In What Ways are Stereotypes Portrayed and Opposed in The Hour of the Star and A Doll's House - Essay Example

The novella The Hour of the Star depicts social stereotypes that are faced by modern women especially when they are in a cohabitating role. In contrast, the play A Doll’s House depicts the stereotypes faced by women in the nineteenth century especially in context of the institution of marriage. Furthermore, the play also reflects on the state of nascent feminism on the rise during the nineteenth century. This text will analyse the various stereotypes depicted by and opposed in The Hour of the Star and A Doll’s House in detail.

The novella The Hour of the Star revolves around the life of an average woman Macabe’a whose life is portrayed in urban as well as rural settings to highlight the various stereotypes that exist in these settings. Macabea’s boyfriend Rodrigo who is shown as short of a respectable character has narrated the entire novella. Macabea serves as the novella’s protagonist and works as a typist in the poor slums of Rio as one of life’s most unfortunate creatures. The protagonist has been shown as a simple person who loves movies, Coca-Cola and her boyfriend Rodrigo who fails to live up to her expectations. . Typically, it is assumed that men will detach themselves from a woman when she is unattractive or when they have fulfilled their purposes from a woman.

This stereotypical image of men is carried throughout the novella and is portrayed as an evil based in the instinct of men. The element of regret is also coupled to Rodrigo’s actions later in the novella as he realises that Macabea might have outward misery but inside she is free. Rodrigo as the narrator notices that Macabea is miserable yet she has no understanding of how unhappy she should be in her condition. This method of projecting the protagonist as an independent and carefree person despite the immense problems is also a stereotypical approach used in feminist literature.

In addition to the above, this novella portrays various stereotypical images of women in a society dominated by men. Macabea’s day-to-day life is portrayed as a single uneducated woman’s struggle to merely survive in a sexist society (Bricklebank) despite having a boyfriend to protect her. Cohabitation has been given a stereotypical approach where it is assumed that two people living together do so out of love and respect. However the practicality delivered in the novella elucidates that cohabitation may only be nothing more than two people living with each other because they tend to deal with each other’s dependencies.

Again within the context of cohabitation the protagonist is shown as losing more than gaining from this relationship which in turn provides a feminist touch to this work. Another facet of stereotypes depicted in The Hour of the Star revolves around the assumed characteristics of rural people in urban settings.