Nora vs. Newland

So, I think it's safe to say that both The Age of Innocence and A Doll's House aren’t exactly what I expected them to be. First things first, The Age of Innocence is nothing like gossip girl *sigh*! I was expecting this book to be about the scandalous lives of New York's upper East Siders with a side of sassy expeditions and nonstop privileged drama......the reality of the novel is far from that. The book not only centers around a young man who tends to be overly hypocritical of the world he comes from but also around a society in which women couldn’t do much for themselves and were afraid of being judged for going after what they truly wanted in life (Blair Waldorf aka the queen bee of Gossip Girl's Upper East Side would most definitely not approve of the weak minded ways of these women). As if the boring, slow paced plot wasn’t enough, the main character, Newland Archer, acts like a girl more than he should! Sure, he makes it clear what the role of men was supposed to be during this time period, however, he always falls back on what he says, therefore, making him fall less and less into the roll that he describes and more and more into the position of a woman. Newland is whiny, judgmental, and indecisive, yet, he continues to judge women and others around him almost as if he is so much better than them and everyone else around him. Who is he to judge? If he's aware that these are the only life values these people have ever truly known why does he feel the need to be so harsh? It's pretty clear that Newland knows what his place in society is supposed to be/ what is expected of him, however, he doesn’t know how to use his position to the best of his abilities, thus, making him unable to actually go for what he wants in life. On the other end of the novel spectrum, there’s Nora from A Doll's House. Nora is a woman who is fully aware of her place in society, as well her husband's and everyone else around her, that not only utilizes her position to help get what she wants but also attempts to take care of those that she loves, whether her methods be immoral or not. Nora makes it very clear to her audience that she is her very pleased with the basic day to day tasks that she partakes in (hence her repeatedly telling Kristine how happy she is.......we get it) and that she wants to make sure her family is happy as they enjoy the moments of the upcoming holidays, however, Nora seems to relate to Archer in the sense that she doesn't fit into all aspects of the typical gender role. Women during Nora's time period weren’t allowed to handle money in any way, shape, or form, yet Nora borrows money behind her husband’s back in order to save his life and keep her family together. Sure, she embraces her gender role when it comes to squeezing excess money out of her husband or flirting with Dr. Rank, however, her intentions seem to be more selfless seeing how her desire for money is driven by her wanting for her family to stay out of debt and live happy lives. I'm not saying Nora isn’t selfish (she is.....her encounter with Kristine was actually super annoying. Where's your sympathy Nora??) But it seems as if she, the person who more so resembles a child like doll, has more mature wants in life than Newland, the person who is seen as this adult like New York man whose desires really reflect his own selfish wants and needs. These two puzzle me because they help show the way America has always seemed to value someone’s ability based off gender while also making it clear that sometimes not fitting ones typical role can either making them stronger (Nora, in a sense) or weaker (NEWLAND). Ya feel me?