A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, is a play about a woman who realizes that she is worth more than she has been given credit for. All her life she was treated like a little doll; too fragile to do anything serious, too fragile to worry about real business. She was a wife, mother and homemaker. The only things she was seen to be capable of were running the house, raising the children, and being pretty. This was a common stereotype among women in the 1880s. Women were treated like property, not people. Women had a specific role to fulfill. They had to look right, act right, raise children a certain way, and maintain the house in a perfect way. Many women have attempted to fill this “perfect housewife” position. They wore corsets that put about 22 pounds of pressure on their internal organs, causing cracked ribs, displaced livers and uterine prolapses and collapsed lungs, all just to look like what men wanted. Women balanced their always busy family lives and their social lives. They stayed at home to look after the children, while taking a break to invite friends over for tea or coffee. Women had to be the image of perfection. Magazines were plastered with this image of the "perfect housewife" which showed women with their corsets so tight they couldn't breathe, and mothers holding many children in their arms. The whole world has bought into this image of perfection. Fortunately, progress has been made to make life a little easier. The world has moved from being a producer to being a consumer. Mail order catalogs have made it easier for women to purchase items needed to keep their...... middle of paper ...... informed about what happens when they are no longer able to work. Everything she gave up, a family, children, a husband, love, security, provisions, she will not have. Once she finishes work, she will be alone. She will lead a lonely and lonely life that has driven many people crazy. Fortunately, thanks to the feminist movement of the 1960s, our society is more accepting of the different choices women make. There's always the pressure to be a super mom, but it's perfectly acceptable to also be a working mom, or not be a mom at all and just focus on your career. You simply have to be able to manage the consequences that result from your decisions. The message of “A Doll's House” is just as applicable today as it was when it was written. Women still need to weigh their options and choose the path that suits them best. They must be able to manage the consequences that accompany their decisions.