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Nora And Anti-Feminism In Henrik Ibsen's A Doll

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Nora is now, a free woman. Nora has been living all her life under the thumb of a man. She didn’t have much freedom or independence. This play can be viewed in two perspectives, an anti-feminist one and a feminist one. The feminist approach is used while looking at Nora and Mrs. Linde. Nora becomes a free woman and Mrs. Linde shows how a woman doesn’t need a man. Nora is considered a free and independent woman since she finally stood up to her husband. She decided that she should take charge of what she wants, not by words but by action. She does so by leaving the house. Also, she expresses her opinions and thoughts to Torvald for the first time without worrying what he might think because she wants to be on her own without being …show more content…

Just by looking at the title, Nora is portrayed as a doll since her husband treated her as if she were one. Nora wanted this to change and she decided she wanted to do something about it due to the fact that the society at the time was a male dominant one. Nora at first, used to listen to her husband and she didn’t stand up for herself. She strives to accomplish the ideal image that is set by the society and her husband. Nora is considered really different from the other female characters in “A Dollhouse”. Nora is caught in that house, physically. Torvald created a perfect life for his doll wife and children, which Nora can’t stand and wants to leave this house any second she can because she feels oppressed by her husband. Nora Helmer had nicknames given by her husband such as “squirrel” or “little skylark” and he thought that all her thoughts are silly and common to all other women’s thoughts. To add, her father referred to her as the “other” and handed her to Torvald who treated her like a possession or an object. Towards the end of the play, Nora tells her husband that her father used to play with her like a doll, the same way she played with her dolls, and made his opinions become her opinions. She then says that after her father handed

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