Married couple, Nora and Torvald Helmer seem to live a happy life. Although Torvald is demeaning in the way he talks to Nora, she seems unbothered by it and carries on her life as a house wife. The couple is overjoyed when Torvald, a banker, receives a promotion to manager. While celebrating, Nora’s old friend Christine Linde arrives, a widow in need of a job. While discussing with Christine, Nora confesses her secret debt. Although Nora does not divulge where […]
The expectations in a relationship between a man and a woman have changed over the course of time. At a point in time, men were dominant over women and were viewed as the breadwinners of the household. Both of their positions were shaped by societal expectations. Men, unlike women, were to go out and find a job that will pay enough to support their family. Women on the other hand were to stay at the house and care for it […]
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In the presence of social construct, there is an apparent debate of the role and value of women. A standard which often reflects a societyr’s cultural standards and level of education. Within the traditional eras (est. prior to modern depiction) women were categorized as inferior to men. Unable to act independently, women were to depend on men in order to complete any task. In the midst of these ideologies Henrik Ibsen, a self-proclaimed humanist, published A Dollr’s House a play […]
Anthony Hopkins serves to engulf the typical Victorian male, represented as Torvald Helmer, in Patrick Garland’s film A Doll’s House, based on Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll House. While reading A Doll House, it is apparent that Torvald Helmer is meant to be the foil of his wife Nora Helmer; shallow, overbearing, and demeaning. Before viewing the film A Doll’s House, I envisioned Nora to be a smaller, younger woman of the time. I imagined her hair to be pinned […]
In most languages, each object is assigned a gender, typically either masculine or feminine, which determines how sentences are structured. In A Doll’s House, certain objects serve as symbols that develop the theme of the play and portrays hidden aspects open to interpretation by the reader, similar to most works in literary drama. These symbols have been assigned masculine or feminine attributes and the gender determines how Nora feels towards her role as a woman in society. In A Doll’s […]
Thesis statement Society is so stratified that it has marginalized women and confined them in roles that denies them their identity and agency and given men autonomy over women. Abstract This paper attempts to throw light on the structure of society in the form of marriage and its expectations of it, using Henrik Ibsenr’s A Doll’s House. The role of women and their rights, the position of women in male domineering society and the struggle to be independent and to […]
A doll’s House by Ibsen reveals the underlying role of women during the time and the problems that arise from imbalance of power among men and women. Throughout the story, the main character Nora was treated like a child by her husband Torvald who has a habit of addressing Nora by her pet names which implies his personal convictions about her petite size and helpless condition. Norar’s way of thinking and her outlook on life as a mother and wife […]
The play ?A Doll’s house is a three-act play written by Henrik Ibsen in 1879 in Norway, Europe. The play is important for its critical perspectives toward nineteenth century marriage norms. In A Doll’s House, Ibsen paints a bleak picture of the sacrificial roles held by women of all classes in his society. He is known as the father of the new genre in drama realism. Ibsen really portrayed what life is it like especially for women living in a […]
A doll’s house This play revolves around main characters like Nora Helmer and her husband Torvald Helmer. This play took place on Christmas Eve when Nora Helmer enters the house by carrying gifts for her children. At that time her husband has been promoted to bank manager and they can now afford more comfortable life. The character of Torvald is very important in this play and his role is manager of bank where he does important decisions and his wife […]
Henrik Isben has become an essential individual within the social dimensions and understanding the plight of women. Accordingly, the significant achievement in portraying women within the social aspect has been both unique and unusual through developing a different perspective about women. As such, the undeniable impact of the individual has been through the emphasis on creating drama on the evaluation of the rights of women. In a male-centric society, the play “A Doll House” presents a distinctive oversight about the […]
While a typical society is displayed and is seen as good for almost all the characters presented, moral corruption is a common problem throughout the play. A Doll’s House, written by Henrik Ibsen, displays a middle-class family with high stature is seen being torn down by other characterr’s motives to help their own situation. Throughout the play, the theme of moral corruption is displayed through Norar’s attempt to flirt with Dr. Rank to get a favor, Dr. Rankr’s attempts to […]
All great literary writers are very critical about their word choices. They try to select the words and the sentences to maximize the effects on developing the themes of their works. As a famous modern playwright, Henrik Ibsen also chooses his words and sentences very deliberately. In one of his best-known plays, A Doll’s House, Ibsen makes many changes and additions to his earlier drafts in order to achieve the most [appropriate and sufficient] dramatic effects on the themes and […]
In A Doll’s House, the main character, Nora, is portrayed to the reader through her verbal and physical actions. She is also described through other characters views and discussions about her. She is represented as a manipulative, selfish, and spoiled woman who, in the end, works it out for herself and leaves. Nora has a certain smartness about her to get what she wants—her ability to manipulate her husband without it looking obvious. As shown on P.167, Nora is influencing […]
During the late nineteenth century, women were beginning to break out of the usual molds. Two authors from that time period wrote two separate but very similar pieces of literature. Henrik Ibsen wrote the play A Doll’s House, and Thomas Hardy wrote Tess of the D’Urbervilles. Ibsen and Hardy both use the male characters to contrast with their female counterparts to illustrate how women are stronger by following their hearts instead of their minds. Ibsen uses Torvald to depict a […]
Nora Helmer is one of the most interesting characters in Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House. She is the mother of three and the wife of Torvald Helmer. Helmer, just like any man in his time period, is basically the owner of his wife. He shows love and affection for her but, at the same time, belittles her. Throughout the play, Nora grows to be a powerful woman and stands up for herself and what she believes in. At the […]
Friendships develop in odd ways. Friends are not always alike but are different in numerous ways. In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, two friends, Nora Helmer and Christine Linde, are very different, but they switch places during the course of the play. Several circumstances cause Nora, who is carefree in the beginning, to become serious. Christine, on the other hand, develops a happier life. In A Doll’s House, Nora is the focal point of a not-so-satisfied marriage that deals with […]
Victorian texts either support or condone ways of thinking in 19th-century England. Society predominantly through meditation. The author’s viewpoints are expressed through characterization in the texts. Individuals in the Victorian era generally conformed to the dogmas and confines of society, its values, and ideologies. However, ironically, those who conform to the inherent restriction of, At times, their context are psychologically and physically affected. On the other hand, individuals who confront or resist social structures Via meta-psychological realization of Individual autonomy […]
Realism is a big part of making a realistic production successful, and the argument of whether life can be presented on stage as it really seems to be a discussion that no two playwrights will ever agree on. The objectification of women in the realist plays Doll’s House, and Pygmalion is a feature that makes the plays real, and both present a different view of the reality of women’s place in a man’s world. Henry Ibsen of Norway, the writer […]
Krogstad is the antagonist in A Doll’s House, but he is not necessarily a villain. Though his willingness to allow Nora’s torment to continue is cruel, Krogstad is not without sympathy for her. As he says, “Even moneylenders, hacks, well, a man like me, can have a little of what you call feeling, you know.” He visits Nora to check on her, and he discourages her from committing suicide. Moreover, Krogstad has reasonable motives for behaving as he does: he […]
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen and The Awakening by Kate Chopin are both prime examples of literary works well ahead of their time. Each work depicts the rigid social standards placed on women and how they negatively affected them. They also show how the women were able to triumph over these social standards and reach a life of greater fulfillment. Ibsen and Chopin appear to consciously present their main characters in this way and use their talents for writing […]
Throughout history during the suffrage movement women were treated as unequals of men. The suffrage movement was as quoted,was the struggle for the right of women to vote and run for office and is part of the overall women’s rights movement. In other words it was a time where women wanted to speak out and go against the social norms of society and wanted to have the same opportunities and rights as men did during this time period. This movement […]
In A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, Norar’s relationships are strained by society’s expectations of women’s roles and how women are viewed by others. The story takes place during the Victorian Era where the quality of life heavily depended on oner’s social status. For women, this was difficult. They dealt with harsh sexual restraints as they lacked several fundamental rights such as the right to vote, own property, and divorcing their husbands. These restraints caused women to be very reliant […]
In Henick Ibsenr’s story, Ibsen attacks the issue of social normative during the time period of the play and an unlikely story of how Nora breaks those standards. A Dollr’s House displays a wealthy family with a typical domestic system with a working husband and a stay at home mom and how one problem changed that whole lifestyle. Throughout the story, Nora displays herself as a dynamic character through her change in the feelings of her role in her family, […]
Throughout the history of literature, gender has played a significant role in how the characters were portrayed. The female gender is commonly depicted as being the weaker character while the male gender stronger. The male gender is often considered to be more rational thinking and women being more irrational. Ibsen uses these stereotypical gender traits throughout his play “”A Doll’s House,”” but then he later reverses the stereotypes towards the end of the play to display that inner strength and […]
In Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House,’ the subject most important to the story is marriage. ‘Until death do us part’ well, not always. Everywhere one looks, divorce is plaguing society. The treasured marriage vows have become nothing but a promise made to be broken. A Doll’s House is a prime example of a relationship that didn’t work. To keep a marriage alive and well, it must hold onto certain qualities love, communication, trust, and loyalty. With these qualities, any marriage is bound to work. Without love, a relationship would never even begin. The basis for Nora and Torvald’s relationship appears to be centered around love, but this was not exactly obtained. Torvald doesn’t really love Nora in a mature way; he treats her like a child. The ideal marriage is based on a combination of both romance and security. Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House displays three viewpoints of marriage; one of fantasy, one for security, and the other is a model of a true marriage.
Torvald’s idea of marriage is one of fantasy. Before the party, Torvald wants his wife, Nora, to dress up ‘as a Neapolitan peasant girl.’ (Ibsen787) He dresses her up because that’s what he wants her to be. He acts as if Nora isn’t even a person but a doll or his own personal sex toy. At the party, he pretends his wife’s his ‘secret bride-to-be’ and ‘no one suspects anything between them.’ (Ibsen807) Torvald imagines that they are secret lovers, and he can’t wait to ravish her once they are away from the crowd: ‘Helmer…All this evening, I’ve longed for nothing but you.
When I saw you turn and sway in the tarantella-my blood was pounding till I couldn’t stand it. That’s why I brought you down here so early”. (Ibsen807). When reading this passage, one imagines what some guys fantasize about Princess Layal in a bikini. That’s what most guys do; imagine their wife as a fantasized image of what they want erotically. Torvald seems to need this to become aroused by his wife. He shouldn’t need a fantasy to get in the mood; his wife should be all he needs. Sure, some people role plays to spice things up, but they are both usually involved in collaborating on the fantasy, and here Torvald is making all the decisions, and his wife must obey.
Throughout the play, Torvald constantly views his wife as something to be admired. Even on a non-sexual level, he still imagines his wife as something she’s not. During the party, he describes her as a ‘dream of loveliness’ and says she’s ‘worth looking at’ (Ibsen 801). Torvald looks at Nora and admires her, and he doesn’t love her. He doesn’t know her well enough to love her because he can’t get past the fantasy image. Nora is only a trophy in the eyes of her husband and nothing more.
Nora’s way of having control is in her sex appeal. Nora seems aware of the power she contains and also realizes that once she ages and her sex appeal disintegrates, she will have to find something else to dangle in front of her husband. That’s where the loan comes into play. In the conversation between her and Kristine, Nora thinks about telling Torvald about the loan.
‘Mrs. Linde: Won’t you ever tell him? Nora (thoughtfully, half smiling): Yes-maybe sometime, years from now, when I’m no longer so attractive. Don’t laugh! I only mean when Torvald loves me less than now when he stops enjoying my dancing and dressing up and reciting for him. Then it might be wise to have something in reserve-‘ (Ibsen) Nora knows Torvalds has ‘all his masculine pride’ to worry about, and he could never live down the ‘painfully humiliating’ issue of being in debt to his wife.
Kristine and Krogstad have the only true idea of marriage in this play. First off, they know each other the way couples should. Kristine knows the evil plot Krogstad has in store for Nora and still wants to be with him. Kristine even tells Krogstad to go ahead and let Torvald know what Nora has done. She says that the truth has to come out, and ‘those two have come to a full understanding; all these lies and evasions can’t go on”. (Ibsen803) She wants to help Nora and Torvald by showing them the reality of how their marriage really functions. In this way, Kristine and Krogstad become a model for what a real marriage should be; being able to love your partner no matter what. Now that’s a real marriage.
Another way they represent a true marriage is that they depend on one another, ‘Mrs. Linde: I need to have someone to care for, and your children need a mother. We both need each other. Nils, I have faith that you’re good at heart-I’ll risk everything together with you. Krogstad (gripping her hands) Kristine, thank you, thank you-Now I know I can win back a place in your eyes.’ (Ibsen804). Kristine wants and needs someone to care for, and so does Krogstad. That’s why they work. Kristine and Krogstad are giving everything for love, and they’ll do it through the good and bad. Couples care for one another, But Nora and Torvald only care about themselves, not each other. I don’t believe romance is dead, nor do I believe it’s fantastic to get married because of money and power.
Marriage is something to step into with eyes wide open and shouldn’t be entered into based on illusions. Kristine and Krogstad have something real and true and could possibly be the future of Nora and Torvald. It’s true that Nora and Torvald have no ideal marriage; they don’t even seem to have a real marriage. They have a power system where Nora lets Torvald believe he is in control. Torvald paints this illusion of his wife being his mistress, and Nora plays along with his game. They both play roles in what society views as a true marriage. They’re stuck in a loveless situation that will only end with ‘the sound of a door slamming shut.’
When Nora says that she has never been happy in their marriage because Torvald actually thought he was the best husband. He says, “How unreasonable and how ungrateful you are, Nora! Have you not been happy here?” (Ibsen 8140) Torvald is not the only one thinking that he is a good husband; some critics also think the same way. According to Collins Hughes’s article “Who Knew Torvald Was Such a Sweet Fellow” in the New York Times, he says Ingmar Bergman thinks that Torvald is actually the one most hurt in the play because he has been nice and caring with Nora. He says that “I see Helmer as a very nice guy, very responsible; Ibsen’s play is really the agony of Helmer.” I don’t agree with his argument because Torvald poisoned Nora’s heart about their children by telling her that mothers who lie to their children infect their lives. That was the reason why Nora thought that she was not worthy of looking after her kids.
The author draws attention to how women are capable of their own rights yet do not govern their own lives due to the lack of legal entitlement and independence. According to Bjorn Hemmer, in an essay in The Cambridge Companion to Ibsen, “, The people who live in such a society know the weight of `public opinion’ and of all those agencies which keep watch over society’s `law and order,’ the norms, the conventions and the traditions which in essence belong to the past but which continue into the present and there thwart individual liberty in a variety of ways.” It is the weight of public opinion that Torvald cannot defy. And it is the weight of public opinion that condemns Helmer’s marriage.
I aggress with Hammer Because Torvald views his public persona as more important than his private. He is unable to understand or appreciate the suffering of his wife. His reaction to the threat of public exposure is centered on himself. It is his social stature, his professional image, and not his private life which concerns him most. For Nora to emerge as an individual, she must reject the life that society mandates. To do so, she must assume control over her life, yet in the nineteenth century, women had no power. Power resides with the establishment of men.
Throughout the play, Nora faces an internal struggle for self-discovery, which Ibsen creates to show that women are not merely objects but intelligent beings who form independent thoughts. Nora has successfully taken a loan to help her sick husband in order to save his life, while her father was sick too, but she travels with the husband instead of choosing to stay and look after the father. I think that was a huge sacrifice. In the conversation with Krogstad, Nora confesses to forging her father’s signature (Ibsen 784). She signed a document that is not legal for her to sign in order to save her husband’s life. Rather than being grateful, he was selfish and abusive to her, and that woke her to the need for independence.
I believe Nora did what was good for her because she had been deprived of the right to think on her own and make decisions for herself. She only does what her father and husband taught her because they have been controlling her all her life. Nora says when I look back, it seems to me as if I have been living like a poor woman just from hand to mouth. I have existed merely to perform tricks for you, Trovald. But you would have it so. You and Papa have committed a great sin against me. It’s your fault that I made nothing of my life. (814). Nora wanted to be recognized as something or then a housewife. She admires Christen, her friend who was working to make a living. She did prove that by working late at night to raise money to pay off her loan.
Other interpretations of the play suggest that Nora left Torvald because he disappointed her. Richard Hornby, in his article “Feminist Theatre,” suggests that “She had believed that upright Torvald, on learning of her forgery, would immediately take the blame on himself, and was ready to commit suicide to keep him from doing so. Instead, he plots a coverup, deciding to give in to whatever the blackmailing loan shark, Krogstad, demands”. This interpretation, Although Nora does raise this behavior in the end, says the “most wonderful thing “never happens! While it is true that Torvald had disappointed Nora, her decision to leave was solely based on that her disappointment with Torvald. The lesson I learned from the play is that, as a woman, never give up your identity and your carrier just to make your partner happy. It might come hunting you someday in life. Henrik Ibsen’s play has brought a lot of changes in society’s points of view on women in marriage, not just in the Nineteenth Century but in general.
