Manipulation In A Doll's House

When Torvald finds her hairpin stuck in the keyhole of the letter box, Nora tells him it must have been their children trying to get into it, not willing to admit that she had tried to break into his things. Although the truth about her is about to be discovered, Nora wants to preserve the last bits of dignity that she has left, finally worrying about herself before anyone else. This last lie however, leads up to her finally speaking the truth and expressing that she no longer feels that she loves Torvald. Her husband is furious at her, insulting her, and fails to see that every lie that she told was for his sake. Realizing that Torvald can’t see her side of things and will only find fault in what she did, she comes to her decision to leave her family. Nora states that she is not happy and never really was, her marriage to Torvald was as fakes as a doll house according to her. Rather than lie, she is completely honest now and states that she wants to become her own person and learn that which she doesn’t know despite what society might think.

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 A Doll House, Nora finds herself subordinate to her husband as well as the rules of society. Torvald forbids her from the consumption of macarons, bestows on her an allowance as if she were a child, persuades her to do as he wishes, dance like this, not like that, and she like a “good little lark” obeys his most every will. Her act of courage and independence, illegally taking out a loan to save his life, is seen as wrong in the eyes of society, while she sees it as necessary and forgivable; it is what a good wife should do for her husband.

Nora also receives the command from her husband that she should “...make your mind at ease again, my frightened little singing bird. Be at/ rest and feel secure; I have broad wings to shelter you under”(3. 1. 543-544). After showing his whimpering self at realizing that society might find out that he owes his wife, he then receives a note promising not to reveal the truth. Torvald reacts with happiness and pretends that he did not just hurt his wife. His wife does not let this go as he rants with sexist remarks bluffing about his strengths. The pride Torvald has as a man makes him discriminate against women and what they stand for showing making the break up within this family. Also in The House on Mango Street, one of the protagonist's friends must take care of their family because she is the eldest daughter but this has only made her hope for a man to get out of here since all she has learned is that men are superior to her. This shows how dominance of a family member can make other family members want to leave, therefore breaking the family

Nora begins to take offence to the words of Torvald. He refers to her as his most “prized possession”, and continues to say that he often imagines her as though she is his mistress, and she is a temptress. Nora continues to get offended, telling Torvald she doesn’t want any of this. Nora begins

In the story “Doll House” Nora had been previously scolded by her husband and finally informed Torvald, “I’m saying we’ve never sat down seriously and got to the bottom of things” (936 MLM). Nora was done being treated as a child by Torvald. He shielded her from the world, like her father, and would never let her form an opinion stray from his own. He wouldn’t let her talk of the serious matters in life, from morality to simple decisions with money, that had to do with being her own person with her own mind. This led Nora to leave and find herself as Torvald would not let her just be with his grown instinct that love from a husband must have a controlling nature over the wife in the marriage, not an equality between the

His promotion also chracterizes him as being increasingly pompous and seeing his wife as an object. By referring to her as his, “songbird,” and speaking to her as if she is child, Nora’s departure is well evidenced. Nora exemplifies this condescending idea further when speaking with Torvald before she leaves as the author writes, “ Doesn’t it strike you that this is the first time we two, you and I, man and wife, have talked together seriously?” By revealing this to Torvald, Nora explains why she is

She points out to Torvald that their marriage was a clear failure when she questions Torvald, “How could you ever teach me to be a proper wife? Your wife?” (Ibsen 82). To this question Torvald is unable to provide a reasonable answer hence proving Nora’s point about the failure of their marriage. Further, the sudden change in Nora’s behavior during the second half of the play is significant as it symbolizes her clear intent to depart from the house in search of her inner-self.

Nora portrays as a happy and submissive wife in the beginning of the story; however, as the story emerges Nora turns out to be an unconventional character who goes on to liberate herself. At first Nora lives under the security of the norm by being a submissive wife and obeying her husband. People take Nora as inexperienced

Nora is frustrated in seeing Krogstad’s letter, which will reveal all her secrets but is not able to retrieve the letter, because her husband always has the key to the mail box. Nora carries a burden all throughout her marriage. All she hopes for is a miracle. She believes that when the secret is out, Torvald will take the blame and protect her, but unfortunately when the secret is revealed to Torvald, her world finally falls down, and Torvald disclaims and attacks her, even though she had done it for him. The futility of her marriage finally dawns on her. She says she was never happy, only lighthearted and that she was a doll wife to him. She blames Torvald for her ruined marriage. Nora is faced with the reality that she’s always been treated like a child. In their conversation, it is realized that since they married, there hasn’t been a serious conversation between them. Nora sees that her husband is not worth her love anymore and that she has wasted all eight years of their marriage. She now wants to educate herself. Therefore, not even the thoughts of her children could save their marriage, so she leaves

“When I was home with Papa he told me his opinion about everything, and so I had the same opinions; and if I differed from him I concealed the fact, because he would not have liked it. He called me his doll child, and he played with me just as I used to play with my dolls” (Ibsen 66). Nora’s relationship with her husband was compared to that of her husband, showing truly how indecently both her father and husband had treated her within their normal family life. She wasn’t able to have her own opinion, and was shown disapproval for it. Hence, she was forced to create a personality to use around Torvald and also those who she wanted have the thought that they were indeed a perfect family.

Nora is very aware of their false relationship and the shallowness of her marriage, but she chooses to ignore it, initially. Nora enjoys her role as spoilt child, loving her pet names and relishing in the power her attractiveness and sexuality give her; We can see the happiness when she is with Torvald, and when Nora uses her sexuality to

She knows that her decisions must be based on whether or not Torvald would approve. The phrases ‘Torvald has to live in decent style’ and ‘…having things just as Torvald likes to have them’ further reinforce this idea, as they show that everything Nora does, she does in order to please her husband. She does not have opinions or likings of her own, as she has adapted to a certain lifestyle where her own opinions and ideas do not matter. Therefore, she has acquired the same tastes as Torvald, and since she has constantly been undermined and ignored, she no longer knows how to have an opinion of her own. Since she is so accustomed to obeying her husband’s every order, she is unable to make decisions without first having his approval, which shows that although Nora is aware of her subservient role, she does not feel capable of surviving on her own without the financial and emotional support of Torvald.

Nora believes her purpose in life is to be happy for her husband and the children. Nora did believe that she loved Torvald and was happy. She had a passionate and devoted heart that was willing to do almost anything for her husband. At first she did not understand that these feelings were not reciprocated. Torvald does not want a wife who will challenge him with her own thoughts and actions. She finally realizes her feelings where untrue. The final confrontation between the couple involves more oppression by Torvald calling her a "featherbrained woman" and "blind, incompetent child", but by this time Nora has realized the situation he wishes to maintain, and is convinced her own happiness is more important. The fury Nora saw in Torvald after opening the letter that exposed her lie showed Nora a strange man. Someone she had not been wife to, someone she did not love. Their marriage is fake and mutually beneficial because of their social class. She realizes they are

Here, Nora pulls together the tragic circumstances. She sees that she was never truly happy in the house, just content. Her father kept her as a child would a doll, and Torvald continued this when they were married. They formed her opinions for her, set expectations to which she was supposed to adhere, and wrote a vague script of how she was supposed to act. She was like a puppet, with no thoughts or actions of her own. When she finally realizes the injustice being done to her, she decides to free herself.