Vincent DeLaurentis
12 July 2015
Intro to Literature
Professor Ayres
Deceit Is Not The Way To A New Beginning
“A Doll’s House” is a story about a husband and wife, who are well off, and going through the Christmas holidays. Helmer, the Husband, is going to start a new job after the New Year. There is a strong focus on the marriage. In fact, when I first read "A Doll 's House," I thought marriage was the theme, but with closer examination now I realize the real theme is deceit. I will use examples from the play, symbolism, and character analysis to demonstrate this idea.
The first example of lying is when Nora comes back from being out and shopping for Christmas gifts. She has macaroons in her pockets, and has eaten a couple already. There is
There is no point in lying about this. However, this sets the tone for the rest of the play, and allows lying and deceit to snowball after this. The second example of lying, which really stands out, is when Krogstad has deposited a letter into the locked mailbox. This letter essentially holds the fate of Nora, because it tells of her misdeed towards Helmer. She tries to get the letter out. To do so, she must pick the lock. She tries to do this with a hairpin, but she fails in her attempt. Helmer notices this and says, “What is this? Someone has been at the lock.” Nora replies, “At the lock?” Helmer, “Yes, someone has. What can it mean? I should never have thought the maid. Here is a broken hairpin. Nora, it is one of yours.” Nora, “Then it must have been the children” (Act 3, 198-201). This is an important dialogue that really drives the deceit theme home. Earlier in the play, Helmer mentions that a mother, who is a liar, does not deserve to raise her children. This is ironic because not only is she being deceitful to Helmer, she is also blaming the children to save her from
This was going to take place after the New Year. However, this did not happen because the amount of deceit taking place in the household. Nora’s constant lying drove the marriage apart, from Nora’s side, keeping the secret, and Helmer’s side, learning of the secret. After Helmer had learned the secret, Nora left the household. The audience can see here how she felt, “Never to see him again. Never! Never! Never to see my children again either never again. Never! Never! Ah! the icy, black water the unfathomable depths If only it were over! He has got it now he is reading it. Goodbye, Torvald and my children” (Act 3, 248-252). Throughout the play she had felt disparaged. This was symbolized by the Christmas Tree she decorated. After this, in the beginning of scene two, we learn that Christmas Tree had been stripped of all of its ornaments, and also that it had been pushed back into the corner of the room. This is symbolic of how Nora felt. She felt like she had nothing left and that she was unappreciated. This is also symbolic of emptiness as well. There is nothing on the Christmas tree, just as Nora felt that her deceit had stripped her of all her ornaments so to speak. The final symbol, which confirms the theme of deceit, is the letters. These letters are what dictated the actions of Nora and Ms. Linde. The letter, which Krogstad had written,
Richard Gunderman asks the question, "Isn 't there something inherently wrong with lying, and “in his article” Is Lying Bad for Us?" Similarly, Stephanie Ericsson states, "Sure I lie, but it doesn 't hurt anything. Or does it?" in her essay, "The Ways We Lie.” Both Gunderman and Ericsson hold strong opinions in regards to lying and they appeal to their audience by incorporating personal experiences as well as references to answer the questions that so many long to confirm.
In the Doll’s House, Nora dutifully lies to save Torvald from dying of illness. The readers are told that Nora’s husband, Torvald, fell sick. Nora lied to him about why she needed to borrow money. Though she told him she want to travel to shop (Ibsen 11), the doctors told her in order to save the ill-fallen Torvald, he needed to go to the South (Ibsen 10). Since she cannot borrow the money, Nora forges her father’s signature to save her husband’s life. It might seem as if Nora’s lying is wrong, but in reality, it was justified because Torvald would not have gone to Italy if he had known he was sick. He thought of her as a child, not capable of making adult decisions (Ibsen 69). Would not it make sense for Nora borrow money to help Torvald, even if it meant forging a signature and keeping it a secret? Krogstad also would not have lent Nora the money if he had known she was the actual borrower, not her father. Nora lies for reasons pertaining to life and death. She is not being deceptive to keep herself out of trouble. For these reasons, her deceit is defendable.
Honesty helps people bond. One of the characters, Emilia, lies about her life at the Kleist’s farm and about her friend August, who she said she was married to because she was ashamed of being raped by a Russian soldier. She thought if she lied about it to everyone, including herself, then
She lies to the bank so she doesn’t get charged with “$60 in overdraft fees”, out-and-out lie. She does not tell the truth to her husband about her day so he does not “[keel] over,” white lie. She lies to her clients so that she does not get fired for telling the truth about the reason she is late. She lies to her friends so that her friend’s feelings do not get hurt, (Ericsson 181).All of these are justifiable because of the intent. There are consequences to telling the truth in these cases and thus Ericsson needs to lie to avoid the
Everyone has a poker face. Everyone has a bunbury. Everyone keeps secrets, and everyone lies. The question is, how does one tell if another is truthful about their intentions? There are many different cases in which one will lie about who they really are, but there is no telling when it is okay and if they can be forgiven. In many different stories that were read in Late British Literature this semester, we have characters that keep secrets from friends and loved ones. The simple truth is, people’s words are often different from the truth.
When David told his wife their daughter died, he expects that she will get over it soon, when in reality, she gets depressed over the death of her daughter so she keeps herself busy by getting a job. Also every time David looks at his wife, he thinks of what he did, and because of this he can’t always talk to her because it’s too hard. Norah says, “David...what is happening to us?” (Edwards 51) and later describes their marriage as if there was a wall between her and David. In both of these examples, the author shows that lying is never good because of the unknown consequences that will come up in the future.
Some say that children always have one very delicious thing on their mind, sweets! Macaroons are “a flourless egg-white-based cookie. Most often made with coconut… it can also include nuts or nut paste. Macaroons are often served for dessert at Passover celebrations, since they don’t contain flour” ( "What’s the Difference Between a Macaroon and a Macaron?" ). Nora throughout the play lies to Torvald about different things. The first lie the reader may notices is the macaroons at the beginning of the play, which seems innocent considering the lie is about cookies but it symbolizes a much bigger problem in their marriage. This immediately shows the reader how willing Nora is to lie to Torvald an...
First and foremost, the act of lying can cause a lot of wrongs and damage. For example, Abigail Williams told her uncle, Reverend Parris, that all the girls including herself were only dancing in the woods. This is not truthful because in the beginning of act 1 in the Crucible it was stated that Reverend Parris saw Tituba waving her hands over the fire mumbling gibberish while the girls danced and someone ran through the trees naked. Knowing this it had also caused a lot in the village due to the belief of witchcraft. Abigail denied it but told the girls that if anyone questioned them to keep hush and claim that they had only danced. “Listen
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.
This leads Nora into a frenzy of techniques to convince her husband into not firing Krogstad, however; Nora had been the one who recommended Mrs Linde to work for Helmer, who is now the one replacing Krogstad. After many attempts, Nora is unable to convince Helmer to keep Krogstad. The last day she seems hopeless and willing to assume the consequences, she has a final opportunity at getting away with it; by finding out Mrs Linde and Krogstad have unsolved romantic affairs and that he is deeply in love with her. This new development convinces Krogstad to be with Mrs linde, but unfortunately the previous letter telling everything about the debt and forgery was already in Helmer’s mail. When the night comes for Helmer to read his mail, he finds out about the note and Nora’s mistakes, he is quick to think of a way to come up clean, while at the same time dishonoring Nora for her actions. “ Oh, what an awful awakening! In all these eight years-she who was my pride and joy-a hypocrite, a liar-worse, worse-a criminal” (Doll Act 3). Nora’s attitude at this point is guilt and shame. Soon after another letter is received. Krogstad sends the note, implicitly liberating them from all guilt and also attaches a letter apologizing and explaining the events that recently took place in his life,
Once Nora reveals her deceptive act to Mrs. Linde, we begin to see Nora’s character in a whole new light. One that is much more mature and determined than previously thought. It isn’t until Mrs. Linde accuses Nora of not knowing her hard day’s work that she finally reveals her greatest secret. It is through their common experience of sacrifice that unites them and brings them closer together again. As we reach the end of act one, we begin to see Nora struggle with her new problem of guilt.
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
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is a three-act play significant for its attitude toward marriage norms. In the drama, Ibsen explores idealism between the wife Nora and her husband Helmer. Nora’s and Helmer’s idealism forces the pair to see themselves and each other starring in various idealist scenarios of female sacrifice and heroic male rescue. As a play, the scenes are act out on stage. The staging of a house reveals the dramaturgical aspects and dynamics of the play. The presence of the house is significant to the depiction of women on stage. The action of the play traces Nora’s relationship to the house. Ibsen’s play focuses on the aspect of the expected idealism of the wife and husband, and how the domestic abode can hinder freedom.
Nora loves her husband very much, even to the point of idolizing him. As she first enters the home with the Christmas packag...
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...