Ibsen's "A Doll's House" & Seetharam's "Meera Madhava Raghava"

Nora, in Ibsen's iconic feminist play, is treated as a doll by her husband Torvald & not as a human being with her own personality. When she commits a questionable deed, namely forgery, to save him, he verbally disowns her. When she solves the problem on her own, he is delighted to welcome her back, not for her own self, but because she has saved his skin. Disgusted at his selfishness, she leaves his home.

Noted Kannada director T. N. Seetharam's 2007 film, loosely follows Ibsen's play, with Meera reprising Nora & Madhava reprising Torvald. Here also Meera commits forgery to help Madhava & he reacts in the same way as Torvald & threatens divorce. However, Raghava, a gangster also loves Meera, even though she marries Madhava, a bureaurocrat. Even when Meera accidentally shoots Raghava, (who is in possession of the forged letter) in the  Kannada film, he forgives her & returns the letter. Madhava, however, is delighted more with the return of the letter, than sorry for the anguish he has caused Meera. Disgusted at his selfishness, Meera leaves home, not to marry Raghava, but to live alone like Nora. 

The film, though a critical success, was not a box-office hit, may be because of audiences  not mature enough to like the ending.

Women leaving seclusion depicted in films

The two films studied are Ray's "Ghare Baire" (1984) & Kasaravalli's "Thayi Saheba" (1997). Both are set during the period of the struggle for India's Independence. Both Bimala of "Ghare Baire" & Narmada (Thayi Saheba) are shown leading cloistered lives at the start of the films. 

In the case of Bimala, her husband Nikhil himself leads her emancipation from Home  (Ghare) to the outer world (Baire), presumbly to give her greater independence of choice.  But she is overcome by the charm of Sandip, an opportunist masquerading as a Nationalist & falls in love with him. So in a twist of fate reminiscent of "The Tale of Foolish Curiosity" in "Don Quixote", Nikhil invites death upon himself & dishonour to the family, as pointed out by the anguished widowed sister-in-law of Nikhil, who also lives with the family.

In a striking contrast, Narmada (Thayi Saheba), a matriarchal figure, living a sequestered life & running the household of her husband Appa Saheba, leaves her home only to search for her husband, who is imprisoned (for fighting for farmers rights) in a place undisclosed to her. But because of adoption & other complicated family matters, she sacrifices herself to a prison term to save the people she loves.

To conclude, both Bimala & Narmada came out from their homes, one for selfish & the other for unselfish reasons. But both found only unhappiness.

King Arthur's Round Table & End of Hierarchy

Even though the ancient Romans had democracy wherein consuls were elected to the Senate, England was still a feudal monarchy, where birth & wealth determined a person's status in society. King Arthur's Round Table, mentioned first in Wace of Jersey's "Roman de brut" (1155), ensured that none of the King's barons could claim precedence over the others, as in the case of a rectangular table, which had a head & bottom, and had people seated on the two long sides according to precedence.

If this was the first attempt to reduce the impact of hierarchy, it led to the logical conclusion of completely destroying all privilege, ironically conceived in the hallowed portals of the British Museum. Yes, Karl Marx developed his monumental work "Das Kapital" in London. Interestingly, his mother, Henriette, was a Dutch Jew, whose family later founded the (now) multinational Philips Electronics! In one giant leap of sociological vision, Marx elevated the workers from their sub-altern state to being the kingpins of the "Dictatorship of the Proletariat." Now a large portion of the human race are living in two giant nations built on Marxist philosophy.

Cinderella & The Inn of Sixth Happiness

In the classic German Grimm's tale of Cinderella, she is neglected by her father &  treated as a  drudge by her step-sisters. When there is a ball at the palace, she is left at home but a kind fairy makes it possible for her to attend the ball suitably attired. But she has to return at midnight & she leaves in a hurry. The crucial point is her small feet, which could fit into the tiny golden shoes specially created for her. To locate her, the prince craftily makes her lose one shoe, which he uses to identify her. Her two step-sisters even cut off their big toe & heel respectively to fit the shoe, but are discovered. 

In the film "The Inn of Sixth Happiness", the character played by Ingrid Berman wants to go as a missionary to China but lacks the needed qualification. But anyhow she goes on her own & after many travails, secures the post of "Foot Inspector." At that time in China, the hallmark of beauty in women was small feet. So girls' feet were bound from infancy to prevent their normal growth. Though the government prohibited this unhealthy practice & appointed "Foot Inspectors" to enforce it, they, being men, were chased out if they tried to inspect. So Ingrid got the job & because of her friendly nature became popular.

So, whether in German folk tales or Chinese society, the hallmark of beauty was the same! In modern times also, in the name of fashion, high heeled shoes are voluntarily worn by women, even though they are uncomfortable.  Many women feel that misogynistic men may  have created this fashion!