In A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen, feminism and meninism show their opposition in the marriage between Torvald and Nora. Torvald’s male patriarchal role in his family clashes against Nora’s expected housewife role. Nora is put in a situation where she feels that it is necessary to put herself into a male role of being in the workforce. The one thing that is holding Nora back is Torvald’s belittlement and hostility towards women stepping out of line by wanting to take over men’s roles. Throughout the play, Nora transitions into an independent and strong woman through realizations of the true nature of her marriage with Torvald, despite the societal roles and exploitation of women in the 1870s.
Torvald’s first account of mistreatment towards Nora is when he uses discriminating names and a belittling attitude
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She opens up about her experience with Krogstad and how she borrowed money through him when her husband Torvald became very sick and needed to move to a warmer climate. They did not have the money so she had to borrow the money through Krogstad and ended up making a big hole that she could not recover from. Nora forged her father’s signature for the loan even though he was deceased. Krogstad then uses this information against her to blackmail her and make her secure his job at the bank. Nora now seems to be a very involved individual, but in a mess that she got herself in to. Nora then begins to think about her husband’s reaction if he were to find out. She painstakingly says “Besides-Torvald, with all his masculine pride- how painfully humiliating for him if he ever found out he was in debt to me” (1258). This quote ties back to the gender roles and feelings that Torvald and Nora have for each other. Nora seems to care about Torvald’s reputation while also fearing him and his reaction, even though she knows that Torvald likes to have control and do things his
Nora has not only caused problems for herself, but now for her marriage. Torvald soon comes to find out that Nora forged her father’s signature and that the money wasn’t just handed
(Ibsen Act 3; Page 179). Torvald will not even let Nora be around her own children anymore. Instead of just hearing Nora out and listening to what she has to say, he immediately crosses her out. All Torvald cares about is Nora's actions and not her reasoning for these actions, so much so that he dismisses her, to save his own image. Torvald repeatedly shows that he only cares about appearances and is willing to do anything to deceive others, as long as it means keeping a good
Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen was highly criticized for undeniably demonstrating woman’s issues in the 19th century. While the play doesn’t change setting much at all, Ibsen clearly focuses in on the characterization of three insightful characters: Mrs. Linde, Nora, and Helmer. Mrs. Linde is a minor character; however, that doesn’t alter her effect on the play. She provides the mold for the perfect, idealized wife. Nora, the main character, develops rapidly in the play, and her character is a stark contrast to Mrs. Linde.
Torvald tells her that Nora has a duty as a mother and a wife but Nora tells him that “she is an individual”, showing that she is finally putting herself on par with Torvald, and no longer allowing Torvald to control her, but instead she is trying to gain independence and liberation from social norms in order to break free from the “Doll’s House.” She tells him that she must leave him, because “for eight years [she’d] been living with a stranger”, emphasising how there was never any proper communication and mutual understanding between them, and hence no proper marriage, as she didn’t actually know what his true character was like up until that night, as she was convinced all along that Torvald would be the man to take everything upon
Henrik Ibsen has used the play A Doll’s House to highlight some of the social issues and cultural norms that existed during his time, a period when society was transforming to modernity. Ibsen used the characters of Torvald Helmer and his wife Nora Helmer to perfectly depict the historical and cultural norms of the society at the time, especially in the relationship between a husband and wife. The play begins with the depiction of a seemingly happy couple who are living a bourgeois life but as it unfolds, the Helmer’s marriage would later disintegrate after the expected social conventions are rejected. Ibsen, in his play A Doll’s House rejects social conventions of his time.
Not only is it taxing to hide the debt from Torvald, but also to pretend to be a flighty, careless doll for his amusement. Throughout the drama, Nora’s difficulty only grows. It culminates when Torvald receives a letter from Nora’s debtor, Krogstad. When he learns of what Nora had done, he becomes enraged and yells, “What a horrible awakening! All these eight years – she who was my joy and pride – a hypocrite, a liar – worse, worse – / a criminal!
Most critics around the world believe the play led to increase awareness on the need for women’s rights in all continents, on the other hand some critics opine that the play depicted women as inferior creatures and dolls who have no personality of their own. Nora Helmer the main character strives to achieve the perfect concepts of life set by the society and her husband. Nora is trapped in her home where her Torvald has built a wonderful life for his ‘doll wife’. Nora’s transformation comes when she discovers the role in doll house imposed on her by the society and her husband and she is desperate to free herself in order to discover her identity.
Along with Nora's father, Torvald saw the child that could potentially come to light from Nora. While conversing with her Torvald
Nora is a married woman and has children to take care of. She really has little freedom because of the way Torvald treats her. She is not even I feel as if deep down she knows she is not free and wants something more in her life then to be a entertaining puppet for Torvald. She realizes at the end of the story that Torvald is not good to her because of the way he acted when she told him about forging the signature. When Torvald called her a criminal and other harsh words she realized that she had no true love from Torvald and wanted to be free from him.
During act III, Nora asked to speak to Torvald after her performance of the tarantella dance. The following conversation demonstrated her quest for autonomy and freedom, as well as Torvald’s inadequate responses to her arguments and demands; it also showed how deeply connected her unhappy situation is with society’s regulation of the relationship between the sexes. She asserts that she is “...first and foremost a human being”, and her strong conviction that her womanhood, and the expectations associated with it, are secondary, strengthens her resolve to make a radical choice: A break with both husband and, with necessity due to her legal position, her children (Ibsen, 184). During her conversation with Torvald, she proclaims, “I have other sacred duties... The duties to myself (Ibsen, 184).”
Nora has spent all her life doing what her husband had told her. She has three kids that are looked after by the nursery, Anne-Marie. She didn’t want to spend more times with her kids, her opinion that they may grow and learn by themselves. Not only that, her attitude is more like a child in the house, because she could ask for
Torvald exhibits patriarchy in his relationship with Nora as he calls her pet names and controls her eating. Nora’s demeanor is ditzy, carefree
A Doll’s House: Character Comparison and Contrast Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House contains a cast of deeply complex characters that emulate the 1800’s societal norms that they belong to. Two characters that compare and contrast each other throughout the play are Nora Helmer and Kristine Linde. Nora and Kristine are similar because they both display a sense of independence. Their personalities differ as Nora presents herself as inexperienced, while Kristine is more grounded in reality.
In ACT 1 she waits for Torvalds approval until she can do anything. It may not seem like this while reading the story but Torvald controls everything about how Nora lives her life, even to the slightest thing, what she eats. He tells Nora that it is forbidden to eat the macarons because they will “spoil her teeth”. However, all he cares about is his reputation and how his family looks to the naked eye. This act shows how unequal their relationship is when it comes to the amount of power Nora and Torvald
In 1880s, women in America were trapped by their family because of the culture that they were living in. They loved their family and husband, but meanwhile, they had hard time suffering in same patterns that women in United States always had. With their limited rights, women hoped liberation from their family because they were entirely complaisant to their husband. Therefore, women were in conflicting directions by two compelling forces, their responsibility and pressure. In A Doll’s House, Ibsen uses metaphors of a doll’s house and irony conversation between Nora and Torvald to emphasize reality versus appearance in order to convey that the Victorian Era women were discriminated because of gender and forced to make irrational decision by inequity society.