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Social issues in a doll's house
Analysis of Doll's house by Henrik Ibsen
Character and characterization of a doll's house
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In Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House, Torvald and his wife, Nora, live a middle class, conservative life with three children. Nora stays at home while Torvald works as a manager at a bank. Previously, when Torvald was sick, Nora forged her father's signature on a bond to receive money for a trip to Italy so Torvald could recover. Only Nils Krogstad, another man at the bank, and Nora's best friend, Linde, know about her terrible secret. Linde and Krogstad have also failed in society like Nora: Krogstad has performed the same act of forgery, and Linde had to work to support her family while most women stayed at home. Nora and Torvald succeed in society but their relationship fails. Ironically, Krogstad and Linde maintain a true relationship although they are both failures. They are able to be honest with each other, converse seriously, and have both been wronged by society. Therefore, they are already exposed to criticism of the world. Krogstad and Linde are able to be honest with each other while Nora and Torvald are not. Although Krogstad committed a serious crime and Linde was forced to work to support her family, both of these burdens have already been removed from them. Therefore, they are able to be open because they have no secrets left to conceal. Linde tells Krogstad she believes they must "have a complete understanding [...] which is impossible with [...] concealment and falsehood [...]" (52). Nora keeps a dangerous secret from Torvald in order for them to still appear "normal" to society. Consequently, they are not honest with each other so they cannot keep their marriage together. Nora pretends to "be someone she is not in order to fulfill the role that Torvald, her father, and society at large have expected of her" (Gillis). She is also wronged because she is led to believe "she was happy, that she was an ideal wife, and that her husband loves her" (Goonetilleke) only to find out he impulsively refuses to stay with her because she has committed a crime.
Structure – The work is formatted to be a play. It has three acts, each beginning with stage directions.
After she reveals the "dastardly deed" to her husband, he becomes understandably agitated; in his frustration he shares the outside world with her, the ignorance of the serious business world, and destroys her innocence and self-esteem. This disillusion marks the final destructive blow to her doll's house. Their ideal home including their marriage and parenting has been a fabrication for the sake of society. Nora's decision to leave this false life behind and discover for herself what is real is directly symbolic of woman's ultimate realization. Although she becomes aware of her supposed subordinateness, it is not because of this that she has the desire to take action. Nora is utterly confused, as suggested by Harold Clurman, "She is groping sadly in a maze of confused feeling toward a way of life and a destiny of which she is most uncertain (256)." The one thing she is aware of is her ignorance, and her desire to go out into the world is not to "prove herself" but
Linde is an example of a woman acting predatory with her jealously and advancing herself as the motive for her actions. When Nora and Mrs. Linde are catching up on each other’s lives, Mrs. Linde tells Nora of the hardship in her life and says, “No one to work for, and yet you’re always having to snap up your opportunities. You have to live; and so you grow selfish” (Ibsen 2192). This emphasizes the nature of predatoriness in this society that is necessary to live within it. Mrs. Linde mentions that she has struggled to find work and garners Nora’s sympathy to then follow up and ask Nora if Torvald could possibly find her a job. Through Mrs. Linde, Ibsen illustrates this type of subtle predatoriness that is commonly used to advance oneself in his society. When Krogstad tells Mrs. Linde about his letter to Torvald, instead of stopping Torvald from getting the letter, and finding out Nora’s secret, she says, “Helmer’s got to learn everything; this dreadful secret has to be aired; those two have come have to come to a full understanding; all these lies and evasions can’t go on” (Ibsen 2222). Mrs. Linde gets exactly what she wants, a life similar to Nora’s with Krogstad, without having to cause any damage, but demonstrates predatory nature through acting with the intention to hurt Nora due to the jealousy she felt for Nora’s life. Ibsen suggests that many women want to get married and live the life of a life of a perfect housewife, but do not succeed in this, like Mrs.
Throughout A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen illustrates through an intriguing story how a once infantile-like woman gains independence and a life of her own. Ibsen creates a naturalistic drama that demonstrates how on the outside Nora and Torvald seam to have it all, but in reality their life together is empty. Instead of meaningful discussions, Torvald uses degrading pet names and meaningless talk to relate to Nora. Continuing to treat Nora like a pampered yet unimportant pet, Torvald thoroughly demonstrates how men of his era treat women as insignificant items to be possessed and shown off. While the Helmer household may have the appearance of being sociably acceptable, the marriage of Torvald and Nora was falling apart because of the lack of identity, love, and communication.
At the beginning of A Doll’s House, Nora Helmer seems stable in her marriage and the way that her life has panned out. She doesn’t seem to mind the her husband, Torvald, speaks to her, even if the audience can blatantly see that he is degrading her with the names he chooses to call her. “Hm, if only you knew what expenses we larks and squirrels have, Torvald” (Ibsen, 1192). Nora is notorious throughout Act I to play into the nicknames that Torvald calls her. She portrays that she is this doll-like creature that needs to be taken care of. Furthermore, we see that Nora is excited for her husband’s new job that will increase their income substantially. This is the first mask that the audience is presented with. As the play continues, Nora reveals yet another mask, this is a mask of a woman who so desperately wants to be taken seriously. The audience learns that Nora had previously taken out a loan to save her husband’s life. She proves that ...
Identifying a lie can at times prove quite troublesome. Some individuals may occasionally claim to spot deception simply by noticing the behavior of someone accused. This gut feeling is by no standards definite, and could be in fact mistaken. On the on other hand, one possible way to expose a lie concerns the revealing of an idea that is most assuredly true, such as with an article that has been written down. Documents usually are quite accurate, for once an idea is put on paper it becomes quite hard to retract. In effect written words relate to the truth, and if understood by the viewer they may expose the lies of those around him. Taking this a step further involves putting truthful, paper into the hands of someone else, perhaps in the form of a letter or note via the post office. In his drama A Doll House Ibsen included three articles of mail to symbolize the truth, and thereby to reveal some of the lies perpetrated by Nora.
Henrik Ibsen was the first to introduce a new realistic mode in theater when he wrote the play A Doll’s House. The ending of the third act of this play was not accepted due to the controversy that it caused during the nineteenth century, because in this era women were not allowed to act the way Nora did, but through women’s movements society slowly started to accept it.
Nora is trying to keep something away from public knowledge and especially away from her husband. She hides the fact that she borrowed money to save his health. She was afraid that if Torvald knew that she had taken initiative to borrow money to help him that it would be "painful and humiliating"(Ibsen 501) for him. She knows that Torvald needs to feel in control of everything. So she hides her actions from him. & nbsp; Nora hides the fact that she has done something illegal from Torvald. She is given the opportunity to tell Torvald and maybe get his support or advise on the situation, and she lies to him to hide the truth. She claims that the reason that she does not want Torvald to fire Krogstad is that "this fellow writes in the most scurrilous newspapers.he can do [Tor could have told him, but instead she decided to hide the truth from her husband. & nbsp; She also hides her own strength. She plays the part that she has come accustomed to, being the doll. The first time in the play that Torvald refers to Nora, he calls her a "little lark"(Ibsen 493). Throughout the play, he refers to her as a cute little animal, never with any word that might her indicate that he wishes she were a little plaything of his. To fit this character, Nora hides her true strength until the end of the play. Nora says that "[she] must stand quite alone"(Ibsen 546) and leaves Torvald to be alone. Not only does Nora make the claim that she could stand alone, she follows it with an action, thus the audience knows that Nora can be stronger than she was appearing and that she must have been hiding her true & nbsp; Nora hides her ability to handle money. She does not let Torvald know that she is entirely capable of handling debt. Instead, she leads on that "[she] should not care whether [she] owed money or not"(Ibsen 493). Although she says that she would not care about being in debt, the audience learns that she is handling her own debt She leads on that she is the little doll who cannot handle anything. She hides her abilities from Torvald to be his little doll. & nbsp; The hiding and seeking of the characters in the play is reminiscent of the game that Nora plays with her children. In playing games like that with her children, Nora is also hiding from them and her job as mother. She likes to take off their warm outer clothing because "it is such fun"(Ibsen 506). She finds the job of mother fun.  507). The job of mother was no longer fun, so she abandons it. She uses the nurse to hide from the children that she gave birth to. & nbsp; Torvald also hides from his wife, Nora. He shares none of his work with Nora. They speak very little about financial matters. When they do talk, it is mostly silly talk not seriously about their financial situation. Their first conversation on stage is about money. He tries pitifully to talk to her seriously about money, but shillings-a pound-two pounds"(Ibsen 493). He gives her more money to make her happy instead of trying to work out their financial situation. Torvald hides business about money from Nora just like she hides from him. & nbsp; Torvald also hides information about his job from her. Nora barely knows what he does at his job at the bank. Nora asks Dr. Rank if "all the people who are employed in the bank dependant of Torvald now"(Ibsen 504). Nora knows that Torvald has had a promotion, but does not even know really what & nbsp; Nora knows that they are hiding from each other. She knows that she must hide from those around her to protect her way of life. Although she is talking to her children at the time, Nora's words can be applied to her actions throughout the play. Nora says, "Must I hide? Very well, I'll hide first"(Ibs hiding. The snares are hidden. & nbsp; Nora and Torvald both hide from each other. Although she hides from her husband, Nora starts seeking truth. She is playing the game on both sides. She hides and she seeks. She is trying to learn about life. Nora wants to find that there can be a life where she does not have to hide from the of another and inferior species, Woman"(Shaw 143). Nora wants to be able to stop hiding. To be able to do that, she must be treated like an equal. That is something that Torvald will not do for her. He will not "sacrifice his honor for the one he loves"(Ibsen 548). Torvald will not bear all of Nora's weight, even though him, and when that did not happen and she was abandoned, she must seek another life. She seeks a life where her sacred duties are "to [herself]"(Ibsen 546) before her husband and children. M. C. Bradbook acknowledges that "in leaving her husband Nora is seeking a fuller life as a human being"(87). Nora is leaving a life in hiding to find a life that is richer and more full & nbsp; The hiding and seeking that goes on in the play is far from over when Nora ends the game with the children. It started before then and finished only when Nora walked out on Torvald and her marriage. Nora hides her strength, knowledge and abilities from her husband. She does this because he could not handle having a peer as a wife. He given to the nurse and Nora is only left with playing with her children. The job of wife to Torvald is filled only with a hidden personality. He wishes something that he can call his own and protect with ease. Nora becomes a seeker when she realizes what kind of life she is leading with her husband. When she realizes what he seeks as a wife, she also realizes that she needs to find another life. The a sense of individuality. With leaving her husband, Nora gives the indication that she will no longer tolerate a way of life that forces her to hide.
Krogstad is different from Torvald because he is not as well off economically and socially and this leads him to try an extremer form of manipulation. Krogstad is desperate to keep his job at the bank and tries to get Nora to secure the job with her husband through blackmail. Since he was once found to be forging documents, his reputation has been flaky, so in order to regain his reputation for his sons: "For their sake I must win back as much respect as I can in the town" (22), he needs to keep his job at the bank.
In Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House we encounter the young and beautiful Nora on Christmas Eve. Nora Helmer seems to be a playful and affectionate young woman full of life and zeal. As the play progresses, we learn that Nora is not just a “silly girl” (Ibsen) as Torvald refers to her. She learns of the business world related to debt that she acquired by taking out a loan in order to save her beloved Torvalds life. 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 diff quote perhaps?) she exclaims in her confrontation with Torvald. She realizes that she has been putting on a facade for
Weintraub, Stanley. ""Doll's House" Metaphor Foreshadowed in Victorian Fiction." Nineteenth-Century Fiction 13: 67-69. Web. 6 Jan. 2011.
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
A contrasting difference in the characters, are shown not in the characters themselves, but the role that they play in their marriages. These women have different relationships with their husbands. Torvald and Nora have a relationship where there is no equality. To Torvald Nora is an object. Hence, she plays the submissive role in a society where the lady plays the passive role. Her most important obligation is to please Torvald, making her role similar to a slave. He too considers himself superior to her.
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.
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...