Young girls always view life as a fairy tale; as one becomes a young woman, she finds the man of her dreams, has children, and is happy for the rest of her life knowing she has everything she has always wanted. This idea of a fairy tale life is driven into our heads by our parents and others, who teach us, as women, to be proper and cater to our husbands' every need. For some women, the idea of the "fairy tale" life is perfect, but for others, it is torture.
One is able to understand this concept by watching Jane Fonda, who played Nora in the 1973 movie, A Doll's House, directed by Joseph Losey and based on the 1879 play A Doll's House, written by Henrik Ibsen. The audience is able to see Nora slowly become more irritated by the lack of independence she possesses. Nora, as a child, grows up around mostly men, and is told what to do all her life. She is tired of not having any independence and eventually leaves. Jane plays an excellent Nora because she really understands how Nora feels in the situation. During the 1970's, people expressed equality for all and, being a woman who wanted independence, Jane could relate to Nora.
There was another movie entitled A Doll's House, directed by Patrick Garland, which came out in 1973 and starred Claire Bloom as Nora. Claire did not play Nora as well as Jane did. As a member of the audience, I can tell Claire did not feel as passionately as about the independence for Nora as Jane felt. Maybe it was because Claire was pushed out of the limelight by the strong and brilliant actor Anthony Hopkins, who played Torvald, Nora's husband, who was very controlling. Anthony dominated most scenes, and one felt as though Claire was afraid of Torvald even after she had gained her "independence."
In conclusion, Jane Fonda is able to carry out the need for independence better than Claire Bloom. Jane wants to break away from the fairy tale life and gain strength and power for herself. Jane did not want Nora to feel trapped and stuck in the doll's house Torvald had created for them. Jane was Nora and portrayed her very well.