Torvald Helmer 's A Doll 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

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.

Nora starts off the play essentially as Torvalds toy. She is obedient, she is cute, she rarely goes against his wishes, and she is nothing without her “owner”, Torvald. The reader, however, discovers early on that all is not what it seems to be. Nora is actually a very rebellious woman who enjoys going against Torvald’s wishes. There are scenarios where she does this out of the sheer enjoyment she gets. Nora loves macaroons.

This passage from A Doll’s House, begins near the start of Act 1. It is the first interaction between Torvald and Nora, and reveals a lot about the relationship between them, as well as the social standing of women at the time. The passage starts with Torvald greeting Nora and asking, “Is that my little lark twittering around?”. Already, the audience can see the objectification of Nora, as well as his belief that Nora is just “twittering” around, and not contributing to society in any way, or doing anything useful. He goes on to call her “my little squirrel”, further suggesting her being treated not as a adult, but more of a child. She has no power, and is subject to patronisation.

The play A Doll’s House (Henrik Ibsen) is centered around the lives of the antagonist, Torvald Helmer and his wife Nora Helmer. Torvald is deemed as the antagonist based on the belief that he is a power hungry misogynist whilst his wife naturally becomes the protagonist, as her husband does not treat her as an equal. The entire play itself is submerged in the issue of individual versus society. Women and men during the Victorian Era were known to have two separate callings known as separate spheres. The idea of separate spheres is based on the ‘natural’ characteristics of men and women. It is said that women are weaker and more moral thus they are more suited for the domestic sphere whilst men were to be the breadwinner and labour all day.” Ibsen uses interpellation in his play to allow for an even deeper insight and understanding of Torvald Helmer’s life. Interpellation is an ideology/philosophical ideal that has two forms: Repressive State Apparatuses and Ideological State Apparatuses. Repressive State Apparatus deals with persons being subject to ideologies or certain principles solely because it is seemingly the norm whilst

         At the beginning of the play, Torvlad made it seem that Nora is really dependent on him. Torvald always calls Nora by pet names such as “my little lark…” (943). By doing this, he acts in such a way that suggests that “his” woman is dependent on him. In this way, Torvald serves as the typical man who wishes to make his own wife an object that he can control in his life. He feeds her

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

Nora has always been contented with her being Torvald’s “little featherbrain.” As the play progresses, Nora eventually figures out that Torvald doesn’t genuinely love her. She expects Torvald to be her protector and stand up against people that criticise her criminal acts. Nora also assumes that Torvald would have offered to take the blame for the crime. He failed the test of love and devotion by mocking her instead of providing help. Therefore, she becomes more rebellious by using imperative speech with Torvald instead of her innocent and childlike language. As the play reaches its end, Nora becomes totally independent from Torvald and talks to him from an equal standpoint, rather than communicating as niece and grandpa or daughter and daddy. Additionally, she no longer views him as the leading person in her life because she now apprehends that she hasn’t been herself throughout their marriage. As she defends her position on her actions she states, “When I look back on it now… I lived by performing tricks for you, Torvald” (Ibsen, 1230). It is clear to her now that she has been nothing more than a means of entertainment to her husband as he would have her dance for him and perform other silly acts.

He also refers to her as his lark “Is that my little lark twittering out there?” and Spendthrift “Has my little spendthrift been wasting money again?” Torvald calls Nora all these names in an effort to make her feel inferior. By doing so she is portrayed as weak. In contrast Mrs. Linde, a former schoolmate of nora is more mature while Nora has a childish behavior.

The attitude Torvald has towards his wife, Nora, throughout the play almost makes it seem as though he is constantly judging her for her actions without telling her how he truly feels. As any married couple should know, “lack of communication is a prime cause for divorce” (Perry). He does not express his concerns in a mature manner but instead he talks to her like she does not know any better for the little things she has done. For instance, when she mentions that she is not allowed to have the macaroons because of Torvald, this shows that he has a way of controlling her. It continues by him calling her names such as song bird, squirrel, spendthrift, or skylark. He also has no trust for her. He shows this by mentioning her actions in regards to spending money. “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” (Ibsen “A Doll’s House” 930). With this lack of trust, they simply could not thrive and last nearly as long as they may have once thought. Marriage does not bind people if they cannot find the truth in one

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:

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

In Act 1, it’s made clear that Torvald has redeeming qualities. In the story it is Christmas, the glorious holiday season. Torvald is all about keeping his wife happy as it seems, Nora wants an extravagant Christmas this year. He isn’t too fond of the idea, he

Torvald, Nora's husband, feels powerful by referring to Nora as different types of feeble animals. Nora realizes this and uses it to her advantage. During act II she wants a favor from Torvald so she manipulates him by calling herself the animal names that make Torvald feel dominant. She says,

lacking free will. Throughout the play, Torvald refers to Nora as his “lark” or “little squirrel”,