During the late nineteenth century, women were beginning to break out from the usual molds. Two authors from that time period wrote two separate but very similar pieces of literature. Henrik Ibsen wrote the play A Doll"s House, and Thomas Hardy wrote Tess of the D"Urbervilles. Ibsen and Hardy both use the male characters to contrast with their female counterparts to illustrate how women are stronger by following their hearts instead of their minds. Ibsen uses Torvald, to depict a world where men choose to follow their minds in place of their hearts. Ibsen has Torvald believe that he is...
principles. Angel "overlooked what [Tess] was, and forgot the defective can be more than the entire."282 Angel forgets that he still loves Tess because he has become a slave to his thoughts and ideas. Hardy suggests that when man follows his mind, it leads him astray, but when following his heart he will never miss the path to happiness and fulfillment. Both Ibsen and Hardy portray a time period where men follow their minds and society, their heart is solely for the pumping of blood, and their word is only as good as far as you can throw it.