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A Doll House Meninism

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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 …show more content…

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

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