Analysis Of ' A Doll House '

Author Margaret Trudeau once said, “I can’t be a rose in any man’s lapel” (“I Can’t Be”). This quote expresses exactly what was going through many women’s minds during the 1800’s in Norway. Women had let their husbands control their lives for ages before the 1800’s. Soon, they could no longer stand being the rose in their husbands’ lapel. The women of Norway longed for freedom and began to rebel. Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll House, displays what women were going through during that time. The three act play is about Nora, a seemingly typical, submissive housewife, and Torvald, Nora’s condescending, banker husband. In his

In A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, is a play about the personal revolution of a Norwegian housewife. Nora appears to be happy with mindlessly obeying her husband, until it is discovered that she has a secret debt that she has hidden from him. Krogstad, Nora’s loaner, threatens to reveal the debt to her husband. When it is inadvertently revealed, Nora realizes the lack of depth of her husband’s feelings for her and leaves their established household and family to find her own personal identity. The theme of A Doll’s House is that societal norms restrict personal freedom.

While A Doll House and Machinal arose from very different time periods and theatrical movements, they both tell similar stories and touch upon similar social issues. The common theme between them is the idea of freedom of the individual (specifically women) from society.

Though Torvald seems to truly love Nora in the beginning, he actually values the reputation he has with his peers. For example, even at the end of the novel, Nora confesses that she would like to leave the family for the sake of her well-being. However, Torvald's reaction turned to insult Nora even more by asking her to stay in the house like brother and sister; he wanted her to stay so that it would appear that Nora and Torvald are still a married couple. "But no man would sacrifice his honour for the one he loves"(Act III, 78), this is what Torvald told Nora which gives another idea of how he finds his appearance more important than his love for Nora. Also, Nora suggests that the love Torvald thinks he has for her is only an infatuation of the fact that he has someone to love. Why

Torvald was ill and the only thing that could save him would be time spent away from the cold. Nora never tells Torvald about this loan because he doesn’t believe in borrowing. Toward the end of the play when Torvald finds out about the loan, his true colors come out and Nora finally gets to see what her husband is really like. This is what really causes Nora to leave her family and to try to find who she really is. This situation also causes Torvald to change a little as well. Near the end when Torvald finds out about the loan, he gets angry with Nora. Once he learns that she is going to leave him and the children, he begins to change his ways a little and starts treating her with a little more respect. He hopes this will make Nora stay, but she already has her mind set and finally has control for once in her life.

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

“Here I have been your doll wife, just as at-home I used to be papa’s doll child.” states Nora Helmer (A Doll House, Act 3 pg. 114). The play A Doll House was composed by Henrik Ibsen and is written in first person. It takes place in Norway in the late 1800s. A Doll house focuses on a woman name Nora Helmer who is married with children. After eight years of being married, she decides to end it. Nora ends her relationship to start a new life and discover herself. However; she does commit a selfish act by leaving her children behind with the father. Literary elements such as, plot ,setting, and theme enrich the play and the experience of the reader.

     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.

Nora Helmer and Kristine Linde represent the role of women in Henrik Ibsen’s, A Doll House. Their lives had always been in parallel. In the beginning of the story Nora lives a very happy life and has the role of a loving wife, while Kristine is a lonely widow. As the story develops; Nora Helmer and Kristine Linde emerge as contrasting characters; one goes on to liberate herself, while the other comes to security.

In the beginning of the book one could tell that Nora has a frivolous personality and likes to have fun and that Torvald takes everything very seriously and doesn't want to do anything that would be a “waste” of his time. Since the two have bipolar personalities, it is quite obvious that they do not have a typical nor traditional marriage. Because of Nora’s youthful personality it makes it harder on Torvald to treat her as an equal. “You always find some new way of wheedling money out of me, and, as soon as you have got it, it seems to melt in your hands ‘Torvald’” (Ibsen 14). In that line spoken by Torvald it is taken notice how he feels about Nora and that he only trusts her with the little and simple tasks.

Ibsen’s “A Dolls House” is a story about a wife who forges her father's signature to obtain a loan that can save her authoritative husband from a life-threatening illness. Unfortunately, her husband’s co-worker Krogstad discovers the forged document and threatens to reveal her which would bring shame upon both Nora and her husband. Krogstad’s motivation to blackmail Nora begins when he finds out Mrs. Linde is now an employee at the bank. Believing Mrs. Linde was hired to replace him, Krogstad need’s Nora to influence her husband to retain his position.

Nora tells Torvald, “You and [me] I both would transform ourselves to the point that…I have stopped believing in miracles” (Kirszner and Mandell). Henrik Ibsen’s ending for his play, “A Doll House” must stay the same, or many integral parts of Nora’s story would not have any intrinsic value. Although the description of Nora’s character at the beginning of Act I as an irresponsible spender and her husband calls her “my squirrel” (Ibsen 6). The conclusion of the play showed that people can grow and how the character of Nora Torvald developed through Ibsen’s writing. What eventually bewildered Nora’s friends and family was her abrupt exit from their lives. The play illustrated her personal growth even though others did not understand leaving was the next phase in her maturation process. The ending of the play represents

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

Torvald cares not only about money, but also about his social status and reputation as well. When he finds out that Nora borrowed money from Krogstad with a forged signature, his love for her is suddenly completely gone, and he accuses her of destroying all of his happiness. Even though he is absolutely appalled by his wife's act, he insists that "it must appear as if everything between us were just as before—but naturally only in the eyes of the world"(3.242). Later, however, when Krogstad returns the bond with the forged signature and promises not to tell a soul about what happened, Trovald is suddenly able to love his wife again! He still only cares about himself, and this is portrayed when he jumps for joy exclaiming “I’m saved, I’m saved!” Nora is only an afterthought when it comes to his reputation. Their

A Doll’s House was published in Norway in 1879 by Henrik Isben. He is known as the father of Modern Theatre. He is also referred as the father of realism. The play is very interesting because of the funny dialogue, the unique characters, and Ibsen 's view of the place of ladies in the public eye. The main characters of the play is Nora Helmer and her husband Torvald Helmer. Imagine what it would be like to live in a doll 's home? It 's a house in which you are controlled and have no energy to settle on any solid choice; It 's a house in which you are a play thing for another person 's amusement. This sounds a ton like an awful marriage, so it 's a house in which your husband holds the satchel strings, in a manner of speaking, and abandons you with no influence over your family 's accounts. In fact, your husband keeps you on a tightrope. Such is the perceived life of Nora Helmer.