A Doll House Essay On Marriage

A Doll’s House, written by Henrik Ibsen, is attempting to pursue the message that a true happy marriage is a marriage of equal parts between both people. In the beginning of the play, both the Helmers seem happy to be together. Over the course of A Doll’s House, the imbalance and unhappiness of the relationship become more obvious (Shmoop). By the end of the play, Nora Helmer, the wife of Torvald Helmer wants to focus on just herself and realizes that she was never actually in love with her husband, Torvald. Torvald, the husband, is completely blindsided by everything that Nora is feeling and is heartbroken when she leaves him. By the end of the play, the marriage between the Helmers ends.

In the play A Doll's House, the idea of marriage during their time period is very different from the idea of marriage that people have in this time period. In this play, the husband Torvald controls every single thing that the wife, Nora, does. He controls many things in her life, even things like telling her what she can and cannot eat. During the play it seems as if Nora is a type of doll that is controlled by Torvald. Throughout the entire plot, Nora acts as if she is completely dependent on Torvald, even though sometimes she doesn’t need him or his help at all.”You're only playing your little teasing bird game with me; aren't you, Nora? Don't want to? I'm your husband, aren't I (Isben 447)”? Torvald feels that Nora’s main job as a wife is to satisfy him physically more than mentally. Marriages more in this century, are more the husband and wife depending on each other for both physically and mentally attributes, unlike what is happening in this play.

In the play, Torvald also doesn’t trust Nora with money, when Nora wants money instead ...

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...be good for herself and she would have less stress from all the things that he does to her, and wouldn’t have to deal with the way that he treats her. When the Nora and Torvald are married their incapable of realizing who they are as individuals.

When reading A Doll’s House, the author tries to pursue the message that a true happy marriage is a marriage of equal parts between both people. In the beginning Torvald and Nora have a happy, typical, marriage that anybody in that time would have. There are many examples that show that towards the end of the play, a happy and equal marriage is something that Nora and Torvald don’t have. Once Norra leaves Torvald, there are many good and bad consequences that have the possibility of happening. There are many good and bad things that happen between their marriage, but in the end, the couple doesn’t know how to act as equals.