Of equal importance in A Doll House, is the dramatic irony that is scattered throughout the play. The most prevalent irony is the parallel between Nora and Krogstad. At the end of Act I, Nora and Torvald are discussing the immorality of Krogstad committing forgery. Torvald renders a horrifying depiction for Nora explaining “Just imagine how a man with that sort of guilt in him has to lie and cheat and deceive on all sides, has to wear a mask even with the nearest and dearest he has, even with his own wife and children” (1268-1269), this is a complete parallel of Nora, her actions, and the mask she herself wears. Krogstad is considered morally corrupt by society and Nora is starting to realize this is how she will be viewed as well. This conversation …show more content…
She was oppressed her entire life, first by her father and then by her husband, as Nora describes “I’ve been wronged greatly, Torvald—first by Papa, and then by you” (Ibsen 1294). Nora had existed for her husband, she had always assumed that he would come to her rescue if she was ever in trouble, and now she was proven wrong. She had been waiting for childlike miracles to happen “when the miraculous thing didn’t come—then I knew you weren’t the man I’d imagined” (Ibsen 1296). Nora feared that Krogstad would expose everything and that their family would come undone and she was right. Contrary to her expectation, Torvald behaved like a hypocrite, who was concerned more with societies idea of morality and a notion of social prestige, then with his wife 's well-being and care. Torvald exposed where his true loyalties lie, with himself. Nora realized with complete clarity that her husband didn 't see her as an individual, as she explicated “But you neither think nor talk like the man I could join myself to. When your big fright was over—and it wasn’t from any threat against me, only for what might damage you—when all the danger was past, for you it was just as if nothing had happened” (Ibsen 1297). She realized that to become an independent individual, she had to dissolve her bonds with Torvald and the children by abandoning …show more content…
Nora felt she could be neither of these things if she didn’t identify and recognize herself as a human being first, like she avows to Torvald “I believe that, before all else, I’m a human being, no less than you—or anyway, I ought to try to become one” (Ibsen 1296). Her status was someone who was a non—entity. Nora wanted and needed to educate herself and establish her own identity “There’s another job I have to do first. I have to educate myself” (Ibsen 1295), before being anything
In 1879, Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll’s House (The). Symbolism, the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities, was developed within this time period (Google).Throughout the play, Ibsen reveals each character with an internal personality totally different from their external personality. This allows the readers to really open up and understand each character and the relationships that they hold with their self and the other characters as well. Ibsen tends to use several symbols in his play including the main character herself, the dance she performs, the Christmas tree, and the macaroons her husband doesn’t allow her to have. Nora is unhappy with her life, as though her expressions and actions show otherwise. She grows to realize her problem and settles with the idea that she never will be. Several symbols are made to stand out but four more particularly than others.
... Finally, rebelling against the patriarchy she lived in required extravagant bravery and confidence. “Nora: But I can’t go on being satisfied by what the majority says, or what’s written in books. I have to think over these things myself and try to understand them” (Pg. 111). The aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid aforesaid Nora became determined to explore the vast views of the world from her own perspective instead of letting Torvald brainwash her with his own ideas.
Although Krostad’s blackmail does not change Nora’s whimsical nature, it opens her eyes to her underappreciated potential. “I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald,” (Find a different quote perhaps?) she exclaims in her confrontation with Torvald. She realizes that she has been putting on a facade for him throughout their marriage. Acting like someone she is not in order to fill the role that her father, Torvald, and society expected her to have.
The final clue to The Doll’s House being a modern short story is the use of dramatic irony. Throughout the story, the different social classes of the girls are extremely vital to the plot. These classes are very evident to the reader but may be less apparent to the children in the story. This is an example of dramatic irony. Another example of dramatic irony in the text is when Else says, “I seen the lamp.” At this point I think the reader has made the connection between Else and Kezia and realizes what the lamp symbolizes. However, Lil or any other character in the story probably wouldn’t understand, so that makes it dramatic irony.
The women had very little influence on what their husbands thought, how they acted, or what they did. Nora followed many of Torvalds’s commands, allowing him to hear little of what she did behind his back. In a scene where Krogstad asked her for a favor to convince Torvald to let him keep his position at the bank, Nora responds with, “What should make you think I have any influence of that kind with my husband?” (24). This proves that Nora would have little effect on her husband. Many of the times she tried to talk to him, he would easily demean her. He would call her his “little skylark” or other names what would make her feel like a child with little power over him. During the 1870’s women had a hard time finding positions in their home and in life without the influence of their husband. It wasn’t until after the 1870’s that women officially started to gain more rights, such as voting, divorce rights, and property claims.
Nora was wife of Helmer and a mother of 3 children. They lived in a house where their nurse Anne-Marie took care of the children and Helene which was their maid took care of the house work. Nora was a stay at home mother and would occasionally take on little jobs in order to make ends meet. Nora has lived her whole life as a puppet. Her life has always been controlled by someone else; first by her father and then by her husband Helmer. “Her whole life is a construct of societal norms and the expectations of others” (Wiseman). “Nora’s father would force his beliefs on her and she would comply with them lest she upset him; she would bury her personal belief under Papa’s. According to Nora, Torvald was guilty of the same things” (Wiseman). Nora has always lived her life according to the beliefs of someone else. She didn 't know how to live life any other way because this is how she was raised. She felts trapped in the life she lived because she knew no other way of living besides her current lifestyle. Due to Nora being controlled her whole life she seemed childish and lacked knowledge of the world outside her house. At the end of the story Helmer decides to show his true colors once his future was threatened. This made Nora realize that she does not love her husband nor does he love her, and decides that is not the life she wants to live. “Helmer: You talk like a child. You don 't know anything of the world you live
A Doll 's house is one of the modern works that Henrik Ibsen wrote. He was called the father of modern drama .He was famous for writing plays that related to real life. A Doll 's House is a three-act play that discusses the marriage in the 19th century. It is a well-made play that used the first act as an exposition. The extract that will be analyzed in the following paragraphs is a dialogue between Nora and the nurse that takes care of her children. This extract shows how she was afraid not only of Krogstad blackmail, but also of Torvald 's point of view about those who committed any mistake. Torvald says that the mothers who tell lies should not bring up children as they are not honest . Nora is also lying to her family and to Torvald. So she is afraid because she thinks she maybe 'poisoning ' her own children. The analysis of this extract will be about of Nora 's character, the theme, and the language in A Doll 's House.
Nora Helmer was a delicate character and she relied on Torvald for her identity. This dependence that she had kept her from having her own personality. Yet when it is discovered that Nora only plays the part of the good typical housewife who stays at home to please her husband, it is then understandable that she is living not for herself but to please others. From early childhood Nora has always held the opinions of either her father or Torvald, hoping to please them. This mentality makes her act infantile, showing that she has no ambitions of her own. Because she had been pampered all of her life, first by her father and now by Torvald, Nora would only have to make a cute animal sound to get what she wanted from Torvald, “If your little squirrel were to ask you for something very, very, prettily” (Ibsen 34) she said.
A Doll's House contains many instances of irony. The main characters, Nora and Torvald, are especially involved in this.Many of the examples of irony in this play are types of dramatic irony. Dramatic irony usually refers to a situation in a play wherein a character's knowledge is limited, and he or she encounters something of greater significance than he or she knows. Throughout the play, most of the dramatic irony displayed is between Nora and Torvald, with Torvald being the character whose knowledge is limited. Early on in the play, when Mr. Krogstad is threatening to tell Torvald of Nora's secret, Nora pleads with him and asks him not to. She says to him that "It would be a rotten shame. That secret is all my pride and joy - why should he have to hear about it in this nasty, horrid way........hear about it from you" (1431). This is ironic in that her "pride and joy" is something that her husband would completely disapprove of.
Nora engages in a mutually dependent game with Torvald in that she gains power in the relationship by being perceived as weak, yet paradoxically she has no real power or independence because she is a slave to the social construction of her gender. Her epiphany at the end at the play realises her and her marriage as a product of society, Nora comes to understand that she has been living with a constr...
Patriarchy's socialization of women into servicing creatures is the major accusation in Nora's painful account to Torvald of how first her father, and then he, used her for their amusement. . . how she had no right to think for herself, only the duty to accept their opinions. Excluded from meaning anything, Nora has never been subject, only object. (Templeton 142).
Torvald is the only one in the family who works and provides for his family who needs to survive in their lifestyle. Because of this, Nora must always go and ask for money from Torvald, hoping for his acceptance of her using his income. Nora also had no possessions to her name because when a woman got married, all her possessions were considered under the control of her new husband.... ... middle of paper ...
Nora is a dynamic character. When the play begins Nora is viewed and presented as a playful and carefree person. She seems to be more intent on shopping for frivolous things. But, as time goes on it becomes apparent that Nora actually has a certain amount of seriousness in her decisions and actions in dealing with the debt she incurred to save Torvald’s life. Nora’s openness in her friendship with Dr. Rank changes after he professes his affections toward her. Her restraint in dealing with him shows that Nora is a mature and intelligent woman. Nora shows courage, not seen previously, by manipulating her way around Krogstad and his threats to reveal her secret. After feeling betrayed by Torvald, Nora reveals that she is leaving him. Having
In "A Doll's House", Ibsen portrays the bleak picture of a role held by women of all economic classes that is sacrificial. The female characters in the play back-up Nora's assertion that even though men are unable to sacrifice their integrity, "hundreds of thousands of woman have." Mrs. Linde found it necessary to abandon Krogstad, her true but poor love, and marry a richer man in order to support her mother and two brothers. The nanny has to abandon her children to support herself by working for Nora. Though Nora is economically advantaged, in comparison to the other female characters, she leads a hard life because society dictates that Torvald be the marriages dominant member. Torvald condescends Nora and inadvertently forces Nora to hide the loan from him. Nora knows that Torvald could never accept the idea that his wife, or any other woman, could aid in saving his life.
Throughout the play, the relationships between all of it’s characters can either be seen as manipulative, deceitful, or just downright fake. Nora uses Torvald for money while keeping little secrets from him like eating macaroons behind his back, Torvald uses Nora for entrainment pleasure, and Christine uses Nora to gain a job at Torvald’s bank which causes Krogstad to lose his job. This leads to the main conflict of the story, it revolves around Nora’s forgery of the loan document she gave to Krogstad. This is a crime in a legal and moral sense; legal being that Nora had committed forgery, and moral being that she kept it secret from Torvald. Because Krogstad lost his job, he threatens to expose Nora’s secret. This conflict causes a chain reaction of manipulation as Nora attempts to do everything in her power to prevent Krogstad from exposing her. Knowing about Krogstad’s history with Christine, Nora uses her to persuade Krogstad out of his decision. The cycle of lies, deceit, and manipulation is symbolic to that of a dollhouse because even though everything in the Helmer household and the relationships of the characters seemed to be perfect at the beginning of the play, it is all