Happiness is a luxury that only the powerful can afford. In light of this view, compare the depictions of happiness and power in Paradise Lost and A Doll's House. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay In Paradise Lost and A Doll's House , to say that only those in power truly experience the luxury of happiness would be a somewhat reductive statement. There is arguably reason to argue that Eve, as the embodiment of the weak woman in a patriarchal society, never receives the empowerment she desires, despite her best efforts to fight for independence, knowledge and, subsequently, happiness. Adam forgives her towards the end of the poem, however, and their love becomes stronger, perhaps signifying a version of a happy ending. However, the title of the poem in the first place, "Paradise Lost" suggests a loss of complete happiness. and their fulfillment and because of their own actions, Adam and Eve's utopia and paradise are altered and corrupted. Like Eve in A Doll's House, Ibsen's Nora symbolizes the patriarchal stereotype of the repressed woman. Nora openly proclaims that she has never been truly happy under the restrictions of her role as a housewife and mother, but by leaving her family in search of herself, she arguably becomes more independent. Despite the lack of resolution at the end, the reader is left with the impression that Nora will at least find a happier life than the one at Torvald's side. On the other hand, saying that Nora's abandonment of her family makes her powerful might be contested given the patriarchal context in which the play was written. Nora may find happiness in leaving her family, but from a patriarchal perspective, a woman leaving her "duties" as a wife and mother is a woman abandoning her goal, which, arguably, makes her weak and helpless. Patriarchal and male power is a central theme of both texts which arguably leads to misery, not happiness as the repression of women pushes their wives to "stray" in search of independence. Both men at some point lose the women they love, even temporarily, through their pride and desperation to retain patriarchal power. Arguably, Torvald plays up to this stereotype as a powerful heroic protector wishing that "sometimes terrible danger might threaten Nora so that he might offer his life, his blood, everything for her." Nick Worrall argued that "one's security depends on the feeling of superiority", and as Torvald indulges in this patriarchal concept of a male hero, this statement rings true, describing the idea that for a man to feel powerful, he must thus attract power and “superiority”. " on their wives. It seems, however, that Torvald's words are false and hollow because when faced with the opportunity to save his wife by providing her with the "miracle of miracles", it seems that he is unable to exchange his pride for the happiness of his marriage Instead, he states, "no man can be expected to sacrifice his honor, even for the person he loves." the intention of using Torvald to represent the inequality between the sexes at the time he was writing and the importance of patriarchal male pride still placed above the importance of familial and marital love. be that by making Nora leave, Ibsen was trying to say that giving too much importance to the male stereotype and neglecting women's rights would only lead to unhappiness. This is probably where Torvald's masculine pride leads Nora to realize. that he is not able to meet his needs(haven't you been happy here? / No; never. I thought I was. But I've never been happy here? / No; never. happy") and consequently his misery while she abandons him in search of her freedom. Likewise, following Eve's transgression ("she gathered, she ate, the earth felt the wound"), Adam is at first unable to put aside his masculine pride for the happiness of their relationship, and this despite now in power, he does not seem to be presented as happy. This becomes evident when Adam's address to Eve changes from "unique Eve" to "ungrateful Eve" as he blames and reprimands her: "bad woman." Like Torvald, Adam is unable to look past Eve's transgression, which makes him bitter rather than happy, as he is arguably motivated by his sexism and desire for power, not his love. Weathers opined "that a bitter anti-feminism accompanies young masculinity", a statement which seems to describe not only Adam's behavior, reflected by his twisted nicknames, but also that of Torvald, who also mocks Adam's femininity. Nora with insulting remarks: “thoughtless woman”. In both texts, male characters use the name "woman" to berate and mock their wife's gender, presumably to feel powerful and therefore happy. This attitude of male superiority was common in both contexts, but particularly in the 1600s, as evidenced in Milton's divorce treatises: "who can be ignorant that woman was created for man and not man for female. » Arguably, Milton's views are clearly expressed in Paradise Lost. as Eve is removed and put back in her place, "safe and proper at her husband's side" and we are left with the impression that if she had listened to her husband, the fall would never have occurred: "Would you been encouraged by my words? (Adam)." We see, however, that this power, as with Torvald, does not bring happiness but anger and resentment and it is only when Adam is able to forgive his wife and abandon his pride that 'he is capable of passing the test of overcoming love' and improving their relationship We then see that for the two male characters in these texts, their desire for patriarchal power does not provide them with the luxury of happiness but repels their. women and makes them bitter and resentful, for Torvald he is unable to rectify his relationship and ends up at the end of the play miserable and powerless, but for Adam, despite the fall and his resulting loss of power, her relationship with Eve is reconstructed and we, the reader, are left with the impression that they are happy On the other hand, the patriarchal stereotype categorizes women as weak, but in both texts, the female characters s. empower themselves by striving for independence, knowledge and happiness. Towards the end of A Doll's House in particular, we get the impression that Nora will find happiness when she realizes that she has "another duty just as sacred, a duty to herself." Jakovlievic argued that "Ibsen presents the image of a happy home infested with unhappy performatives", but arguably, as the play draws to a close, this image is shattered and the patriarchal pretensions are revealed when Nora states: " you were never in love with me, you just thought it was fun to be in love with me. Nora's realization that her marriage is only a facade undoubtedly leads her to distance herself from her husband in search of independence, knowledge and the happiness that this implies. It could be argued that Nora's quest for independence speaks to Ibsen's view as a humanist and, as some have argued, as a "proto-feminist", who believed that he It wasn't a ".