Responsibility In A Doll's House

Losing one’s reputation was paramount to social suicide, and it extended to family, so a father embroiled in a corruption scandal, tainted the whole family, and damaged all of their abilities to move in and up in society (Casey). Morality was very important to Victorian society, and became a topic of contention as the era progressed, “Morality mattered to the Victorians. They had a 'penchant for moral rhetoric' and tended 'to analyse their society, to attack each other, and defend

HELMER From now on that’s what you’ll be to me— you little, bewildered, helpless thing. Don’t be afraid of anything, Nora; just open your heart to me, and I’ll be conscience and will to you both—(NORA enters in her regular clothes.) What’s this? Not in bed? You’ve changed your dress?

“These scholars note that Victorians often bowed to conformity, concealing their true natures and tastes and pretending to adhere to social norms. Some Victorians passed themselves off as more pious or moral than they really were. But in reality, pornographic literature and prostitution were common phenomena during the late nineteenth century, showing that some Victorians only pretended to lead chaste lives.”(Joyce Moss)

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’s departure will undoubtedly be a costly decision. Whether, the children will be better off is questionable. Although the Helmer’s children are raised by a nurse and their own parents are virtually strangers to them, completely severing paternal bonds can have unforeseen consequences. As Dr. Rank’s father anticipated that his promiscuity would have lifelong and fatal effects on his son. Similarly, Nora cannot predict how her absence will influence her children. However, it is a matter of self-preservation for Nora: she cannot continue to deny her own growth while encouraging growth from her children. Nora realizes that she is indeed not fit to be either a true mother or a wife due to her innocence and lack of self-education.

The Victorian Era was also a period in British history during the reign of Queen Victoria in the 19th century. A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen is a three act play that embodies many objectives of the Victorian Era’s gender expectations. The Book was created near the end of the 19th

Imagine going to school knowing that if you were behind on something, you would get hit. Imagine only being able to see your parents in the morning and at night, and being stuck with a nanny, who would sometimes be strict and yell or beat you. Imagine being stuck in a room all day after school, and not being able to leave. This was the life of a child of the estate during the Victorian Era. Although the child’s family may have been rich, that doesn’t mean that the child will live a happy life, free of troubles and worries. Although some aspects of a child’s life were happy and not worrisome including their variety of food choice and expensive clothing, children during the Victorian Era usually had very sad and depressing lives because of the

I know very well, Torvald, that most people would agree with you, and that opinions like yours are in the books.” (36.3.30-35) Stereotypes in, “A Doll’s House” put an emphasis on Helmer, who thought of Nora as his wife, but treated her as more of an object he owned and did with as he pleased for his enjoyment, just like he would a

In pronouncements such as these, Lady Bracknell reveals an unsettling notion that colored every aspect of Victorian life: poverty and misfortune are, to some extent, an outcome of moral unworthiness.

It is just Helmer calling Nora cute little nicknames because it is cute. However, this change Nora let out a little secret when she met her old friend. “A Wife can’t borrow without her husband's consent” (I 718). At this point the audience view on Nora changed immediately, she who was just a normal wife is now a liar. Nora needed money to save her husband's life and she was willing to borrow money from some sources that were unknown to the audience yet. If she did that who knows what else she did that is against the norm of society? She would become victims by breaking the norm by borrowing money without her husband’s permission and it would destroy her reputation and her husband's reputation as well. This proves how she was given any liability to do anything on her own.The author choice’s of writing in a style of a play is to slowly reveal the secrets sacrificed that Nora was forced to do to save her husband’s life. The impression of Nora was changed from being a normal housewife to someone who dares borrow money on her own account. Society conforms her to act a certain way and in a

My understanding of Ibsen’s decision to compose A Doll House the way he did was enlightened through the discussion we had on Victorian Times. The clear presence of social classes’ during that period lead me to believe that Ibsen utilized his play to demonstrate to the audience the extent to which society not only during that time, but also to our modern day has a huge impact on our lives, behavior, and character.

From 1837 to 1901 is known as the Victorian period in England. Victorian times were often referred to as the best of times and the worst of times, giving it an interesting dichotomy. During this time period there was tremendous growth in the English economy and in education, but there was also rampant child labor and many other crimes. While the economy growth almost entirely benefitted the middle and upper class it did help skilled workers of the working class, but left the unskilled workers living hand to mouth and being forced to have their children work in dangerous factories to help pay for food. The morality of these times was blind at best and hypocritical at worst, because while the common morality was to have honor and

First is the contrast between Torvald and Nora during this time period. In the first act of the play we get a sense of how the Helmer household is run. We learn that Torvald is totally in charge of the finances. He is the primary money maker and the total master of the home. Nora, Torvald’s wife, is treated like a child. Torvald treats her like a plaything, managing everything she has access to. “Yes, very- that is, if you actually hung onto the money i give you, and you actually used it to buy yourself something. But it goes for the house and all sorts of foolish things, and then i only have to lay out some more.” (page 787). Nora is all but brainwashed to his authority. She is not even allowed to have access to the mailbox, nor is she allowed to consume any kind of sweets as her husband forbids it. “Helmer ‘My sweet tooth didn't make a little detour through the confectioner’s?’ Nora ‘No, I assure you, Torvald-’

Within his A Doll’s House, dramatist Henrik Ibsen chronicles the experiences of homemaker Nora Helmer as she transcends marital and maternal conventions in an effort to pursue her desire of self-realization. Whilst the depravity of antagonist Krogstad guides the play’s progression superficially, A Doll's House more abstractly explores the more covert nuances of bourgeois moral identity to compel themes of parenthood, corruption, and deceit. Accordingly, the strongly negative effects that parental debasement can wrought on children influences the chronologies of several of the play’s characters, thereby mobilizing an argument that moral wrongness can be inherited by a child in both dispositional and physical manifestations.

childish actions. Helmer grows accustom to being the father figure to Nora and in essence