Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt, was one of the most intelligent and intellectual women of all time. However, she could be noted as being one of the most self-centered women as well. Using her beauty and cleverness to woo Caesar and bare his child in order to regain her thrown, proves how far she and other women today, will go in order to boost their ego. Women, in the past and as well as today, will lie, cheat, and steal to gratify their selfishness. Many businesswomen, actresses, and models have gone to extreme measures - from performing sexual acts, to stealing someone's idea - to satisfy their greedy behaviors. Not all women have this character. It certainly is not limited to just women; men are subjects to this character as well. Henrik Ibsen's A Doll House, quite insipidly displays an image of a woman who is caught up in her own self-interest. Nora is deceptive with her husband and cares less of any other people she encounters.
In the beginning of the play, Nora demonstrates her selfishness to Mrs. Linde. "Today I don't want to be selfish. I want to think only of you today." Yet, in the same breath, she says, "But there is something I must tell you" (page 1573). And she goes on about her newfound wealth in her husband's promotion at a bank. In Nora and Mrs. Linde's case, Nora feels that she needs to display an achievement in her life to Mrs. Linde. It's difficult for her being that she is a mere housewife and mother, but knowing Mrs. Linde's difficult background, Nora feels that her life surpasses hers. .
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Again, Nora exhibits her egocentric character by dismissing Krogstad's favor in putting in a good word for him to her husband. Knowing the debt she owes to Krogstad and her own deceptive practice in getting a loan from him, she dismisses Krogstad's request. Nora's "trip to save my husband's life" (page 1584) is a personal satisfaction in showing to her select friends, how loving of a wife she is.
