiders in ‘A Woman of No Importance’ and ‘A Dolls House’, How far do you agree that Nora is the stronger of the two women?’

Ibsen’s ‘A Dolls House’ which was published in 1879 illustrates the ways in which women were made to conform to a certain stereotype and Wilde’s ‘A Woman of No Importance’  which was written in 1893 shows the ways social class affects status and lifestyle. Both texts’ titles are important in the understanding of the stories behind them; they both emphasize the idea of these women being outsiders.

Mrs Arburthnot and Nora are outsiders as they both committed crimes that society does not approve of. Nora’s crime is fraud, signing a male signature herself; this would have been frowned on greatly by society at the time for two main reasons. Firstly Nora is female and forging a male signature; secondly she is committing money fraud, which was unacceptable. The fact that she is a woman does not help her situation at all. Mrs Arburthnot became pregnant out of wedlock; in contrast to Nora, her crime is more of a moral crime than a criminal action.

The women are both powerless to defend their crimes because they are women. They are both put outside of the social circle because of the crimes they have committed. Nora is an outsider because of the illegal fraud. Nora, like Mrs Arburthnot feels like an outsider because of her crime. Although she may be an outsider she is able to define her own destiny. However Ibsen’s conclusion to the play suggests she is choosing to be even more of an outsider by abandoning her husband and family. She regards this as an act that finally allows her to be honest to herself. She lives in fear of being exposed by Krogstad who blackmails her. Ironically her decision to leave Helmer once her crime has been exposed frees her from her identity as an outsider.

The term ‘outsider’ has connotations of isolation and danger. However Nora feels more isolated when she is living with her husband and children because she feels she is in danger of never knowing her true self and never living her own life. ‘It was then it dawned upon me that for eight years I had been living here with a strange man and had borne him three children’. So she is more of an outsider before she leaves, which is the opposite of Mrs Arburthnot who is made an outsider by a male because he refuses to marry her. ‘She loved him so much and he had solemnly promised to marry her, and she believed him. She was very young and ignorant of what life really is. But he put the marriage off from week to week, and month to month’.

Nora is portrayed like a doll which conveys the idea that women were made to conform to their husband’s wishes. The title of the play ‘A Dolls House’ plays a key role in the structure and ideas of the text. Nora is treated like a doll, which is what makes her leave and become an outsider. Nora does not conform to the stereotype. Helmer treats Nora like a doll and does not appreciate her. “Perhaps if your doll is taken away from you”-a suggestion from Nora to Helmer and shows how Nora has been treated like a ‘doll’ and her husband’s life will not be complete without his ‘doll’ there. However this is ironic because Mrs Arburthnot brings up Gerald almost by herself, with the odd help of a maid; however Nora leaves her children at the end of the play. 

Gerald has softened Mrs Arburthnot’s feelings of being an outsider, because although we know she is angry at how Lord Illingworth has ruined her life, she never says she regrets having Gerald, so he is the reason she has kept going when she lost her reputation and good name. She has invented an acceptable name and identity for her and for Gerald. However in her speeches to Gerald she makes it clear that she has never lost the sense of being an outsider. ‘She is a woman who wears a mask like a guilty leper, the fire cannot purify her. The waters cannot quench her anguish. Nothing can heal her!’

In Wilde’s ‘A Woman of No Importance’ Mrs Arburthnot’s son Gerald is almost employed by Lord Illingworth .The dramatic tension hinges on the fact that Lord Illingworth is Gerald’s father, the man who jilted Mrs Arburthnot after she fell pregnant. Ironically if Gerald goes to work for Lord Illingworth he will be an ‘insider’ in society; by refusing to allow him to go Mrs Arburthnot is making Gerald an outsider.

Mrs Arburthnot is an outsider because of Lord Illingworth’s decision, and her response to that decision. Throughout the play Mrs Arburthnot hints at how Lord Illlingworth destroyed her reputation, she tells Gerald this.” After the child was born she left him, taking the child away, and her life was ruined, and her soul ruined”. The repeated adjective ‘ruined’ implies that Mrs Arburthnot’s reputation, class and social standing has been destroyed because of Lord Illingworth. She has been cast outside; this is the opposite of Nora’s situation as she chooses to be an outsider and gives up her marriage and children to find her true self. Both the women are strong because they both make their own decisions. Both male playwrights focus the audience’s attention on the courage of these women.

The characters are both cast outside, but not for the same reasons: one is through choice and the other through male dominance. Nora believes that her life may improve a great deal after she has left her old life ‘In any case I set you free from all your obligations. You are not to feel yourself bound in the slightest way, any more than I shall. There must be perfect freedom on both sides’. By perfect freedom Nora means that she shall be completely free of Hester and he shall be completely free of her, with no ties bound to each other. On the other hand Mrs Arburthnot’s life has been destroyed by this ‘man of no importance’ as Mrs Arburthnot states. This line is ironic as both the title of the play and the fact that this man-Lord Illingworth has ruined Mrs Arburthnot’s life shows that he is in fact very important. Lord Illingworth believes Mrs Arburthnot is a fallen woman from his past whom he can dismiss and in the end her importance to him is only through their son, Gerald.

Lord Illingworth is important and possesses the ability and male dominance that allows him to control Mrs Arburthnot’s life. He offers Mrs Arburthnot a marriage proposal even though he did not marry her the first time. ‘I am ready to marry you Rachel and to treat you always with the deference due to my wife’.

He feels he is offering Mrs Arburthnot her reputation back, yet she believes ‘the fire cannot purify her and her purity has been lost forever’. Wilde is presenting her moral strength here. This links with the fact that at the time both the plays were written women were not seen to be as equal to men and having a child out of wedlock would certainly ruin a woman’s reputation. Mrs Arburthnot had her child out of wedlock and therefore this ruined her reputation, so she feels less equal to the other women.

 Mrs Arburthnot creates a false persona to assert herself and to deal with the issue of being an outsider. Nora is creating herself a new identity when she walks out on her family at the end of the play.  Nora is stronger because she makes the decision to walk out on her family independently whereas Mrs Arbuthnot has no choice but to create a false persona. Mrs Arburthnot allowed herself to be ruined by a male, however Nora is leaving the male in her life and creating her own new life, so therefore is stronger because she possesses more independence and confidence.

Mrs Arburthnot has to readjust her image, although she does have some social class and her reputation is not completely tainted because of her false identity. Nora loses her reputation at the end of the play when she walks out on the children; however she personally feels she is becoming more of a person by doing this because before she was a ‘doll’ and now she is leaving to find her true self. The point of the dramatic power of her departure is designed to shock the audience and therefore to make the audience consider the issues, so dramatically she is the stronger creation.

Nora and Mrs Arburthnot have been carefully constructed by Ibsen and Wilde to ensure they portray the way society treated men and women at the time.  The title ‘A Woman of No Importance’ relates to how women were not seen as equal or important as men at the time.

Both the women confront males in the texts as Nora tells Helmer how she feels and then walks out on him, leaving him feeling lost without his ‘doll’. Mrs Arburthnot turns down Lord Illingworth’s marriage proposal and explains how she feels to him and how he has ruined her life. The irony of this is that after Mrs Arburthnot has explained herself, Lord Illingworth has not lost anything, unlike her and remains untouched, with his pride and dignity still in place. He has the name ‘Lord’ and Mrs Arburthnot will never be a ‘lady’ like the other women; this makes her an outsider. Mrs Arburthnot is not as strong as Nora because Nora’s actions took place so that she could feel a sense of identity and control; however Mrs Arburthnot has a lack of control over her name, life and past.

The title ‘A Woman of No Importance’ is toyed around with in the play. Mrs Arburthnot is made to seem unimportant but calls Lord Illingworth ‘a man of no importance’ at the end. However Lord Illingworth is left how he was at the beginning of the play-proud and respected-and Mrs Arburthnot’s pride and little respect may have been damaged even more deeply. In this sense Mrs Arburthnot is not as strong as Nora because she will be dependant, whereas Nora faces a future alone.