A Doll's House Gender Roles Essay

Nora is introduced as a housewife who believes the true meaning of marriage revolving around obedience. She demonstrates the true definition of a respectful daughter, a faithful and obedient wife, and a dependable mother. It wasn’t unusual for Torvald to throw his weight around towards Nora. He attempts to limit her macaroon intake “Hasn’t nibbled some pastry,” (Ibsen 788) she replies, “You know I could never think of going against you” (Ibsen 788). In the eyes of Nora, he is considered a confident, powerful, and successful businessman since he is receiving a promotion as a bank manager after the New Year. Torvald’s sense of marriage can be summed up that he is the king of the castle “This is the way it should be my darling Nora. What-ever comes, you’ll see: when it really counts, I have strength and courage enough as a man to take the whole weight myself” (Ibsen 814). Torvald’s view is she is just a “doll” in his doll house. To him, it was important to stress there was no such thing as equality in their partnership, he

From this cause, Mrs. Linde had the same burdensome experience that Nora had to face. The two characters also have the characteristic of the desire for independence. While Nora found a way to "save her husband's life," by taking him to rest in the south, Mrs. Linde had to take over the responsibilities of running a household. These women must have had a horrible time surviving since they were both so dependent on their husbands. Another similarity is that Nora and Mrs. Linde appeared to be significantly weak, when inside they were stronger than their husbands were described to be. Nora demonstrates this at the end of the play when she decides to leave her family and "grow up."

Nora is trapped in her own house, in her own society as being a woman and the role they have. "I shall not allow you to bring up the children; I dare not trust them to you" (line 242). Torvald says to be own wife, taking away her most prized possession and the ones she loves the most and since she's a woman and Torvald is the man of the house, he is allowed to do it. One of Nora's friends, Mrs. Linden just married a man who recently passed away just for the money because women in that time aren't allowed to own the money that the family brings in, thinking Mrs. Linden would get all the money she got nothing. Then she meets Mr. Krogstad again and she's willing to sell her body once again for money and a way of living. "What a difference! Someone to work for and live for--a home to bring comfort into" (line 84). The book is complete brilliance, it shows that women are imprisoned inside their homes how Mrs. Linden has willing played a large part in this role towards the end of the

Linde, sharing their lives together would be their saving grace, and the matter between Krogstad and Nora seemed solved. At the beginning of the story, Krogstad had muddled through a morass of others' disdain but has found someone who will accept him including what he has done. Mrs. Linde assures him in that she is committed to him because of his true essence regardless of his past transgressions (Doll Act 3). Krogstad's character develops immensely during this single scene, leaving his antagonistic role behind. In relation to earlier events, the main conflict had seemingly been avoided and the anticlimactic resolution was flawless.

The play also does suggest that women should leave their controlling husbands or lovers in order to gain the independence they are seeking. Nora’s husband Torvald plays the dominant role in their relationship. Torvald often would degrade Nora by calling her “silly girl” referring to her not being able to make decisions on her own, so he thought. Nora plays the role of a loving mother and respectful wife, whom is all about her family. “I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald. That’s how I’ve survived.

He surely believes that love could have prevented the lifestyle he lives and can change his future self; Krogstad even asks her is she knows of his past life and he implies that “with [Mrs. Linde] [he] might have been quite another man” (Ibsen 268). In this society, men commonly work to provide for their wives but in their circumstances Mrs. Linde truly wants a relationship that gives her “something and someone to work for” and she wants to be a “mother to someone” portraying the equality their relationship has compared to others in the play (Ibsen 268). This shows that Mrs. Linde and Torvald genuinely love one another and there is a mutual respect in their relationship. Specifically, without Krogstad Mrs. Linde says she is a “shipwrecked woman clinging to some wreckage---no one to mourn for, no one to care for” showing her dependence on Krogstad to make her happy (Ibsen 267). The wreckage of their previous relationship has shaped who the now

In an attempt to save her husband Torvald’s life, Nora borrowed money from the bank, which was forbidden for women to do without their husband’s consent in this 19th century time period. Nora did not agree with societies views of the roles of men and women. She felt like she was being forced to give up some of her self respect each time she had to pretend she needed her husband’s help in every decision that had to be made in their lives. She had to downplay her knowledge of business and many times she would act silly, even childlike in order to conform to what society expected her to be. This would take its toll on Nora, for she wanted more for her life than to be an obedient wife and

Mrs. Linde was not as privileged as Nora was--she had to accept responsibility and work hard for her money. Mrs. Linde's acceptance of responsibility draws attention to Nora's abandonment of her father. When her father was sick, she chose to spend all of her time caring for her husband and waiting for the arrival of her child, then to find any time to go and visit him. Nora did whatever she could to raise money to go on a trip to save Torvald's life and did not think once about visiting her dying father. During the friend's conversation, it was actually Mrs. Linde that brought up her father. When Nora was discussing how difficult it was to get away and go to Italy, because she had just had her child, she failed to mention that her father had passed away during that time and could have contributed to the difficult timing. Mrs. Linde is the one who had brought up the death of Nora's father in the conversation, in which Nora replied "yes...wasn't it dreadful, I couldn't go look after him. I was expecting little Ivar any day. And then I had my poor Torvald to care for--we really didn't think he'd live. Dear, kind Papa! I never saw him again", (Ibsen, 374). Mrs. Linde's priority was taking care of her mother; Nora's priority was raising money to take her husband on a trip to care for him while completely abandoning her father. Mrs. Linde's responsible actions exaggerate Nora's irresponsibility and neglect.

     A Dolls House represents a women’s marital life from many years ago. The central theme of this play is Nora’’s rebellion against society and everything that was expected of her. Nora shows this by breaking away from all the standards and expectations her husband and society had set up for her. Women were not considered of importance to their husbands and that made women feel like in a “dolls house”, such as with Nora and her husband Helmer. In her time women were not supposed to be independent. They were to support their husbands, take care of the children, cook, clean, and make everything perfect around the house. Nora had two main rebellions; her taking out the loan, and when she left

Nora starts off the play essentially as Torvalds toy. She is obedient, she is cute, she rarely goes against his wishes, and she is nothing without her “owner”, Torvald. The reader, however, discovers early on that all is not what it seems to be. Nora is actually a very rebellious woman who enjoys going against Torvald’s wishes. There are scenarios where she does this out of the sheer enjoyment she gets. Nora loves macaroons.

When the audience is presented to Mrs. Linde, she seems to be quite a contrast to the childish Nora. Nora is presented as a immature and insecure women. Mrs. Linde is a harsh and wise woman. This character has been through a lot of hard

Nora is able to get Kristine employment at the bank, now that Torvald is manager, and thanks Nora. Kristine doesn’t know, however, that the job that she is taking at the bank belongs to Nils. Nils knows that with Torvald gaining the position of manager at the bank, his job there is now in jeopardy and decides that the only way for him to keep his job there is to blackmail Nora. Nora tells Kristine about her problem with Nils and Kristine says that she will help Nora since she and Nils are acquainted, and that, “there was a time that he would have done anything for [her]” (Ibsen 56). Finally, when Kristine and Nils encounter one another after years apart they talk about their previous relationship. Nils was a little bitter about the way that Kristine left him for someone, “more profitable” but Kristine states that deciding to leave Nils was not easy that she had to because of her duty to support her family. Nils describes himself as, “a broken man clinging to the wreckage of his life” (Ibsen 64) while Kristine says that she is a broken woman doing the same, and suggests that both cling to one together wreck instead. Kristine goes on to say that she has been alone for quite some time and she needs “someone to mother and [Nils’s] children need a mother” (Ibsen 65) to which Nils agrees and is overjoyed by the thought of them being together

Another thing that these female characters sacrifice in this society, is job availability. Nora has to find little work to help her pay off her debt, but nothing really serious. Mrs. Linde really needs to support herself, but she has no other way to get a decent job. This compels her to ask her old friend Nora to help her acquire a job.

At the end of their first reconnection, Nora reveals that her transformation from obedient doll to liberated woman had already begun. She now admires Mrs. Linde for her long years of work and independence and uses it as inspiration for her own. In Mrs. Linde’s trust, Nora exposes her personal act of sovereignty: a few years ago, she had secretly borrowed money to save her husband’s life, incriminating herself. Even though she did the morally correct thing, Nora’s actions are condemnable and

The role of women in A Doll´s House is reflected by showing firstly that the strength is a characteristic of men and that weakness is one of a women. The author tries using stereotypical gender actions to describe the characters of Nora and Torvald in the play. Nora who is Torvalds wife, is the character that plays the role of that typical 19th century woman which and is portrayed as a victim. The inferior role of Nora is important to its character, “Is that my little songbird piping away there?” (Page 10),