In both Raise the Red Lantern, by Zhang Yi Mou, and A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen, it is clear that women have expectations which they are to live by. In A Doll's House, Torvald shows that Nora is a product of society by saying, "Nora, Nora how like a woman." After living a life in costume, Nora finally decides to discover who she really is. In Raise the Red Lantern, Songlian is forced into a way of life she does not want to live and therefore goes insane.

Nora and Songlian are both prisoners of their cultural environments, in which they wish to break free from. Nora is trapped in a culture in which her gender holds her back. She has always been told what to do by male figures in her life, whether it is her father or husband. In her household her only duties...