Women in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams and A Doll’s House by Hendrik Ibsen

They say the time period in which a work was written can reveal a lot about the context and attitude behind the writing. Both Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams and A Doll’s House by Hendrik Ibsen were written in a time period when women were inferior to men and were fighting for their rights. In both works, the protagonists, Maggie and Nora, are belittled by their husbands. The time period in which these were written plays a tremendous role towards the way their husbands act because during this time behavior like this was normal. The 1800’s and 1900’s were a troubling time for women which is expressed through the treatment of both Maggie and Nora by their husbands. 

A Doll’s House first made its appearance in 1879. During this time women were maids, cooks, and surrogates. Their duty was to simply give the man children and take care of them. This idea of a woman’s role is expressed in the title which plays a significant role in this play because it is the expression used to describe Nora Helmer. She is seen as a doll in her husband, Torvald Helmer’s house. Her every move is tracked and examined by him. Throughout the play, Torvald gives Nora nicknames sucks as lark, squirrel and other small animal names. He does this to assert his dominance and to make sure she knows that she is inferior to him. “Is that my little lark twittering out there?... Is it my little squirrel bustling about?” He uses pet names to make sure she knows that she is under his control. Torvald does this to place Nora in a specific role in their relationship, while asserting his own. This is his way of belittling her. 

“But our home has been nothing but a 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 great fun when you played with me, just as they thought it great fun when I played with them. That is what our marriage has been, Torvald” Their whole relationship was a game for him. He was careful and cautious around her because he did not want to hurt his “doll”. At the end of the play she gets tried of being treated as this object and wants to be more. This same idea connects to a Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in which Maggie feels the same ways as Nora did and just wants to be treated as a real person. 

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was written in the 1950’s. During this time, women started to gain more respect but still had little to no rights which is expressed in Bricks attitude towards Maggie. Brick hates his wife. At one point, their marriage was enough for him, but now he only manages to tolerate her and only married her to prove that he was a straight man and was not in love with his friend, Skipper. Brick is very laid back because of his drinking and Maggie is very talkative which creates tension and causes Brick to show no interest in Maggie or what she is saying. At one point, Maggie is talking to him and he just rolls over on the bed and states, "Did you say something, Maggie?" which goes to show that he just recognizes she is there but does not like her and wants her to leave him alone. 

Brick does not care about his wife, but in the 1950’s, this was not uncommon. Many men during this time period just saw their wife’s as inferior to them and treated them as objects. Maggie loves Brick and he does not love her back. The only reason he keeps Maggie around is to make himself look good for his family. She is useless in his eyes. He talks about her in the worst way. When talking to Big Daddy about her, Brick states, “She went on the road that fall with the Dixie Stars. Oh, she made a great show of being the world's best sport. She wore a--wore a--tall bearskin cap! A shako, they call it, a dyed moleskin coat, a moleskin coat dyed red!--Cut up crazy! Rented hotel ballrooms for victory celebrations, wouldn't cancel them when it--turned out--defeat.... MAGGIE THE CAT! Ha ha!” He tells Big Daddy about how she is easy and she made a name for herself by being this way which earned her the nickname, ‘Cat’. He does not see his wife as a person, only merely an object that is just there as another crutch. 

Each of these plays focus on the treatment of women during their time period. Both explain the hardships women went through and how they were able to overcome them by standing up to their husbands. These were both written in time periods where the husbands’ actions were common but through these actions, the writers were able to show just how hard it was to earn respect as a woman.