Post 25: Women's Modern Roles

The expected role of women today are not much different from that of the nineteenth century. We are still expected to designate our main roles to that of wife and mother. Today, most women play the role of both wife and mother, but also as a contributing and equal member of the household and society. Nora, the protagonist in Ibsen's Dollhouse, plays the traditional role well, but then feels the need to become an independent person whose ideas and contributions are equally respected and appreciated within society and her home. She feels that in order for her to become the most successful person in her life, she needs to find out who she is. Her husband thinks that this is ridiculous and compares her thoughts to that of a child. However, in the end, the importance of educating herself and gaining her own independence, become most important.
Women today do not have to make those choices. We have the option of getting our education and starting our careers before or during marriage. Our voices are heard within society, though sometimes vaguely, and they are often respected. Women are seen as the backbone of their families and communities because we are still considered to be the nurturers. Often times now its seems, that women who choose to have a professional life, still have to moonlight in the traditional role of being the homemaker.