Medea, in 'Medea', and Nora, in 'A Doll's House', are both women who seem to suffer badly at the hands of their husbands in two male-dominated societies; the former in ancient Greece, the latter in nineteenth century Norway. Each does something important for her husband involving personal sacrifice, for which she expects certain treatment in return, but when this is not forthcoming, how do they react? Do they accept the roles of conventional wives, demure and weak? Or do they rebel and behave unconventionally?
Medea's culture dictated that women had almost no rights, and were regarded as l…
