Women at Point Zero and Doll's House

        The tone of “unbelievably beautiful” exhibits the pride and satisfaction Helmer felt when his wife was praised. This implies that social approval is a central part of his life and therefore he desires his wife to dress up in order increase his social standing. Nora’s purpose is to be Helmer’s “doll-wife” as she knows that this is the only way to maintain her marriage while Firdaus disguises herself in order to attain a high position in the society. Both Firdaus and Nora put on masks to fit into the stereotypical roles of women created by their respective societies.

        Firdaus in Woman at Point Zero slips on an emotional disguise in order to fulfill her materialistic aims. She declares that “as a prostitute [she] [is] not [herself], [her] feelings did not rise from within [her]” (85). She “[makes] no effort, [expends] no energy, [gives] no affection and [provides] no thought” (86) when she sleeps with men. The parallelism displays the stealth and disgust Firdaus feels when she is making love with them. This reminds the reader that she shared no intimacy with the men, and she only sleeps with them in order to earn her daily bread. The diction shows that her life is void of feelings and emotions; she appears to be robotic. In contrast, Nora in A Doll’s House hides her true feelings and pretends to be desperately in need for help because she wants to stop her husband from reading the letter that could damage their relationship. She needs to act like a docile wife who “[couldn’t] get anywhere without [his] help (85). she knows that “he’s so proud of being a man” (36). She also lies to Torvald and conceals the truth about her loan because she knows that the truth will hurt his ego. This portrays how well she understands the standing of men in society.

She finally has the courage to say “No!” (98) and this transforms her into a confident woman. The aggressive tone displays the anger and rage in Firdaus’s heart. After she thrusts aside her anger by killing the pimp she could walk with her head high “with the pride of having destroyed all masks to reveal what is hidden behind” (96). The ‘real’ Firdaus is seen after she finds the strength to fight back. The word choice and mood reveals the feelings of happiness Firdaus experiences after she puts aside all the disguises and masks. Firdaus is still vulnerable to men because she has something to lose. When she kills the pimp and later tears up the prince’s money, Firdaus finally proves that she has control over herself. Moreover, in A Doll’s House, Nora also “[takes] off [her] fancy dress” (96) when she realizes that “[she has] been [Helmer’s] doll-wife” (98) and had never had any personal opinions. She realizes that “[she] must educate [herself]” (99) and “try to find out [her] own answers” (100).  Throughout the play Nora uses exclamatory and childish language. The use of direct language in her dialogues in the climax of the play shows the emergence of a strong and independent woman. Throughout her life she had avoided to face the hardship and realities of life by putting on a disguise but she now realizes that she has been living a lie. She casts aside her façade and becomes a changed person. Both Firdaus and Nora execute controversial acts in order acquire freedom. While Firdaus does the unthinkable when she murders a pimp, Nora also breaks the image of the typecast nineteenth century European wife when she leaves her family in order to discover truths about herself and live life on her own terms. Firdaus realized from the beginning that she was “a blind creature that could neither see [herself] nor anyone else” (41), nevertheless she didn’t break free till the end. On the other hand, Nora realization is an on-going process throughout the play. The letter just acts as a catalyst to instigate her to make the divisive decision in the end.