The Awakening vs. A Doll's House Just because a novel is considered a classic doesn't mean the messages it conveys to its readers are correct. Even though both The Awakening by Kate Chopin and A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen are great literary works, some of the ideas embodied in them aren't appropriate. Both works suggest that it is common for husbands to be condescending to their wives; that if a person has enough money, they can have someone else raise their children for them; and that if a marriage gets hard, the couple should just give up on each other. Taking the stories for their lite