Browning's dramatic monologues Porphyria's Lover and My Last Duchess criticize the restrictive patriarchal values ​​of Victorian society that suppressed female endeavors for individualism. Meanwhile, Ibsen's play A Doll's House condemns the pretense of an idealistic marriage within a social hierarchy through its female protagonist, Nora. Both composers ultimately demonstrate the implications of their characters' attempts to subvert society's expectations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Robert Browning's dramatic monologue, Porphyria's Lover, challenges the dominant patriarchal values ​​of Victorian society by criticizing society's tendency to undermine the role of women. The 1800s in England saw a period of misogynistic values ​​imposed on women, resulting in the stifling of their autonomy. However, Browning subverts these gender stereotypes through her portrayal of Porphyria, who transgresses social conventions when she visits her lover at night. The pathetic fallacy of “The rain fell early tonight / The dark wind soon awoke” establishes the character's unstable state of mind and foreshadows the consequences of Porphyria's independence. Furthermore, having "laid aside her dirty gloves" and "let her damp hair fall," Browning characterizes Porphyria as a "fallen woman" who was condemned by Victorian society for being unchaste. Browning asserts Porphyria's self-determination through the use of polysyndeton in “And she exposed her smooth white shoulder… And spread, over all, her yellow hair,” evoking a sensual atmosphere, challenging Victorian constraints on behavior of women. However, the repetition in "that moment she was mine, my beautiful" demonstrates a role reversal, embodying her lover's objectification of Victorian women and his possessiveness. The consequences of female independence are revealed in “Yellow String I Wound…And Straangled Her,” where Porphyria's hair, initially a symbol of her femininity, ultimately silences her, exaggerating the oppression of Victorian women under patriarchal control . Browning ultimately uses the religious allusion: “And yet God said not a word!” to ironically underline the acceptability of the lover's actions, unlike Porphyria's sexual autonomy condemned by patriarchal society. Therefore, Browning condemns the suppression of female sexuality in Victorian England by examining Porphyria's unconventional conduct. Meanwhile, Ibsen's play A Doll's House transgresses Victorian expectations of bourgeois women's submission to their husbands through Nora's inability to adhere to the domestic role assigned to her. Male domination that limited women's self-determination is established in Torvald's condescending animal imagery, "my little lark... squirrel," reflecting the preconceived inferiority of Victorian women. This is reinforced in Ibsen's direction where Nora "plays with the buttons, without looking at him", where her childish frivolity reflects her submissive role in her relationship and demonstrates the patriarchal dominance of late 19th century society. Also, Torvald’s condescending language towards Nora, “Just like a woman!…you know how I feel about that. No debt! No loans!” exemplifies society's presumption regarding women's fiscal irresponsibility. The supposed dependence of women in this era is further summarized in the generalization of Mrs. Linde, Nora's friend, "A wife cannot takeloan without her husband's permission." Yet Nora transcends social expectations by “working and earning money. Almost like a man” to repay the loan, the simile indicates her subversion of traditional gender roles, which mirrors Porphyria in Browning's poem. The frenetic dance of the tarantella along with Ibsen's captions "[Nora's] hair falls out...she pays no attention" symbolize growing independence and reflect her desire to break free from society's expectations. Therefore, Ibsen condemns the suppression of female conduct and emphasizes the need to overcome restrictive patriarchal values ​​within society. Browning's dramatic monologue My Last Duchess also criticizes the constraints of society by examining the consequences of a female individual's subversion of social demands and hierarchy Woman's Property Act of 1882 allowed women to keep their possessions after divorce, subsequently exposing the façade of marriage as women abandoned their marital duties. The diminished importance of women is established through the personal pronoun “my last duchess painted on the wall,” where the artwork symbolizes the Duke's objectification of his late wife, undermining her existence to mere aesthetics. Through the parenthesis, “(for none lay aside/The curtain I drew for thee, save I),” Browning exemplifies the Duke's excessive arrogance towards his envoy when he presents his late wife as an object to validate his social status. The Duke's disapproval of his wife's metaphorical "point of joy... too soon made happy, too easily impressed" embodies his patriarchal condemnation of her innate brilliance, which violates the class boundaries that Victorian women were supposed to embody. Furthermore, Browning outlines the Duchess's undermining of the Duke's social position through symbolism in "She liked whatever she looked at, and her looks went everywhere", with the negative connotations foreshadowing her downfall. The truncated sentences: “This has grown; I gave orders” reflects the Duke's autocratic behavior and alludes to the dire consequences of the Duchess' failure to fulfill her role within the social hierarchy. Browning ends the monologue with a mythical allusion, "Notice Neptune, though, / Taming a seahorse," where the Roman god's dominion over a frail creature foreshadows the duke's authority over his next wife. Therefore, Browning condemns the repression of women in a conscious society through the repercussions of the Duchess's unorthodox behavior, and encourages greater female autonomy. However, unlike the duchess's submission in Browning's dramatic monologue, Ibsen denounces the fiction of marriage within a social hierarchy that suppresses autonomy and advocates a woman's subversion of domestic duties to strengthen her identity. While Nora's costume as a "little Capri fisherman" represents youth and sensuality, conventional for 19th century women, her direction of "dancing ever more wildly" symbolizes her desire for liberation from the marital façade. Nora's captions as she secretly "puts macaroons in her pocket and wipes her mouth" demonstrate her forbidden consumption of sweets which indicates her desire for independence within a restrictive marriage. Furthermore, Nora fulfills the fiction of her marriage, summarized in the symbolic “Change. No more fancy dress”, where the motif of clothing reveals the subversion of social expectations that lead to her power, unlike the duchess who is unable to free herself from social boundaries. Nora's epiphany that “I am there.