Essay Isben's A Dolls House

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

Since Nora’s father was dying, she was forced to forge his signature in order to secure a loan that would eventually save her husband’s life, which only led to more problems in the future because in order for her to be able to repay the money she must lie about how she spends her household accounts and also lie about taking odd jobs to earn extra money. Also, the way Torvald treats Nora in the play depicts the way women were treated in the nineteenth century. For example, In Act I, Nora is little more than a child playing a role. She is a “doll” occupying a doll’s house, a child who has exchanged a father for a husband without changing or maturing in any way. Torvald treats his wife literally like a doll, calling her pet names and occasionally scolding her as if she were a child. His primary interests are his new job as a bank manager and his social standing. When he learns that his wife is involved in a legal problem that would embarrass him if it became known to the public, he reveals who he really is. He comes off as a hypocrite preoccupied with his own welfare. Also, Torvald says that Nora is now his property which is when Nora realizes she is much too good for him. Nora then decides to leave because they have been married for eight years and has suffered enough injustice from both her father and Torvald. Nora explains to Torvald that she has been merry, not happy, being with him. She explained to him how

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

Once this scene begins, Torvald does into a ferocious rage that would terrify anybody. This is a new side to Torvald that is not only being introduced to us, the readers, but to his wife of eight years as well. Nora goes from being his “scared dove” to a “wretched woman.” He detaches himself from her and threatens to remove her from the children and from himself in general. Very soon, however, Torvald receives another letter apologizing for the threat, and assuring him that nobody in the public shall know of Nora’s criminal act. In a matter of minutes, Torvald returns to the romantic, playful façade he has kept around Nora. After this episode, Nora realizes that she and Torvald are married for the wrong reasons. They are married purely for fun, and “have never been happy, only merry.” She tells Torvald that, “…our house has been nothing but a play-room. Here I have been your doll-wife…” (Ibsen, 42). With that, she leaves into the frigid night, with a new identity and a new idea that her duties to herself are equally as sacred as her duties to her

Torvald is depicted as a hostile character and husband. He disrespects, manipulates and isolates himself from Nora. Nora finally decides it is best for her to take herself out of this harmful

It appears that Torvald sees himself as a class above Nora. He is constantly belittling her by referring to her as small and helpless. Torvald has countless of names

20-23). Torvald’s refusal to borrow money shows the character of a strong independent man. But, after reading the first letter written by Krogstad, Torvald calls Nora a “foolish woman” (3. 305). He blames Nora’s father for Nora’s ‘’want of principle’’ (3. 235-236) and blames her of having no religion and no morality. He even calls Nora a ‘’miserable creature’’ (3. 232). By saying so, Torvald makes a very bad impression on their relationship. As a husband Torvald’s responsibility was to appreciate and help Nora. But the harsh behavior of her husband provoked Nora to leave her house.

Torvald has the same ownership over Nora that her father had. “Marriage was described as 'legalised prostitution' or slavery”(Forward). Nora was similar to a slave to torvald, he told her what to do, what to wear, and even how to dance. Nora loved her husband even though he treated her more like his pet than a wife. He called her many pet names like: squirrel, songbird, and wastrel.

Regarding the role of Nora in the play "A Dollhouse," we can see that even after the centuries this is a dominating male society that rules a woman. The character of Nora was completely controlled by the Torvald that was his husband. All of the thoughts and actions of Torvald were the actions of Nora; in fact, she was a puppet and was entirely dependent on his master for all of the actions. Due to such kind of dependence the Torvald was more interested in her physically rather than emotionally. She didn't know how to respect herself she just uses to please him at any cost. Torvald only knows to command the Nora. He was not only demanding and physically sick but also don't trust her financially. According to him, she was too immature and incapable to handle the importance matter of finance. He considers her a little squirrel and use to give her money occasionally and gets worried that she will waste them on any green stuff. In short, the overall duties of Nora were like that of a slave rather than being

Though Nora has a financial advantaged she leads a complicated life because society dictates that the husband should be the marriage’s governing partner. Women could not conduct business or control their own money, for which they need the authorization of the man who is portrayed as the owner of women. Nora must hide the fact that she received a loan from Krogstad, even though it was to save Tovald’s life, because she knows he would never accept the idea that his wife, a woman, had helped save his life. With the arrival of Mrs. Linden, an old school friend, Nora finally has someone to talk to and hang out with. She finds herself able to be fully honest and confide in with Mrs. Linden. Nora requests, on Mrs. Lindens behalf, that Torvald hires her which indicates an ongoing change in her attitude. With Nora’s deception and the perceptions of society, she is susceptible to blackmail. Krogstad has an advantage over Nora, and threatens to reveal her fraudulent signature on the bond to everyone if Tovald fires him. Nora’s courage comes out when she sends Mrs. Linden to persuade Krogstad to change his mind, she shows full independence and awareness of her actions. Since it is illegal for a woman to obtain a loan without her husband’s permission, Nora must work in secret to pay off

After Torvald denounces his wife for moral wickedness after he finds out about her obtaining the loan, Nora realizes that her husband is selfish and thus takes the initiative to free herself from his grip. She immediately cuts herself off from himself and her children, claiming that the lived a life “like a beggar”; by making a living through “performing tricks” for her husband, her “life has come to nothing” (Ibsen 42). At this very moment, Nora grows aware of the fact that she is unhappy in her marriage and is completely dissatisfied with her reliance on her husband. Her sole purpose in her domestic environment was to submit to the needs of her husband, and thus there is “nothing” to be gained in regards to her own personal welfare. By growing aware of her own disadvantages, Nora takes the necessary steps in confirming her freedom. This is much more apparent in the very last scene of the play, when Torvald tries to coax Nora into staying. During the argument, Nora persists that she wants to cut herself off from the house, adamantly stating that she does not want any trace of communication from her family. Before leaving the house, she exchanges wedding bands with Torvald. She states the following: “There, I give you back your ring. Give me mine.” (Ibsen 45). This moment is critical in the play because it is the only instance where Nora is making the key decisions in the relationship. Up until this point, she is put into a submissive role and is required to listen to the demands of her husband. However, at the end of the play, she chooses to make the split with her husband and this decision is solely contingent upon her own request. Nora thus is able to establish her own sense of autonomy that is completely separate from her husband’s. She is no longer the under the possession of Torvald, as exemplified through the exchange of wedding rings. By

While it is apparent Torvald loves Nora deeply, he treats her like an object he is free to and control and play withm hence the name A Doll’s House, which refers to Nora. Nora lives her life to please her husband due to a childhood of doing the same for her father “‘I should not think of going against your wishes’”(6) she proclaims, as she wipes the remnants of a macaron off of her face so she would not be found in violation of the strict rules that prohibit the consumption of desserts, “‘Hasn 't Miss Sweet Tooth been breaking rules in town today? […] taken a bite at a macaroon or two?’ ‘No, Torvald’”(6). He dictates the conversation by establishing himself as dominant, using belittling pet names and making his supposed subordinate feel unnecessary guilt for going against his arbitrary demands. She feels the need to lie about something as simple as eating a macaron. Torvald brings out the doll-like, childish tendencies in Nora by inflicting these irrelevant rules and restrictions upon who he imagines to be his thoughtless, innocent, and weak-willed housewife. When Nora is interacting with other characters, these tendencies are not apparent, because they speak to her as an equal and don’t have the power a husband held over his wife in the Victorian Era.

Nora has fooled herself into believing that everything she does is aimed towards being the best wife to Torvald. She is only concerned with being the “perfect wife” according to a review by David M. Galens and Lynn M. Spampinato. However, what makes Nora’s behavior even more disturbing is that she is aware of what “tricks” are necessary to get what she wants which is demonstrated in the opening scene of the play discussed above. The money she hustles from Torvald is used for her to shop and to help pay back the loan she took out several years back.

After Torvald reads Krogstad's first letter, he gets angry and shames Nora. He says that she’s a terrible person and that they have to do anything that Krogstad asks for. Also, he says that Nora can’t see the children anymore because she may corrupt them. After Nora hears this, Nora becomes disappointed in Torvald because he said he would sacrifice and do anything for Nora. She expected Torvald to try to sacrifice himself for her, taking all the blame on himself, which he didn’t to.

This shows that at this point, everything in her relationship with Torvald is normal. Torvald then enters and calls her his “little skylark” and his “little squirrel” (5); Torvald uses these phrases to describe Nora throughout the book, showing how he treats her almost as if she were one of his children instead of his wife. This “babying” of Nora is Torvald creating an idealized version of his wife: a sweet, innocent, slightly naive woman who is dependent on him for her happiness, wealth, and comfort. In this act we learn more about Nora’s character, specifically how she has a tendency to lie (she lies and says that Mrs. Linde gave her macaroons when we know that she bought them herself (17) and she lies to Torvald and says that Krogstad wasn’t at their house when he was (25)). In alignment with the gender ideals at the time, Nora dedicates herself to her