A Means to an End

From: Book Snob

The most conventional definition of intertextuality is a text that draws from another text.  Upon initially receiving this assignment I was not drawn to the conventional definition, but instead to two texts which both originated out of a common idea, but contrasting endings out of similar circumstances. These texts are The Awakening by Kate Chopin and the play “A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen. In both stories the mother of two children plays the roll of protagonist as they try to escape the mold social society has forced upon.

These works are both placed in the late 1800s a time in which women where considered to be the ownership of the husband and most obviously lesser beings intellectually. The interesting comparison of the two texts is how both women respond to their similar predicaments and the route they choose to escape accepted decorum. 

In the Awakening, Nora is a typical housewife of wealthy family just outside New Orleans. She keeps company, and plays along with social custom, but finds herself completely dissatisfied with her life. She also realizes that she is no comparison to the other gentile women whom fit the mold more perfectly. She begins to discover herself through the interest of a young man and the art of piano in an older women, who chose independence over convention.  After several of her attempts to claim her independence Nora is struck by two hard blows. One is that her lover refuses to consummate their affair, and then she realizes the extreme neglect of her children.  This great sorrow and feeling of entrapment leave Nora destitute. Seeking liberation the only way she saw possible, Nora swims out into the sea to her death.  

Similar to the previous story, we have the female protagonist in "A Doll House", Nora. Upon initial impression, Nora is every bit the convention housewife that the late 1800s asked for, but upon closer inspection she proves to be a woman of wit and intelligence. She, for the sake of her family, had taken a loan years before, from a swindle of a man. However she had managed her allowance well and was taking it back ,but through a series of unfortunate events, her husband discovers what she has done. He is immediately outraged calls her a liar, and unfit to raise their children. The situation resolves itself and he apologizes, but the damage had already been done. Nora discovered that she was nothing more than a plaything or a “doll”. Utterly frustrated that she had no respect in her own home, she left, ultimately claiming her independence.

To me, the stories compare the difference of human nature. Because of their close alignment, or intertextuality, we are able to see the different responses to similar situations. Two women of similar circumstance achieve what they believe to be liberation. The closeness of the two stories allow us to grasp a greater understanding of the works ,and the women’s responses.