Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Nora helmer character analysis
Nora helmer character analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Similar to Ethan Frome, Nora Helmer is also the pathetic protagonist in A Dollhouse written by Henrik Ibsen. Nora perceives her life and relationship as something totally different than what they actually are. Nora's perception of her husband and her life are the push factors to her tragic outcome. Nora fits the description of a pathetic protagonist because she is relatively passive and unable to understand her suffering until the very end of the play. Hernandez 3 For instance, Nora perceives Torvald's displays of demeaning and condescending attitude as a sign of fondness. Nora is naive enough to regard her pet names, such as "lark", "spendthrift", "obstinate little person" from Torvald as terms of endearment instead of terms to name her as the inferior. Nora is dependent on Torvald, she strives for his attention and love much like a child does to their parent. Torvald's and Nora's relationship more closely resembles a father/daughter relationship, rather than a husband/wife relationship. Nora aims "... to be able to keep the house beautifully and have everything just as Torvald likes it." To the audience it is known that Torvald is the superior but Nora is blissfully ignorant of this due to the fact …show more content…
that she doesn't read in between the lines and uncover Torvald's true nature. In addition, the way Nora views her life is the biggest reason why she is considered a pathetic protagonist.
Nora lives her life in a fantasy world, where she believes that Torvald as her husband, will save her. Nora expects Helmer to carry out his actions when he states, "Do you know, Nora, I have often wished that you might be threatened by some great danger, so that I might risk my life's blood, and everything, for your sake." Even Nora's view on maternal responsibilities is nothing but playing games with the children and purchasing the prettiest outfits while the maid takes on the more realistic motherly role. Nora is unable to look beneath the veil until the very end of the play to realize that she is simply a doll playing in a doll's
house. In all aspects of her life, Nora was a doll living in a doll's house and through out the play Nora never seems to put all the pieces together to form the truth about her life and relationship with her husband. Nora was passive in regards to her life, as she was always content being nothing more than a mediocre wife and mother. Nora's tragic outcome was due to the fact that her social environment was filled with a man figure oppressing her and the way that she accepted her roll as a doll. Hernandez 4
In Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll House, Ibsen tells a story of a wife and mother who not only has been wronged by society, but by her beloved father and husband because of her gender. Nora left her father’s house as a naïve daughter only to be passed to the hands of her husband forcing her to be naïve wife and mother, or so her husband thinks. When Nora’s husband, Torvald becomes deathly ill, she takes matters into her own hands and illegally is granted a loan that will give her the means to save her husband’s life. Her well guarded secret is later is used against her, to exort Torvald, who was clueless that his wife was or could be anything more than he made her. However, Nora has many unrecognized dimensions “Besides being lovable, Nora is selfish, frivolous, seductive, unprincipled, and deceitful” (Rosenberg and Templeton 894). Nora is a dynamic character because her father and her husband treat her as a child and do not allow her to have her own thoughts and opinions, as the play progresses she breaks free from the chains of her gender expectation to explore the world around her.
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.
Nora is perceived as a helpless women, who goes out and wastes money that was earned by her husband. To Torvald, Nora is merely a plaything, which could be what the title of the play, "A Doll House", was hinting at. He found her helplessness to be attractive, because he was the one that was in control. For instance, when they received the Bond from Krogstad, Torvolld said, "I wouldn't be a man if this feminine helplessness didn't make you twice as attractive to me" followed by "It's as if she belongs to him in two ways now: in a sense he's given her fresh ...
In Henrik Ibesen's play A Doll House, Nora Helmer struggles with telling her husband, Torvald Helmer, the truth about a loan she receives for them to go to Italy when he was sick. Consequently, when Torvald learns of the news he instantly insults Nora and declares that she has "ruined [his] happiness" (Ibesen 93). However, when Torvald tries to dismiss his insults after receiving a note that her contract was revoked, she does not accept his apologizes and decides to leave Torvald and her children to "make sense of [her]self and everything around [her]" (Ibesen 100). Her selfish decision to leave makes her a bad wife and mother, but she there are a few more characteristics that makes her a bad wife. The characteristics that Nora shows in the story are her dishonest, her individualism, and the unfortunate failings of the father figures during in her life.
However, as the plot starts to unfold, Nora starts to take over the role that Torvald seemed to have. When Torvald becomes aware of how Nora borrowed money, he immediately worries more about his reputation than her. As he starts to realize that no one will ever find out about what Nora did, he forgives her and starts treating her as if she was his little puppy. He once again calls her pet names and tries to be affectionate. Unfortunately, when Nora tells Torvald that she is leaving, the power he once had
Investigation of Power in Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’. Nora Helmer is introduced in Act I as a character subjugated to the wills and desires of her husband; she is merely an object. Torvald, he possesses a. At the conclusion of Act III however, she has. become sufficiently independent to arrive at her decision to leave.
Imagery symbolically guides the process of self-emancipation for Nora, the protagonist of A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen. Objects like the macaroons, the lamp, the Christmas tree, and costumes represent the movement towards freedom of a woman who was a victim of society. Ibsen painted Nora as a youthful and lovely creature who was brought through life treated as a plaything by both her father and then her husband, Torvald. She must break society's unwritten laws. Although the consequences of her actions are initially minor, they start her along the path towards crisis when she realizes her position and the injustice of it. Through Ibsen's use of symbolism, objects in the play echo her process of anguish to liberation.
Nora Helmer is the character in A Doll House who plays the 19th woman and is portrayed as a victim. Michael Meyers said of Henrik Ibsen's plays: "The common denominator in many of Ibsen's dramas is his interest in individuals struggling for and authentic identity in the face of tyrannical social conventions. This conflict often results in his characters being divided between a sense of duty to themselves and their responsibility to others. " (1563) All of the aspects of this quote can be applied to the play A Doll House, in Nora Helmer's character, who throughout much of the play is oppressed, presents an inauthentic identity to the audience and throughout the play attempts to discover her authentic identity.
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
Torvald is not only demanding mentally and physically, but also financially. He does not trust Nora with money. He feels that she is incapable and too immature to handle a matter of such importance. Torvald sees Nora as a child. She is forever his little "sparrow" or "squirrel". On the rare occasion that Torvald does give Nora some money, he worries that she will waste it on candy, pastry or something else of Childish and useless value. Nora's duties, in general, are restricted to caring for the children, doing housework, and working on her needlepoint. But overall, Nora's most important responsibility is to please Torvald. This makes her role similar to that of a slave.
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.
Torvald even calls Nora pet names like "my sweet little lark" and "my squirrel”. These nicknames may seem harmless and cute, but in reality, the names actually show how little he thinks of her and how he’s the one harnessing the power in the relationship. When Torvald says "my little squirrel" he is suggesting that he in fact owns Nora and that she is second-rate to him, since she is seen as little and as a squirrel which are usually frightened, non-threatening creatures. Torvald sees women as both child-like, helpless creatures detached from reality and who are responsible for taking care of the chores and children while staying inside the house. Gender roles are also seen in the rules Torvald for Nora to follow.
Through the course of the drama’s events, Nora finally realizes her position. Her childish mentality comes into question through a series of events that awakens her to her role as a wife, her position in society, and her individuality. Originally, from her father, and later with Torvald, she sees that she has been held back as an individual, "I have existed merely to preform tricks for you, Torvald. But you would have it so. You and Papa have committed a great sin against me. It is your fault that I have made nothing of my life (Isben 106).” In the climax of the play, Nora, with a renewed sense of self, slams the door and leaves her old life behind, seemingly to begin a new life without limitations.
She is conscious of weakness and totally understands his need to feel in control. She therefore always humours him and helps him to feel that he takes all the important decision in their life in order to accomplish this, she knowingly plays out the role of a feeble scatterbrain. She is, however, quite capable of taking crucial action. When Torvald was desperately ill and needed a long recuperative journey to the south, he obdurately refused to borrow money. But Nora had to raise a loan behind her husband’s back from Krogstad by forging her father’s signature in the bond. As her father was also very ill, she forged his signature. Nora was so determined to save her husband that she committed fraud to do so. This preference shows that Nora is both courageous and persistent. She values love over the law. She will scarify herself for the family. Her purpose in life is to be happy for her husband and children. Nora did believe that she loved Torvold and was happy. She had a passionate and devoted heart that was willing to do almost anything for her husband. Nora is proud that she borrowed money to save her husband’s life without his knowing it. She thoughtfully helps him keep his proud image of himself as the head of the family. She knows that he loves her for being pretty and
Nora Helmer was a delicate character that had been pampered all of her life, by her father, and by Torvald. She really didn't have a care in the world. She didn't even have to care for the children; the maid would usually take care of that. In every sense of the word, she was your typical housewife. Nora never left the house, mostly because her husband was afraid of the way people would talk. It really wasn't her fault she was the way she was; it was mostly Torvald's for spoiling her. Nora relies on Torvald for everything, from movements to thoughts, much like a puppet that is dependent on its puppet master for all of its actions. Her carefree spirit and somewhat childish manners are shown throughout the play with statements such as, "Is that my little lark twittering out there?" (1). "Is it my little squirrel bustling about?" (2). A lark is a happy, carefree bird, and a squirrel is quite the opposite. If you are to squirrel away something, you were hiding or storing it, kind of like what Nora was doing with her bag of macaroons. It seems childish that Nora must hide things such as macaroons from her husband, but if she didn't and he found out, she would be deceiving him and going against his wishes which would be socially wrong.