Under the Surface of the Angel in the House: From Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House to Virginia Woolf's The Voyage Out

• Main Authors: Pei-ting Liao, 廖珮婷
• Other Authors: Yauling Hsieh
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/33328108476840807368

碩士 === 東吳大學 === 英文學系 === 95 === This thesis looks at the identities and desire of Nora in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Rachel in Virginia Woolf’s The Voyage Out from a comparative point of view and draws in the background of their time by looking into the contemporary popular image of woman as “the Angel in the House.” Nora and Rachel represent different types of women in the nineteenth century. In A Doll’s House, Nora changes her identity from a naïve doll-like wife as “the Angel in the House” to a woman who wants to live independently and individually in society. In The Voyage Out, Rachel experiences her voyage from England to a small town in South America, and her journey from life and love to death. To Rachel, Ibsen’s plays always leave her in that condition. Nora in A Doll’s House is especially one female character who influences Rachel to form her identity and thoughts. Henrik Ibsen has great influence on Virginia Woolf, and Nora on Rachel. The main theme in The Voyage Out is about the psychic aspects of the heroine’s development. Rachel’s inner self grows in her voyage from England to Santa Marina in South America. But Nora’s psychic development is influenced by Mrs. Lind’s visit and Krogstad’s blackmail that make her realize the illusory nature of her happy married life with Torvald. At the end of A Doll’s Hosue and The Voyage Out, both Nora and Rachel get rid of the limitation imposed on women by marriage. After a brief introduction of the social background of the Victorian Age, the authors, the works and other references, Chapter One will focus on female identities in the nineteenth century. The traditional female position of the “Angel in the House” will be discussed before examining the conflicts and challenges that Ibsen’s Nora in A Doll’s House and Virginia Woolf’s Rachel in The Voyage Out face. Chapter Two will apply Lacan’s definition of language and female desires from Ecrits and Virginia Woolf’s notions about female positions and desires in her essays in The Common Readers and Books and Portraits to analyze Nora’s and Rachel’s language and desires. Chapter Three will briefly discuss the tradition of the male journey before probing into Nora’s and Rachel’s journey of finding the self. The conclusion will explore female identities and desires in the works of these two authors. Moreover, that Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Virginia’s The Voyage Out are still popular now is a fact that is worthy of speculation.