A Doll’s House: Individual freedom of Nora
Individual freedom is a fundamental theme of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Through the character of Nora Ibsen shows the necessity of individual freedom. Without it one can’t flourish oneself and establish oneself as equal partner with other (Nora – Helmer relationship). The protagonist, Nora always wants to be an independent person. Though she got her success, she paid a good price for herself liberty. The present paper investigates and discusses how Nora led her life before achieving her self-liberty and her passion for individual freedom.
Life of Nora before her revolution:
Actually Nora is literally trapped in Torvald’s family. She hasn’t been happy in her marriage, living as a “doll-wife” for Torvald. They never have any serious conversations. As Helmer’s wife, she is expected to obey his wishes. Even she suppresses her desire to please him. Helmer forbids her to have macaroons though this conflicts with her freedom. Helmer wants to keep her wife attractive. She had to obey Helmer which took place during the fancy dress party. She wants to stay at the party and enjoys herself but Helmer forces her to go back home early after tarantella dance. Actually Helmer’s motive was to sex with her. Thus he controls her life. When Nora refused, he reacted with the word won’t! won’t! He reminds her duty as a wife. The repetition of the word “won’t” shows his anger. In this way she was treated by her husband. Helmer expects to be obeyed
In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, Nora Helmer is a traditional “angel in the house” she is a human being, but first and foremost a wife and a mother who is devoted to the care of her children, and the happiness of her husband. The play is influenced by the Victorian time period when the division of men and women was evident, and each gender had their own role to conform to. Ibsen’s views on these entrenched values is what lead to the A Doll’s House becoming so controversial as the main overarching theme of A Doll’s House is the fight for independence in an otherwise patriarchal society. This theme draws attention to how women are capable in their own rights, yet do not govern their own lives due to the lack of legal entitlement and
Even though Helmer controls her a lot, there are times where she seem to not be bothered by his control. Not only is she submissive but she is also very manipulative. Nora uses her sexuality to get what she wants from Helmer because she knows it's the only thing that she has to gain power over Helmer's ego. She would flirt, lie and touch Helmer to get him to approve on things that she wants. When Helmer asked what Nora would like to have, she fumbled his coat button and said hurriedly "You could give me money, Torvald. No more than you think you can spare; then one of these days I'll buy something with it."(45). This shows how Nora acts toward Helmer when she wanted something from him. With Helmer, she is forced to show sexual appeal toward him because she is a woman because that's the only thing that she can do in order to get a reaction out of him. Another scene where this happens is when Nora was leaning on his chair, stroking the nape of his neck in order to get him to give back Krogstad position to him so he wouldn't reveal the secret of her borrowing money. She knows the position that she stand when it comes to Helmer. Even if her beauty is something that can manipulate him, it won't last forever like the control that Helmer has over her. Helmer’s reputation and him being a man isn't something that can easily be destroyed unlike her physical
In Henrik Ibesen's play A Doll House, Nora Helmer struggles with telling her husband, Torvald Helmer, the truth about a loan she receives for them to go to Italy when he was sick. Consequently, when Torvald learns of the news he instantly insults Nora and declares that she has "ruined [his] happiness" (Ibesen 93). However, when Torvald tries to dismiss his insults after receiving a note that her contract was revoked, she does not accept his apologizes and decides to leave Torvald and her children to "make sense of [her]self and everything around [her]" (Ibesen 100). Her selfish decision to leave makes her a bad wife and mother, but she there are a few more characteristics that makes her a bad wife. The characteristics that Nora shows in
Nora’s second rebellion was when she left Torvald and her children. The society she lived in demanded that she should submit to her husband and that she should take a place under him. Society considered women to be property of their husbands and that they should fulfil their every command. When Krogstad tries to blackmail Nora, and Torvald didn’t even support her she realized that there was a problem. Then finally when Torvald realizes that his social stature will not be harmed he displays his real feeling for Nora, both physically and emotionally. It is at this time when Nora decides that she doesn’t want to be controlled by Torvald anymore and she told him that she was going to leave him. By leaving Torvald she is not only shutting him out but also forgetting everything in her past. When Torvald tries to reconcile with her she explains that all her life she was treated like a child. And how she was "always merry, never happy", she never got to make any decisions on her own. Then she explains to him how she
When the door slams at the end of “A Doll’s House” by Henry Ibsen, No one would not believe the woman walking out of her house is the same one who appeared at the beginning of the play. The main character in this play is Nora. Nora goes through a complete transformation, changing from a child like and dependant woman to a self strong woman pushing to become independent. Ibsen portrays the roles of society in the Victorian times in this play. Throughout her whole life, Nora’s husband and father have always controlled her; she has never been able to be independent, and the treatment she receives is not equal to the males around her, and the people around her belittle and patronize her to no end. Finally it goes too far and Nora realizes
Ibsen’s character Nora in A Doll’s House, shows gradual development throughout the play to support his theme that above all else, you are human; even in marriage both parties should be given the equal opportunities, rights and respect. While Nora may at first seem happy with her life inside her “doll house”, she begins to recognize that she must find herself, and stop being a toy in the lives of men.
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.
In the play “A Doll’s House” Henrik Ibsen introduces us to Nora Helmer and shows us how spontanesly her design of the ideal life can change when a secret of her is revealed. Nora’s husbands promotion to Manager of the town Bank, leaves her convince she will be living a wonderful life; stress and worry free. However, Nora’s idea of a wonderful life is completely changed when her long-kept secret is revealed.
Nora is a character who undergoes radical change over the course of the play. Initalay introduced to us in Act One as a playful housewife who is faithful and submissive Nora State “I would never dream of doing anything you didn’t want me to.” (Act 1) This shows some of the gender dynamics of marriages in the 19th century and also assists in portraying Nora’s husband Torvalds hold over her independent thought. Torvald calls Nora by pet names his "little squirrel," his "little lark," and, worst of all, a "featherhead," Nora shows no reaction to this behavior (1.5-1.16). Nora seems quite innocent and childlike in her behavior treating this as terms of endearment rather than insulting due his refusal to treat her as an equal. Her husband Torvald chides her for her reckless indulgences with their finances but little does he know she is carrying a secret. There is tension building between Nora and her husband as it comes to head.There is a clear acknowledgment here that both Nora and Helmer have been blinded by their self-theatricalizing fantasies. Without letting Helmer off the hook, Nora acknowledges that she
In A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen focuses on the importance of women's roles and freedom in society. Widely regarded as a feminist paean, the play features two major female characters; the most prominent of whom, Nora Helmer, shatters her position as a subservient, doll-like female when she walks out on her husband and children with a flagrant "door slam heard round the world." Nora’s evolution, though inspiring, should not overshadow another crucial woman in the play: Mrs. Kristine Linde. Both women attain freedom in a society dominated by the adherence to conservative marital roles, but do it in different ways. While Nora reaches her consciousness and slams the door on her shackling domicile, Mrs.
Investigation of Power in Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’ Nora Helmer is introduced in Act I as a character subjugated to the wills and desires of her husband; she is merely an object which Torvald, possesses. At the conclusion of Act III however, she has become sufficiently independent to arrive at her decision to leave the children, her husband and what life she had behind, as she slams the door on the family home. A significant transition of power has occurred and this is one of the major themes that Ibsen raises in his dramatic text ‘A Doll’s House.’ However, in examining the underlying issue of power presented by the text, one cannot simply look at the plight of Nora’s character, three major aspects of this theme need also to be
In “A Doll’s House,” Ibsen presents us with the drama of Torvald and Nora Helmer, a husband and wife who have been married for eight years and whose lives are controlled by the society in which they live. Their relationship, although seemingly happy, is marred by the constraints of social attitudes around them and their perceived gender roles. Creating even more conflict is the thin veil of deceit between them, which inevitably breaks them apart.
Once read a Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, myself was really impressed how Ibsen embraces women equality and power in society, conveying in a general theme of freedom in social life. This play was written in 1879 furthermore it aroused great controversy at that time. Many analysis about this book, locates the spotlight on to Mrs. Nora, which her main role concludes on her leaving his husband and kids completely defying the rules of society in that time. However people and critics reduce the importance of other characters in the play, in this case Mrs. Kristine Linde. While Mrs. Linde appears like a minor character and with a slight role in Nora’s transformation, she may have a fundamental part in Nora’s conversion in the play. Nora and Mrs. Linde move in opposite paths throughout the play. Mrs. Linde or Christine, starts as being a independent women not having any family obligations; On the other hand Nora has a devoted husband and several children. Whereas Mrs. Linde had a very problematic past, Nora has had it relatively easy. So, how did Mrs. Linde affected Nora’s transformation.
Henrik Ibsen wrote the play A Doll’s House in 1879. In the play Ibsen describes how the society trapped women in marriages and how they carry no value to the family. Just like Stasz Clarice writes “Society, particularly through social class, structures men and women alike to be insensitive and inhumane.” Nora Helmer is apparently happily married to Torvald, he is a lawyer who is about to be promoted to a management position. They have three small children. Early in their marriage Torvald became seriously ill, and the doctors advised a stay in a more southerly climate. Nora had to get hold of the money for the journey in secrecy and so borrowed it from Krogstad, a lawyer who had been a coworker of Torvald. As security for the loan she forged her dying father’s signature. Ever since then she has saved some of the housekeeping money in order to pay back the loan with interest, and she has taken on small jobs to earn some money herself. When the play opens, an old friend of Nora’s, Mrs. Linde, has arrived in town to look for work, and Nora sees to it that Torvald gives her a post at the bank. But this means that Krogstad is dismissed from his post at the bank, and in desperation he goes to Nora and threatens to tell Torvald about the loan and the forgery unless he is allowed to keep his post. Nora considers asking Dr. Rank, an old friend of the family, for the money, but when he declares his love for her, she finds it impossible
For the most part of the play, “A Doll's House” by Henrik Ibsen, shows true relation with oppression and emancipation. The life for Nora with her husband Torvald, is like a daycare for a