AN ANALYSIS OF NORA, THE MEN IN HER LIFE,
AND HER NAVIGATATION TO INDEPENDENCE
The play, A Doll House, written by Henrik Ibsen in 1879, is considered a
landmark in drama for its portrayal of realistic people, places, and situations. Ibsen
confines his story to the middle class. He writes of a society that is limited not only by its means of livelihood but also its outlook. Ibsen portrays his characters
as preoccupied with work and money, showing a reduction of values in and that lack of quality persons with morals. Ibsen takes this realistic story and invests it with
universal significance. Wrapped up in the technique of this well constructed play, Ibsen is masterful in his presentation of not only realism, but he holds a mirror up
to the society of his day by using the male figures as catalysts for Nora's ultimate
knowledge of self-actualization. He accomplishes this with such precision
that the audience might not be aware all the subtleties that are creating their
theatrical experience.
In A Doll House, Nora forges the name of her father and risks damaging her
husband's good name. Henrik Ibsen offers remarkable insight into the nineteenth
century preoccupation with the family and the role of the father, and what role is projected upon those who are subjugated to him. This play takes up the subject of
strong women and weak men within the plot. A prominent theme within this drama
is the deterioration of the male, who is aware of his role as a "father figure". This decomposition is observed by the female protagonist (Nora). It is this descent that the role of the father figure is shaped, while creating the catalyst for the catharsis
or change in Nora. When the female protagonist challenges patriarchal authority, she does so
by undermining in one form or another both the dominant male and his family name. The following analysis focuses on Nora's ultimate realization that she must be an
emancipated person to be her true self. Her navigation through the elements of
crises are focused through the father-figures in her life. The journey towards her
self-actualization and rising freedom can be found within her relationships with
the men in her life. This ultimately identifies the relevant thematic elements
that are pivo...
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...he chooses instead to see
herself as someone in process, in a state of becoming, rather than of having defined
being. Nora discovers that because her own signature had no value, she had to take
the name of the dead/absent father. Eventually realizing that she cannot escape the
ghost or the name of the absent husband/father.
Thus, through Nora’s association and interaction with her father figures she, in a broader sense, hints at the possibility of a new dynamic for the family
and society as a whole. A time in which the person, no matter the gender, is allowed to sign for him or herself rather, than use the name of an father. In A Doll House Nora discovers herself disenfranchised and disembodied by her
father's/husband's name. This only occurs by virtue of her inner resolve and the
inherit flaws Ibsen has given to the male characters of the play. She finally rejects both her father and husband and affirms her ambition to write her own destiny.
Works Cited
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House . Drama: A HarperCollins Pocket Anthology. ed. R. S. Gwynn. New York: HarperCollins. 1993. 153-212.
...ties and differences of the leadership of Steve Jobs and Fr. Jose Arizmendiarrieta that the leadership required for organisations to succeed is unique to the goals and definition of success portrayed by the leader. Their leadership styles were reflected in the organisations development and it can be seen why leadership in organisations is of such importance. What is also clear is that there is no right or wrong way to lead – Fr Jose achieved a sustainable profitable cooperative, Jobs archived a highly profitable company. The leadership practice used needs to fit the organisations vision, the needs of the stakeholders, and be ingrained into followers. The followers need to buy in to the leader’s vision and goals and play their part in implementing the steps required for success. The leader is ultimately responsible for guiding the followers along the path to success.
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House, which was written during the Victorian era, introduced a woman as having her own purposes and goals, making the play unique and contemporary. Nora, the main character, is first depicted as a doll or a puppet because she relies on her husband, Torvald Helmer, for everything, from movements to thoughts, much like a puppet who is dependent on its puppet master for all of its actions. Nora’s duties, in general, are restricted to playing with the children, doing housework, and working on her needlepoint. A problem with her responsibilities is that her most important obligation is to please Helmer. Helmer thinks of Nora as being as small, fragile, helpless animal and as childlike, unable to make rational decisions by herself. This is a problem because she has to hide the fact that she has made a decision by herself, and it was an illegal one.
For the past decade, The United States has stressed the importance of college education, to those seeking employment, and better careers. For most people, college is the logical next step in education, as it provides a working knowledge of a desired field and opens the door to many opportunities, but college has become increasingly more expensive as time goes on. Many people feel that college is no longer an option financially. Even with financial aid and scholarships, the cost of a college education can still be very taxing. This is due to massive price increase across the boards, but the main issue on most people’s minds is the debt that will be acquired from higher education.
Nora, characterized as a benevolent and strong person, left her husband to explore the beliefs in society and to interpret ideas herself. Unlike Nora, the belligerent, selfish Hedda destroyed the lives of people around her just to take her own life in the end. Even though it appeared that Nora abandoned all responsibility for her children and hid an insidious secret from her husband, Nora showed greater fortitude than Hedda in the way she faced the obstacles of her life. Although it appeared that Nora abandoned her family, society restrictions provided her with no other option.... ... middle of paper ...
Ibsen, Henrik. Four Major Plays: A Doll House, the Wild Duck, Hedda Gabler, the Master Builder. New York: New American Library, 1992.
...ome from different worlds, yet they still share the same type of sadness and pain in their everyday lives. What Nora does is considered courageous in that time in history, where women were not treated as equals and were always looked down on and ignored. Women speaking out and taking matters into their own hands was unheard of and often risky. They want to be independent so they do what they believe is necessary to accomplish and reach their goals, so that they can once again be happy for eternity.
Nora’s life struggle began at a young age. Her father treated her like an inhuman object, and now her husband has done the same thing. After many years of maintaining her “perfect” life, Nora could no longer live like this. She finally stands up for herself and makes a choice to leave her family. This decision is completely reasonable. It is unimaginable to think anyone could treat another person so crudely. No person should be molded into being someone they are not. It is unfair to treat a loved one like an object instead of an equal human being. Unfortunately there are many women today who find themselves in the same position in Nora. Many of which do not have the strength to confront, and to pry themselves from grips of their abusers. It is possible that the greatest miracle will be Nora, out on her own, finding her true self.
The U.S. Department of State defines terrorism as, “The calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological”. Whereas the Belgium Red Cross says that terrorism is committed “for the purpose of intimidating the population, forcing a third party to act or destablishing or destroying the fundamental structures of a country or of an international organization”.
...her defiance to no longer comply with the gender constructions of society. Ibsen, therefore, criticises society’s compliance with the constructions of the culture and urges us to be more like Nora is at her epiphany. Lady Bracknell is memorable for her comically masculine traits and character. Not only does Wilde shatter our gender expectations, but ridicules the compliance of individuals in the performances that they make for society. Both plays raise questions regarding the submission of men and women to society’s presumptions and pressure regarding gender, and criticise individuals for conforming without asking questions. Each play makes us question our own performances for society and the performances of others in our lives. Nora’s realisation that she has married a construction is as unnerving now as it was to its contemporary audience because it forces us to look at our own behaviour and that of others around us, presenting us with a frightening and menacing awareness that we also may be existing in false and constructed lives.
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
and do things themselves. One of the women gets her own job and the other leaves her daughter for adoption. Thus showing they are making their own decisions in life. This is unheard of in the 1800's and shows Ibsen trying to have a society in which women do have an identity in society and can be heard. Throughout the play, a women is shown doing her own thinking and not listening to what men have to say even though that is not how it used to be. Ibsen creates this new society in which anyone, no matter the gender, should be able to make their own decisions about life and how to live it.
George Brandes once insisted that the only way literature could be made into a vital and living piece of art would be by "subjecting problems to debate" Indeed, it was the `problem' at the heart of Henrik Ibsen's plays that caused most of the controversy that surrounded them. Whereas other theatrical productions of Ibsen's time adhered to a standard plot and set of characters, Ibsen chose to break free of conventions by introducing topical issues into his drama, challenging contemporary assumptions about the role of women, the institution of marriage and the state of society.
As the play goes on, Nora seems to transform from her delicate little character into something much more. At the end of act one, Krogstad goes to Nora for the recollection of the money she had borrowed from him. "You don?t mean that you will tell my husband that I owe you money?" (21). Since Nora was wrong in doing so socially, she could not tell Torvald or anyone else about her problem. Not only would that affect their social standard but also Torvald's ego, which inevitably would happen anyway. After Krogstad threatens to expose Nora for forging her father's signature, she realizes that no matter what she does Torvald was going to know the truth. The flaw with...
...dlike mentality and needs to grow before she can raise her own children. Her defiance of Torvald, when he refuses to let her leave, reflects her epiphany that she isn't obligated to let Torvald dictate her actions. The height of Nora's realization comes when she tells Torvald that her duty to herself is as strong as her duty as a wife and mother. She now sees that she is a human being before she is a wife and mother and she owes herself to explore her personality, ambitions, and beliefs.
Ibsen, Henrik. "A Doll House." Ibsen : Four Major Plays - Volume 1. Trans. Rolf Fjelde. New York: Signet Classics, 1992. 43-114. Print.