Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll House. This play is very insightful into this time period. He uses literary devices to talk about how women were expected to talk, act, and dance a certain way for their husbands. He uses dramatic irony to best bring out that women can do what men do during this time period. The dramatic irony is evident all throughout the play. Ibsen uses dramatic irony at the beginning of the play when Nora tries to express her happiness about her husband’s new job and their future. The reader later comes to find out that Nora owes a debt to Mr. Krogstad and she was masking her fear with fake happiness. “Oh yes, Torvald, we can squander a little now. Can’t we? Just a tiny, wee bit. Now that you’ve got a big salary and are going to make piles and piles of money.” (Act 1, Lines 19-20) Her husband proceeds to tell her that “Yes- starting New Year’s. But then it’s a full three months till the raise comes through.” (Act 1, Line 21-22) Nora’s husband sees this as another example of …show more content…
his wife not understanding money. He doesn’t know that she takes her allowance from her husband and uses it to pay off her outstanding debt. Later in the first act, another dramatic irony situation is present when Torvald tells Nora that Krogstad committed a forgery and couldn’t be trusted. None the less, Torvald didn’t know about Nora committing her own forgery. Torvald goes on to say that Krogstad infected his family with his forgery and that it all boils down to a chronic lying mother. “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 Nora- that’s where it’s the most horrible. Becasue that kind of atmosphere of lies infect the whole life of a home.” (Act 1) “Every breath the children take in is filled with the germs of something degenerate.”(Act 1) “Oh I’ve seen it often enough as a lawyer. Almost everyone who goes bad early in life has a mother who’s a chronic liar.” (Act 1) This is dramatic irony because Torvald is saying all of this about Krogstad when Nora also committed forgery and lied about it and infected her children. Torvald is oblivious to Nora’s crime. Ibsen takes dramatic irony in this scene to make the reader laugh at how Torvald looks down on forgery and lying, when his own wife has committed them. When Torvald promises to take the burden for Nora, but doesn’t when the time comes is another example of dramatic irony in the play.
"Let what will happen, happen. When the real crisis comes, you will not find me lacking in strength or courage. I am man enough to bear the burden for us both." (Act III) When Torvald does find out about Nora’s forgery, he is lacking in strength. And he responds with "How could it help if you were gone from his world? It wouldn't assist me.... I may easily be suspected of having been an accomplice in your crime. People may think... We must appear to be living together... But the children shall be taken out of your hands. I dare no longer entrust them to you." (Act III) It’s ironic because the situation finally came for Torvald to take care of Nora, and he didn’t. He insisted people thought he was an accomplice and it would ruin his name and image. This shows all along that Torvald only cared about himself and never really loved Nora like he
said. The dramatic irony in A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen brings the whole play together. The irony is in every scene of the play and makes Torvald seem selfish, and controlling of his wife. Then when he reads the letter about Nora’s debt, his true character came out. The irony is very sufficient in the plot of the play and insightful to the time period. The literary devices Ibsen uses help the reader see how women were treated during this time. Ibsen uses the dramatic irony all throughout the play and it is very effective.
In the play A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, several literary lenses can be used to better help understand the storyline. The most prominent lens used throughout this play is gender. It plays a large role in the story A Doll’s House. Nora, the protagonist is faced with many challenges because of the normalities of 19th century society. She must overcome these difficulties throughout the play.
A Doll House, a play written by Henrik Ibsen, published in the year 1879, stirred up much controversy within its time period because it questioned the views of society's social rules and norms. "Throughout most of history... Wifehood and motherhood were regarded as women's most significant professions... The resulting stereotype that 'a woman's place is in the home' has largely determined the ways in which women have expressed themselves" ("Women's History in America"). Ibsen places many hints throughout his play about the roles of women and how they were treated in his time. Nora is perceived as a typical housewife; maintaining the house and raising her children. However, Nora had actually hired a maid to do all of those typical housewife duties for her. Nora was naive, and ambitious. She hid many secrets from her husband. The way women were viewed in this time period formed a kind of barrier that Nora could not overcome. Women should not be discriminated against just because of their gender and within reason they should be able to do what their heart entails.
5. Ford, Karen. "Social contrains and painful growth in A Doll's House". Expanded Academic ASAP. Methodist College , Fayetteville , NC . 30 Octuber 2005
Those of you who have just read A Doll's House for the first time will, I suspect, have little trouble forming an initial sense of what it is about, and, if past experience is any guide, many of you will quickly reach a consensus that the major thrust of this play has something to do with gender relations in modern society and offers us, in the actions of the heroine, a vision of the need for a new-found freedom for women (or a woman) amid a suffocating society governed wholly by unsympathetic and insensitive men.
Ibsen prepares the reader for the superficial set up to the play by the meaningful title. A marriage and a family set up in a dollhouse acting as dolls perform their standard gender roles in society. Torvald, Nora’s husband, repeatedly treats Nora like a child, and she even portrays juvenile characteristics. She sneaks macarons in her pockets and lies about eating them after being scolded by Torvald as if he her father instead of her husband. He has given Nora pet names such as “my little squirrel,” “my little lark,” and “my little spend-thrift” (Isben 863). Torvald is possessive of Nora, adding the “my” to all the pet names that he repeatedly calls her. She appears to be his doll; playing every part Torvald wants her to be. He holds the upper hand of control over her as the dominant male society has cast him to be. Even their own childre...
Torvald is extremely cautious about how he is perceived by other people. He would do anything to keep his honourable image, even if it involves him doing something dishonourable. Another way the relationship between Nora and Torvald will end is from Nora’s desire for her own identity. Even though it might seem that without Krogstad’s extortion plan, Nora would have never developed her need for an identity, but she has shown signs of a new identity well before Krogstad tried to extort Nora from his job.
In the beginning of act I, Torvald uses phrases that are seen as degrading towards his wife. “When did my squirrel get in?” (Ibsen, 1106) Torvald seems to be dehumanizing his wife with pet names. Although Nora keeps the conversation going as if it doesn’t bother her, Torvald believes that he has the most power in the relationship, thus talking to Nora in a childish manner. Throughout this same scene, Torvald shows signs that his work is more important than what his wife asks of him. After Nora asks Torvald to come see what she had bought, he replies that he “Can’t be disturbed” (Ibsen, 1106). Although Torvald then gets up to see what she has bought, it is clear that money is more important than Nora’s demands.
Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” a nineteenth century play successfully uses symbolism to express many characteristics of Helmer’s life, together with the way that the main character Nora feels towards her marriage at the end of the play. Ibsen’s use of symbolism to convey about the social setting, including the harsh male-controlled Danish society, seen mostly in Torvald in the play and the role of women, signified mostly in Nora. These symbols act as foretelling before the tragic events at the end of the play, as they show the problems which lead to the demise of the Helmer’s ‘perfect’ family life.
Ibsen opens the play with the perfect home where Nora is planning Christmas and how she is planning every detail with no concern for her own needs. Torvald asks Nora, “what have you thought of for yourself?” (Doll 1). Nora replies that she doesn’t, “want anything at all.” (Doll 1). Nora displays her own selfless attitude as she prepares to provide all these great gifts for the family and nothing for herself. When Torvald pushes Nora to choose something, she chooses money so she can spend it on things for others and not for herself. The playful nature between husband and wife displays the perfect bond between them. The Hellmer’s are a middle class family and since Torvald got a promotion and is getting a raise, they can afford to spend more lavishly. They don’t have to worry about money anymore. They also have a Christmas dinner planned where they invite the sick Dr. Rank and then Nora’s friend Mrs. Linde. Nora convinces Torvald to try to see if he can get Mrs. Linde a job at the bank because she has fallen into some tough times. The relationship that Nora has is a great one that sets up this perfect family life for her.
[This is the text of a lecture delivered, in part, in Liberal Studies 310 at Malaspina University-College, Nanaimo, BC, Canada. References to Ibsen's text are to the translation by James McFarlane and Jens Arup (Oxford: OUP, 1981). This text is in the public domain, released July 2000]
To start, in this play the main character Nora is portrayed to be the perfect nineteenth-century wife to her husband Torvald. Not only that, but Nora is also painted in a way that characterizes her as a bubbly air-head that is not able to take care of herself or have a mind of her own. Ibsen wirtes “HELMER: Nora, Nora, how like a woman! No, but seriously, Nora, you know what I think about that. No debts! Never borrow! Something of freedom’s lost—and something of beauty, too—from a home that’s founded on borrowing and debt. We’ve made a brave stand up to now, the two of us; and we’ll go right on like that the little while we have to. NORA [going toward the stove ]: Yes, whatever you say, Torvald.” (944)Since Realists go against individuals having freedom of action over a state control, Torvald Helmer can be seen as representing a government while Nora represents a citizen with no say in any matter. Torvald uses the term “like a woman” to denounce Nora's inability to handle money, thus belittling her. Nora still complies to Torvalds wishes, giving up her voice rather easily while she only does what is best for her greater power. Furthermore, Nora obtains money from her father before he dies to support the trip to Italy because Torvald was ill and needed to go in order to get help. This shows that Nora did was only thinking about her husband, the higher power she obeys, and put herself last. This also exemplifies a Realist concern with community benefit, not
After asking his wife if she understands what she has done Nora answers “[Looking squarely at him, her face hardening] Yes. I am beginning to understand everything” (835). This statement might be the key phrase of Nora’s realization. The double- meaning implies Nora’s understanding of the actual situation as well as her awareness that her marriage, even though it conforms with social expectations, is far from perfect. She now doubts the depth of her love for Torvald and becomes calm with comprehension as she begins to recognize the truth about her marriage. While she expects compassion for her sacrifice, she is none given. Instead of sacrificing anything to help Nora out of her predicament, Torvald is only worried about himself and appearances. It becomes very clear, after the second letter from Krogstad arrives, that her well-being always comes second “I’m saved. Nora, I’m saved! You too, of course” (836). Throughout the conversation with Torvald, Nora finally realizes, she needs to rearrange her life and priorities to be happy. This implies independence and self-awareness. While Nora finally understands the situation, she is in and what she needs to do but Torvald defines her new attitudes as madness “You’re ill, Nora; you’re feverish; I almost think you’re out of your mind” (840). “However, the characterization has been tied to the fact that she is breaking taboos or challenging conventions” (Langås 160). Torvald is still stuck in his fantasy world of how a wife should talk and act per his standard and the society he stands for. “Nora still has no way of knowing that she is not endangering her children with her presence and in the end, she feels impelled to leave, and her decision is less an act of defiance against her husband and society than an attempt to save the lives of her children” (Brooks
sure the children don’t see it till it’s decorated this evening”(Ibsen 892). There is also a
Ibsen’s play is set up in the first act to present to the readers a happy marriage. The house is well furnished with a piano, Christmas is around the corner, and Nora has just arrived home after an afternoon of shopping. Nora and her husband exchange flirty and friendly introductions,
Societal problems prevail throughout the history of the world and exist within all countries, regions, and cultures. The controversial aspects in societies are based on a large variety of subjects, and have to be identified in order to cause societal change. Therefore, Realism is the portrayal of difficulties in societies that are depicted in everyday life, which includes common situations and actions. Realism allows authors to describe and emphasize the incompetence of some aspects within communities, while enabling writers to call for societal reform. Henrik Ibsen portrays and addresses the concepts of Norway’s society in the 19th century in A Doll House, which is a tragic play translated by Rolf Fjelde. Ibsen desires to challenge assumptions as well as rules of Norwegian life, and most importantly wants to depict society accurately, as he meticulously incorporates everyday life. Therefore, A Doll House represents a Realistic drama due to the issues involving women, illnesses, and laws within the play, while conveying Ibsen’s desire of controversy and change in Norway’s society.