Voice of resistance against capitalist patriarchal ideologies in A Doll House and Man and Superman

Abstract

This Research is based on Henric Ibsen’s A Doll House and George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman to expose how the capitalist patriarchy has worked to the males having the dominant position in the society and how female has resisted against capitalist patriarchy in different periods of the writers. In both of the dramas, capitalist patriarchal ideology is working to define the female as weak human being in every respect in comparison to males. It has helped the males to capture the economy so that they can make the females dependent on them. To study both of the dramas comparatively, capitalist patriarchy is working apparently as well as hegemonically in A Doll House whereas in Man and Superman, palimpsest of capitalist patriarchy can be found. It is vivid that Helmer has made Nora a doll with the strength of money and Nora is also proud and happy to spend Helmer’s money. Tanner tries to emancipate Ann not being her guardian but he always negativists Ann’s intellectuality. He always defines woman’s practicality negatively so that he can prove Ann inferior to him. Nora’s resistance moves from unconscious to conscious as she goes against Helmer by eating macaroons, forging father’s signature, borrowing money and lying without intention of going against him but later she leaves home intentionally. But Ann pursued Tanner from the very beginning. She challenges and subverts the capitalist patriarchal ideology to pursue a female by a male.