User talk:Mayameee

Project on

A Dolls house How Kristina serve as a foil to Nora? Background :

Back ground

Every thing have its beginning point or history and literature is as old as humanity. from the history of man kind every era have its impact upon human mind and all these impacts become a part and parcel of literature in the form of poetry, novel , dramas, stories essays etc .literature in itself is divided into various ages i. e. Classical age , romantic age, Victorian age and modern age and every age have its specialty like in classical age the emphasis was upon elevated language, grand style, grand characters like god and goddess , angels and Saturn e. t. c;  in romantic age common man , common language, and objects of nature e. t. c; but in Victorian age the subjects moved from objects of nature and and fancy to society and its mind setup. various human problems were pointed out at every level and remedies were given to solve those social, psychological, political, economical, sexual , gender, and individual problems. women and the problem concerning to them in that era was specially the subject of every writers narration. In Victorian age women challenged traditional setup of the society and emphasized upon their individuality as a human being. In “City of Dreadful Delight”, Walkowitz said ;

“Victorian London. Expertly blending social history and cultural criticism, Judith Walkowitz shows how these narratives reveal the complex dramas of power, politics, and sexuality that were being played out in late nineteenth-century Britain, and how they influenced the language of politics, journalism, and fiction. Victorian London was a world where long-standing traditions of class and gender were challenged by a range of public spectacles, mass media scandals, new commercial spaces, and a proliferation of new sexual categories and identities. In the midst of this changing culture, women of many classes challenged the traditional privileges of elite males and asserted their presence in the public domain”.

Walkowitz has pointed out the basic subject of Victorian era i. e.  women and the problems revolving them. They don't want to live a life like a show piece or an imaginary being that is only considered to best use as sexual being or a mother that bear only children and spent its life within the four walls of the house. They were not dolls that can be place in any house as can can be treated in any way they were human beings with emotions, liking and dis liking, preferences and trust.

In “City of Dreadful Delight”, Walkowitz he made people aware of all these things and mark out women as an individual that have all the rights as a man.

“Walkowitz examines them all, showing how women were not simply figures in the imaginary landscape of male spectators, but also central actors in the stories of metropolitan life that reverberated in courtrooms,learned journals, drawing rooms, street corners”

In Victorian era the subject matter or writing was ;

“what Queen Victoria found "not amusing." It is light treatment of serious things, especially sexual evil.(City of Dreadful Delight 357)

Of all the criticisms brought against them by the Lytton Stracheys of the twentieth century, the Victorians would have pleaded guilty to only one. They would have defended or excused their optimism, their dogmatism, their appeal to force, their straight-laced morality, but they would have confessed to an unfortunate strain of hypocrisy.... One, they concealed or suppressed their true convictions and their natural tastes. They said the 'right' thing or did the 'right' thing: they sacrificed sincerity to propriety. Second, and worse, they pretended to be better than they were.... they talked noble sentiments and lived -- quite otherwise. Finally, they refused to look at life candidly. They shut their eyes to whatever was ugly or unpleasant and pretended it didn't exist. (City of Dreadful Delight 394-395)”. Women in every  era faced various problems but in Victorian age women psychology was highlighted to delineated the problem they come across. In history of literature  we come across different characters that serve as a foil to each other e. g. “Machbeth” and “Banque”, “Oedipus” and “Creon” etc. This technique is used in modern wold as was in the past. I read Ibsen's, Dolls house and found that Christina serve as a foil to Nora.

Both characters propagate that opposite philosophies of life and serve as a mouth piece for women with different perspectives. In literature there are various type of characters that use various philosophies of life that present them with reference to different work done in past. Nora and Kristinea are two sides of the same coin one represent other in the same way as Banque represent Machbeth,but, at the same time both have opposite philosophies of life which leads to opposite conditions. They are like bank of river which can move together but cannot be one in the same way as Machbeth and Banque have different views about philosophies; Banque considered prophesies as illusions in the form of reality but for Machbeth they were reality in the form of illusions. Victorian age is full of characters like Kristina and Nora how are similar and opposite at the same level. Through these two character, various shades of mind is presented with realistic touch in a profound way.

Introduction

In literature various characters are presented in different ways ; some are appointed as hero, heroine, villain e. t. c. While deep study, we come across the reality that there are some characters which don't have dominant role but still then their presence cannot be ignored and they are presented to highlight the characteristics of protagonist like that of “Banque” in Shakespeare 's drama  “Macbeth”. Thought both of them come across witches and their prophesies but they got opposite result and the reality of prophesies according to them was quite different for example the character of “Kristina”in  Ibsen,s A Dolls House .It means they serve as foil of each other, but, the uestion that strikes our mind is that, what is foil and how characters serve as foil of each other?The answer is that ; “ foil is a secondary character who contrasts with a major character and, in so doing, highlights various facets of the main character's personality. The author may use the foil to set up situations in which the protagonist can show his or her character traits.”(Wikipedia) “A foil character is either one who is opposite to the main character or nearly the same as the main character. The purpose of the foil character is to emphasize the traits of the main character by contrast, and perhaps by setting up situations in which the protagonist can show his or her character traits. A foil is a secondary character who contrasts with a major character but, in so doing, highlights various facets of the main character's personality”.(Wikipedia)".

Kristina in dolls house serve as a foil to Nora and  hight light all he positive and negative characteristics in a way that by experiencing same   circumstances and same mode of life they got opposite results one got married and experienced family life and the other got separation left all the family responsibilities and and relations ; one , got prosperity and happy married life on the exposure of reality, other got adversity of life on the exposure of reality ; one got involvement in social setup and other was cut off from society and prefer individuality. Though both of them were well aware of reality of life but there was some psychological, social, economical, sexual and individual difference that made them  quite opposite and different human being.

Research question

How Kristina serve as a foil to Nora?