The play is considered by as a feminist work as it illustrates the erroneous treatment of women. Ibsen believes that women had a right to
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. Henrik Ibsen shows that Nora is basically trapped in this house with Torvald with no freedom if she does not leave him.
Since the dawn of time, a person 's gender has been an essential component of determining what roles each gender is to assume in life. Woman have frequently been viewed as the submissive or weaker gender, only to be useful in the home, who are not capable of making it in a man 's world, who are not allowed the same rights and privileges as their male counterparts. Men, on the other hand, have always been viewed as the dominant or stronger gender, the one who’s job it is to be the provider, the one who makes all the important decisions for his family. In Henrik Ibsen 's A Doll 's House, these assumed gender positions are upheld to the highest degree throughout the majority of the play, and not dismantled until the pivotal ending when Nora makes her stance on this lifestyle very clear.
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
Nora’s defiance may have resulted in criticism from society, but Ibsen importantly commented on the terrible treatment of woman in relationships and the world. Ibsen created A Doll’s House in a time where women were treated unjustly and poorly. While the play might seem slightly irrelevant now, it still has a place in the world today. Women can borrow money and leave their husbands; however, society still puts tremendous pressure on women to fulfill sacred vows. The expectation to assure her husband’s happiness and to prioritize everyone else before herself is still an issue that many woman face today. Women with Post-Partum Depression are often degraded as mothers, women who work are often judged, and women who choose not to have children at all are criticized. While woman’s rights have indeed come a long way from the expectation of a 19th-century woman, there is still inequality. A Doll House is still relevant today because many women face the same issues he presented, and until the genders are truly equal, it will stay
Nora begins the play as a childlike character who is always happy and grateful; only afterwards we find out that she has a big secret that adds more maturity to the character. In a way, she shows us the span of life; you begin as a child and mature, as secrets get heavier which then causes you to figure out your personality. Nora has been manipulated, has manipulated throughout the play. The whole play was about her actions and consequences. This book shows the readers what it means to grow
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).” Her existential choice seems to be forced upon her by society, but in adopting her husband‘s and society’s language, so often used to contain in control women, she now speaks of her duties towards herself, even sacred ones. In a radical refusal to stick to inherited notions of women’s role in family and society, Nora rejects the other identities available to her, both as a doll and as self-sacrificing wife and mother, and of her husband’s pet names for
I can 't dance to-morrow if I don 't rehearse with you first! Let me rehearse at once. We have time before dinner. Oh, do sit down and play for me, Torvald dear; direct me and put me right, as you used to do (Ibsen 30 & 31). Nora was able to prevent Torvald from seeing the letters for a bit of time by using the tarantella to her benefit. This reinforces the idea Torvald values Nora for her intangible and superficial qualities such as her beauty more than anything. Another symbol that is seen throughout the novel is the macaroons playing the role of the “forbidden fruit.” It seemed as though the macaroons symbolize a main theme in the play which was temptation and deceit. In act 1, Torvald was questioning Nora about her eating the macaroons highlighting the parent a child aspect of their relationship. “Torvald: Hasn 't she even nibbled a macaroon or two? NORA. No, Torvald, indeed, indeed!”(Ibsen 3). This quote displays how Nora was literally pleading to Torvald that she wasn’t eating the forbidden fruit (the macarons) because she feared getting into a sort of trouble with Torvald, further intensifying the parent and child aspect. Taking the play’s title into perspective: “A Doll’s House” literally, and perfectly describes Nora’s life which is basically a doll’s house. Nora is living under Torvald’s roof and everything she does is decided and controlled by him. Nora acts how Torvald has primed her to, she stays out of his business, and as a reader of the book, it seems as though he sees her solely for her physical appearance, and their attraction is only physical, which could have contributed to the fall of their
The reader becomes very aware of the situation Nora is faced with as Ibsen challenges us to think about the societal times women were a part of during the late 1800’s. As Unni Langas states in her article describing gender within the play, “..this drama is not so much about Nora’s struggle to find herself as a human being, as it is about her shocking experience of being treated as a woman..” (Langas, 2005). This gives the reader an insight into Nora Helmer’s character. She is evidently perceived as the Doll trapped in the Doll house, as she is viewed as an entertainer rather than her own person in the eyes of her husband and children. The representation of the doll is symbolically significant as Nora is compared to a beautiful feminine figure, being the doll, but also someone who is treated as a toy and as someone who is disrespected. An example of Torvald’s thoughts about Nora is clear in Act three as a conversation between the pair highlights his true feelings towards his wife, “Torvald: It's shocking. This is how you would neglect your most sacred duties. Nora: What do you consider my most sacred duties? Torvald: Do I need to tell you that? Are they not your duties to your husband and your children? Nora: I have other duties just as sacred. Torvald: That you have not. What duties could those be?” (Ibsen, Act three). This exemplifies the degrading
Feminist ideas were abound across Europe in the nineteenth century. Activists like Mary Wollstonecraft and Anna Wheeler fought for women’s rights. "A Doll 's House", is a play by Henrik Ibsen. “A Doll 's House” by Henrik Ibsen represents the first signs of the rise of feminism. The play reflects his social, economic and political views of women 's setting free in his time. In this play, Ibsen makes many hints about the roles of society and how the female gender was treated at the time. Feminism is a social
Torvald perpetuates aids to Nora’s doll-like personality, by calling her pet-names: “Come, come, my little skylark must not droop her wings” (Ibsen 5). Nora follows Torvald around in a submissive manner. Calling her “little skylark” and “little squirrel,” Torvald degrades her as both a woman and a human. The word “little” is also frequently used before the pet names to illustrate how Torvald does not see Nora as equal; rather, Nora is his property or possession, similarly to how a child looks after his or hers doll. Not only does Torvald call her pet names, but he also controls what she eats. Nora eats one or two macaroons before she hears Torvald in the other room and hastily puts them away. The stage directions states, “[Nora] puts the bag of macaroons into her pocket and wipes her mouth” (Ibsen 4). Nora is depicted as secretive as she hides the macaroons, demonstrating Torvalds superiority as he tells her what she can and can not do. Torvald explains, “Hasn’t Miss Sweet Tooth been breaking rules in town today?” Nora replies, “No; what makes you think that?” (Ibsen 7). Torvald questions Nora, as a father would, while Nora lies, like a child. Although, Nora and Torvald are married,
During the victorian times women were to be oppressed by their husbands. They had no legal rights. Women were not considered to be equal to men. Women were not allowed to do many things such as partake in politics and have control over men. Their only importance was to cook, clean birth babies and support their husbands quietly. It was socially accepted that women were to be totally subordinate to the men in there family. Women in this time period did not have her own identity, she was under the ruling of her husband. In the drama A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, The character Nora Helmer uses her relationships with her husband and friends to show characteristics of Feminism in her true identity during
The play ‘A Doll’s house’ is a three act play written by Henrik Ibsen. - BLABLA BLA-. The story, however could be interpreted differently by different readers greatly depending on their cultural context. In this essay will be discussed how a Freudian and a Feminist reader might interpret the plot, the character relations and the ending differently.
Nora is a character that will do everything that somebody tells her, she is kind of submissive regarding what Torvald says. She has to mention him at least once while she’s talking about anything, but she does have some petty forms of rebellion, like the macaroons. A larger way of her rebelling would be when she pays for the trip so that Torvald can get better. She is viewed as a child by Mrs. Linde, Christine, and is treated like one by Torvald and it seems almost like they look down on her because she is a woman and she is completely dependent on her husband. Her character, at this point, has no backbone; she is completely captivated by this life in which she perceives as
Nora realizes she and the life she has been living has been a complete construct of the way society expects her to be. Nora is Torvald’s doll and her life has not amounted to anything more than making sure he and the world around her is happy. The result of the inequalities she is faced with results in Nora being completely unhappy. Torvald fails to recognize everything that Nora does to ensure his happiness. While, Nora