Essay on Animal Imagery in A Doll's House

Henrik Ibsen uses several different stylistic devices in A Doll’s House. The author’s choice of writing this piece as a play is to emphasize interactions between various

Nora is called a number of names by Torvald throughout the play. These include “little woman”, “little person”, “little songbird”, “little featherhead”, “little skylark”, “squirrel”, and “lark”. Torvald seems to always use the term "little" before the names he calls Nora. These are all usually preceded by Torvald stating "my", which emphasizes Torvald's belief that Nora is his. Torvald's names for Nora show that he does not see her as an equal by any means. Nora is a play doll and at times an appealing and exotic pet all for Torvald. She is like a figurine in a glass display cabinet.

Even when eating macaroons, Nora assures Torvald, "You know I could never think of going against you" (A Doll’s House 1242). Nora is a doll, a helpless little "lark", a "songbird", and over the course of their relationship, Nora has been molded into thinking she must be all those and does not want Torvald to think otherwise (A Doll’s House 1242). Because helpless songbirds did not save lives on their own, Nora could not let Torvald find out about her use of forgery to obtain money, because it would hurt his "masculine pride" and "just ruin their relationship”.

When the character Helmer states, “My little song bird must never do that again. A songbird must have a clean beak to chirp with—no false notes. (Act 1, Line 435)”, he is basically saying that Nora must not lie again because that is what will ruin her marriage. Eventually Krogstad did not want to blackmail them anymore, the things that Torvald said to Nora just did not sit well with her. That entire act shows that because she hid that lie, her marriage was ruined. When Nora states “How painful and humiliating it would be for Torvald to know that he owed me anything! It would upset our mutual regulations altogether.” (Act 1, Line 197), that shows how much the disbelief of the lies would hurt their marriage, and it did just that. Instead of the truth fixing things it made it worse causing Nora to leave with the slam shut of the door. That door also represented the stop to their marriage. The hurtful and loud statement that she made only by shutting the door. However before Nora makes her dramatic exit from the family’s home, she says “Our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll wife. (Act 3, Line 286)”, which gives meaning to the title of the play. She is expressing that she feels as if she has been nothing but a doll to her husband, which now a day means a trophy wife. Torvald control her every move and spoke to her with nothing but dominance in her voice. Yet, she made one mistake, which was

Each and everytime he speaks with her, Torvald has a new pet name for her. Towards the beginning of the play, Torvald says to Nora, “Is that my little lark twittering in there (Ibsen 969)?” By calling her a ‘little lark,’ he is addressing her as if she were small and helpless. This is how an adult would speak to a child. Torvald also chastises Nora, as if she were his own child, making mistakes and doing bad things. After Nora lies about something, Torvald says, “My little songbird must never do that again. Songbirds are supposed to have clean beaks to chirp with - no false notes (Ibsen 987).” A Doll House becomes confusing at times because the reader may feel as though Torvald were speaking to a child and not his wife. This creates immense significance for the title due to Torvald’s controlling actions and Nora’s doll-like

Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” is a controversial play focusing on the marriage of Nora and Torvald Helmer. The play is filled with symbols that represent abstract ideas and concepts. These symbols effectively illustrate the inner conflicts that are going on between the characters. Henrik Ibsen’s use of symbolism such as the Christmas tree, the locked mailbox, the Tarantella, Dr. Rank’s calling cards, and the letters allows him to give a powerful portrayal to symbolize aspects of characters and their relationship to each other.

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

Nora is outwardly submissive and always eager to please Torvald. By contrast, Torvald is a dominant figure that takes control over Nora’s life similar to the way a father would with his daughter. For most of the play, Torvald rarely calls Nora by her name, using pet names instead. For example, “my little lark,” “my squirrel,” and “little spendthrift” are used to describe Nora in the scene of the play (1251). The use of the word “my” emphasizes the control and ownership Torvald feels like he has over Nora’s life. Additionally, their relationship is characterized by a giving and receiving roles. However, the give and take is not shared equally enough. Nora remarks on this when she says, “But don't you think it is nice of me, too, to do as you wish?’ Torvald: ‘Nice?—because you do as your husband wishes? Well, well, you little rogue, I am sure you did not mean it in that way’” (1279). Nora is recognizing the inequality in her marriage when she tells Torvald that she is being “nice” when she follows his directions and cares for their family. This is crucial because Torvald disregards Nora by belittling her role in their marriage and making it seem as though she contributes nothing to their relationship. The interactions between Torvald and Nora emphasize the inequality in their

Nora responds to his remark saying, “Go away, Torvald! Leave me alone. I don’t want all this.” Torvald asks, “Aren’t I your husband?” implying that one of Nora’s duties as his wife is to physically please him at his command.

Ibsen utilizes the boundaries of the “inexpensively furnished” (147) room to create Nora’s symbolic cage displaying how she is physically unable to leave the confines of the room and the role in which every 19th century wife must play. In Act I, Nora plays her façade of the frivolous “funny little spendthrift” (150) in an effort to seem as defenseless as the woodland creatures Torvald finds so endearing and subsequently patronizing. Nora’s quarantine is enhanced as she is called a “squirrel…skylark, and little bird” (150) by Torvald, infantilizing her character and consequently solidifying her inability to escape the confines of her assumed womanly role. Nora readily assumes the position of a subordinate and feeble woman to protect the illusion she perceives as a complete home in addition to avoid “[being] completely alone” (154). This absolute isolation in adherence to the role in which she has been nurtured to conform to is slowly deteriorating her character, which is displayed in the increased sporadic nature of “poor little Nora’s” (152) actions and her lack of ability to focus as the play progresses. Nora’s childlike behaviors steadily become more obvious as her fixated birdcage becomes increasingly suffocating, the discomfort with her current isolation grows and as her mask of perfection slowly disintegrates.

The relationship between Torvald and Nora is based on the assumption that women are beneath men. Torvald treats Nora like a girl would treat a doll. Torvald refers to Nora as his "lark," "squirrel," and his beautiful "songbird" throughout Ibsen's play, except when he is angry; then she becomes a woman. Elaine Baruch adds insight:

the play and keeps her within his own game, as if he was playing with

In A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen uses symbols and motifs to emphasize the power struggle between the two main characters, Nora and Torvald, and how Nora must free herself from the control and dominance of her husband, and oppose the gender roles set by society.

In preparation for Nora's dance at the party, we again see Ibsen showing us Torvald's and Nora's roles. "I can't get anywhere without your help."(Ibsen 91) "Direct me. Teach me, the way you always have."(Ibsen 91) Nora's lines reflect the "costume" that Torvald expects her to wear (and which she wears obligingly), that of the meek, subservient, childlike wife.

     Ibsen’s purpose for writing this piece is to entertain while pointing out an injustice. Through the events of the play, Nora becomes increasingly aware of the confines in which Torvald has placed her. He has made her a doll in her own house, one that is expected to keep happy and