19th Century Marriage Standards

Nora and Torvald have been married for a long time and they do their best to make sure they are happy. Nora loves Torvald very much and would do anything to

Nora and Torvald have both contributed to their marriage problems, not just one of them. Nora contributed to this problem because she is the one who initially forged the check, which was illegal. If she never would have done this, they these marriage problems many never have arose in these such extreme ways. Even though the problems about her forging the check may not have arose, there would have still been a lot of different issues present because Torvald is a very controlling husband and treated Nora as property, and not really as a wife that he loves and respects. Even though Nora had a part in these problems, Torvald is the most to blame for most of the marriage problems. This is because when Nora forged the check in order to save Trovalds life, he acted out in horrible, violent, and angry ways. Nora did

Henrik Ibsen's, A Doll's House is definitely a unique story written by a very intelligent, complicated writer. I believe he intentionally wrote the play in a manner which would lead every reader to draw his own conclusions. He forces us to find our own interpretation of the play in context with our personal lives and experiences with the opposite sex. The theme may be interpreted by many as a study of the moral laws that men and women are required to follow by nature. I believe it is primarily based on the gender stereotypes that determine the role of women in society.

A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, creates a peephole into the lives of a family in the Victorian Era. The play portrays a female viewpoint in a male-dominated society. The values of the society are described using the actions of a woman, Nora, who rebels against the injustices inflicted upon her gender. Women’s equality with men was not recognized by society in the late 1800’s. Rather, a woman was considered a doll, a child, and a servant. Nora’s alienation reveals society’s assumptions and values about gender.

   In his play, A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen depicts a female protagonist, Nora Helmer, who dares to defy her husband and forsake her "duty" as a wife and mother to seek out her individuality. A Doll's House challenges the patriarchal view held by most people at the time that a woman's place was in the home. Many women could relate to Nora's situation. Like Nora, they felt trapped by their husbands and their fathers; however, they believed that the rules of society prevented them from stepping out of the shadows of men. Through this play, Ibsen stresses the importance of women's individuality. A Doll's House combines realistic characters, fascinating imagery, explicit stage directions, and

Torvald had a view of how he thought his life should be lived, and it was not exactly in Nora’s favor. He believed that his reputation was a very important part of his life and Nora knew that and that is why she contemplated committing suicide before he found out about the loan. Nora did not want to hurt his social reputation. Nora lived for him; she never wanted to disappoint him or cause him any harm. Unfortunately, Torvald did not care near as greatly about Nora as she did for him. He treated her poorly, by constantly telling her that her actions were careless and that a disease was the cause. Also, Torvald was selfish and controlling. He never really said “we” when having a conversation with her it was all about him and how her actions

In the story “Doll House” Nora had been previously scolded by her husband and finally informed Torvald, “I’m saying we’ve never sat down seriously and got to the bottom of things” (936 MLM). Nora was done being treated as a child by Torvald. He shielded her from the world, like her father, and would never let her form an opinion stray from his own. He wouldn’t let her talk of the serious matters in life, from morality to simple decisions with money, that had to do with being her own person with her own mind. This led Nora to leave and find herself as Torvald would not let her just be with his grown instinct that love from a husband must have a controlling nature over the wife in the marriage, not an equality between the

     Through their everyday conversation, Nora and Torvald reveal that they have a relationship full of meaningless talk and games. “Is that my little squirrel rummaging around”, Torvald questions Nora. “Yes!” (1569) she answers, running up to Torvald like a puppy. Because of her childish attitude, Torvald must have assumed that Nora was always happy and carefree. What reason would there be for meaningful conversation if she never obliged? Their relationship consisted of nothing truly real. Everything they talked about or enjoyed together was fun, games, and for show. Often times Torvald would even scold Nora like he would a child and wave his finger in disapproval. “Surely my sweet tooth hasn’t been running riot in town today, has she?”(1571) Then, Nora would respond as a young child would face punishment, “You know I could never think of going against you.” Then Torvald responded, “No, I understand that; and you have given me your word” (1571). I believe much of their marriage was ruined by their childish behaviors and antics; never telling each other the truth, living lies, and playing foolish games with each other.

They are relatively distant and it actually seems to be more of a father-daughter relationship than a marriage. They are distant because they do not talk very much, and most of their conservations consist of events such as Nora asking to borrow some money from Torvald so she can shop, and Torvald scolding her for being a “spendthrift” (Ibsen 2). While they are seen as a trophy couple with Nora being beautiful and Torvald being a powerful banker, their relationship is actually rather superficial and fake. Torvald is very controlling, essentially acting as Nora’s puppeteer rather than a husband. This aspect of a wife living with her husband that acts as more of a servant or helper rather than an actual wife in a play that is meant to be relatable to the average person indicates how a woman’s role was to essentially be subservient to her

Throughout history, marriage has focused on one of two things: money or love. In court, dowries, land, and titles were given to men who married daughters of kings, dukes, or other high members of society. This tradition has continued for hundreds of years. However, in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, writers Kate Chopin and Edith Wharton decided to write about monetarily defined marriages and their corrupt qualities. Henry James, William Dean Howells, Wharton, and Chopin made up a few of the writers of the Realism period, which according to Donna Campbell at Washington State University is the “faithful representation of reality…” that “denotes the representation of middle class life.” This definition fits well with

In the beginning of the play, Nora was a typical housewife for that time. She would obey her husband and never challenge him.Torvald her husband provides for her and the family, Nora doesn’t have to work she depends completely on her husband and enjoys spending his money on gifts and cloths. Because of that Nora lives to serve her husband even though he constantly belittles her and treats her like a little child that is very inferior to him. He calls her pet names like when he said in the first act “where’s my little squirrel”. Names like these may seem sweet but actually show how inferior and small he sees her.Torvald enjoys being the strong man that provides for his family and when Nora asks him for money or when he gives her money it feeds

Torvald’s wife Nora is the center of several of the traits that classify him as a morally ambiguous character. Nora is more like a possession to Torvald than a soul mate or wife. She is like a doll to him, something that he can control and shape into what he wants. Nora is treated like a child and as if she can not function a second without him to be there to tell her what to do. Her dependency on him is extremely important to him because that is

Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House was written in 1879----. 19th-century marriage norms and society’s expectations of women. It is the story of a woman’s realization that the husband she has devoted her life to is not the man she thought he was and therefore realizing that she is not the woman she pretended to be. Prior to this change the woman is treated like a pet by her husband and ____. Ibsen’s play ______.

    A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen, was written during a time when the role of woman was that of comforter, helper, and supporter of man. The play generated great controversy due to the fact that it featured a female protagonist seeking individuality.   A Doll's House was one of the first plays to introduce woman as having her own purposes and goals. The heroine, Nora Helmer, progresses during the course of the play eventually to realize that she must discontinue the role of a doll and seek out her individuality. David Thomas describes the initial image of Nora as "that of a doll wife who revels in the thought of luxuries that can now be afforded, who is become with flirtation, and engages

A Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen first published “A doll’s house “ in 1879. In this play Ibsen distinguished the state of marriage, believing that it was possible for two people to travel through life as perfect, happy equals. A Doll 's House is a three act play about a seemingly typical housewife who becomes disillusioned and dissatisfied with her superior husband.