Nora A Doll's House Analysis

Title: To what extent can Nora be viewed as a ‘New Woman’ in “A Doll’s House”?

In Henrik Ibsen’s drama A Doll’s House, the playwright uses the protagonist, Nora, to present an atypical depiction of 19th century women. Throughout the course of the play, Nora progresses from a childish dependent wife to an independent woman who leaves her husband. She shows aspects of progressing from an Angel of the House to a New Woman. During the time period, an Angel of the House was a wife who was expected to be, powerless, self-sacrificing and above all, pure. A New Woman was described as someone who was intelligent, educated, emancipated, independent and self-supporting. They departed from the typical Victorian woman, and critics have said that The New Woman was a very fin-de-siècle (the end of the 19th century) phenomenon’. This essay will focus on the extent to which Nora can be viewed as a New Woman in the play.

At the outset of the play, Nora is presented as a typical 19th century wife who is submissive to her husband; this is present through the language used to describe her by her husband, Torvald. Torvald calls Nora different names such as “squander bird”, “skylark” and “squirrel” (Ibsen 26). By constantly referring her with pet names, he seems to dehumanize Nora. In Torvald’s eyes, Nora is thought as someone who’s useless and completely dependant on him. He believes that Nora’s role as a wife is to entertain and serve as a trophy, and this reflects the majority of marriages in the 19th century. By using animalistic words to describe her, it shows how she is depersonalising and objectifying herself to appeal to Torvald. In the 19th century, a typical wife acted like an Angel in the House. Women in the time were presented as possess...

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...hat any real wife in Nora’s situation would ‘throw herself into her husband’s arms’ CITE CRITIC. However, by doing so, it would go against her progression as a character throughout the entire play. An actress refused to play Nora, as she believed that no wife would leave her children. This led Ibsen to write an alternative ending of the play, showing how Nora stays with her children. Although people thought the alternative ending of the play was more realistic, it goes against the Nora’s progression as a character.

In conclusion, Nora’s progression as a character changes dramatically over a period of a few days. Although she does not fully progress from an Angel of the House to a New Woman, she does show aspects of both and a distinct progression throughout the play. Ibsen uses the protagonist to reflect on the turning point for the typical 19th century woman.