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Abstract
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Individuals spend a considerable amount of time in society, interacting with each other. These interactions can give directions to their thoughts and personalities. It is the society that determines the values and taboos. One of the dominant thoughts in the world is patriarchy. A community with equal rights for men and women can hardly be found. There is the least discrimination but there is not any “no discrimination”. Women, as long as they can remember, have been subjected to patriarch rules. Their reactions to patriarchy, and its effect on them, has been different, but it is obvious that it definitely has negative and destructive effects on women, and since women are a part of society, this destructiveness will be carried into the society. When patriarchy is experienced every day and everywhere, over time, it can be traumatizing. Today, trauma is not limited to sever accidents and disasters; even relationships can be traumatic, when they cause anxiety over and over again. It is the repetition of patriarchal attitudes that can be traumatic. Trauma does not always appear as nightmares or hysterias; sometimes trauma is losing identity and self-confidence, fear of start anew, and refusal to abandon one’s safe zone. The plays of Henrik Ibsen, A Doll’s House, Hedda Gabler, and Ghosts, represent women suffering from the patriarchy going on in their lives and society. Whether Ibsen is a feminist or not, it is not the case. What is obvious is that his plays are about women and their sufferings. It is impossible to study Ibsen without looking into women problems. Patriarchy runs deep in society and limits women and their abilities. Even today, when a woman gets a high position, she is discriminated against. When individuals’ fail to perform to their best capacity, they get surrounded by feelings of despair and depression, and in more severe cases, these feelings turn into trauma; as is the case in Ibsen’s plays. Nora, Hedda, and Mrs. Alving, all have the ability to be acc
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