In both Frankenstein and A Doll's House, secrecy plays a major role, as it becomes a central characteristic of the main characters; Victor (the main character of Frankenstein) and Nora (the main character of the play, A Doll's House). Both stories started out with the main character already having a secret. When Viktor spends countless hours alone working on creating his monster and is not telling anyone of his actions. He becomes so involved in the secrecy of his project that he fails to stay in contact with his family. Secrecy can often isolate a person from others. When Victor's creation was finished, he continued keeping the secret, even when his close friend Henry visits him. Even after the monster was responsible for Victor's brother's (Williams) death, and Justine was wrongfully executed and blamed for it. …show more content…
Viktor still kept his secret.
Eventually, Victor becomes ill from keeping this secret and Henry has to take care of him. In the play, A Doll's House, Nora borrowed money without telling Torvald, and forged signatures on the bond. At first Nora was proud that her secret was responsible for saving her husband from death. That all changed after Krogstad's visit, involving him threatening Nora that he will reveal the secret. Nora starts to feel scared, even though Krogstad visit was kept a secret from Torvald. Nora knows that the fraud she committed is a serious crime and will extremely infuriate Torvald if he were to find out that she borrowed money from Krogstad and forged signatures on the bond because does not want to upset the peace between her and her husband. When Torvald first found out that Nora hid such a big thing from him, he spouted with anger. He was alarmed and ashamed over his wife's actions. Instead of thinking what made her do these acts, Torvald starts fuming about his future and talks inappropriately to Nora. It was this reaction of Torvald that made Nora leave him and their
children. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, society is inescapable and blundering. One example of this discernment is the way the lower class family is looked upon. Theoretically, society is to be moral but in reality it is truly ignorant. The monster was treated awful; criticized, attacked and rejected him because he appeared to look like a monster. Then when William died, society wrongfully execute Justine, because they labeled her as the killer, without looking into any details. In A Doll's House, in the beginning, Nora is young, childish, and naivete. Even as we learn of her sacrifice that saves her husband's life, it isn't until the end of the adventure of secrets coming out, that she grows into an independent women, and her husband is really a lot more selfish and shallow than we originally read him as the affectionate, loyal, and kind husband. Throughout the whole play, they are pretending to be happy, but in reality, they are created a whole relationship on lies, acting, and an unfair unbalanced relationship.
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.
Literature often works as depicted act of betrayal. Many people, friends, and family may portray a protagonist, but they will likewise be guilty of treachery or betrayal to their own values. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, there is acts of betrayal between Victor Frankenstein and the monster. In the Novel Victor Frankenstein is a betrayal of life itself because it should be given naturally and not created by a scientist man. The monster is actually the one who is majorly betrayed, he may look like a hideous dangerous monster on the outside but, not one within himself. From the beginning of the novel, Victor betrays the monster, and this betrayal is seen on many levels throughout the novel. The tragic figure in Mary Shelley’s horror novel Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein, is truly the instrument of betrayal to his creation of the monster because life should be given naturally not by creation of suffering and horrific which is made by man.
In “A Dollhouse,” Nora is stuck in a marriage with a rich man who has no respect for her. Nora’s husband Torvald, does not think his
An idea becomes a vision, the vision develops a plan, and this plan becomes an ambition. Unfortunately for Victor Frankenstein, his ambitions and accomplishments drowned him in sorrow from the result of many unfortunate events. These events caused Victors family and his creation to suffer. Rejection and isolation are two of the most vital themes in which many dreadful consequences derive from. Victor isolates himself from his family, friends, and meant-to-be wife. His ambitions are what isolate him and brought to life a creature whose suffering was unfairly conveyed into his life. The creature is isolated by everyone including his creator. He had no choice, unlike Victor. Finally, as the story starts to change, the creature begins to take control of the situation. It is now Victor being isolated by the creature as a form of revenge. All the events and misfortunes encountered in Frankenstein have been linked to one another as a chain of actions and reactions. Of course the first action and link in the chain is started by Victor Frankenstein.
Victor’s initial isolation as a child foreshadows the motif of detachment that occurs throughout the novel. As Victor Frankenstein recounts his informative tale to a seafaring Robert Walton, he makes it known that he was a child of nobility; however it is sadly transparent that combined with insufficient parenting Victor’s rare perspective on life pushes him towards a lifestyle of conditional love. Children are considered symbolic of innocence but as a child Victor’s arrogance was fueled by his parents. With his family being “one of the most
Victor Frankenstein only kept the knowledge of his creation from everyone because he was afraid of being labeled as crazy, but he paid the price by feeling responsible for all the misfortunes that occurred in the story and carrying around a constant feeling of remorse due to them. A safe environment could have been all that Victor needed to confess his actions, which could have eventually brought about the monster’s demise, tying in with reality; if society’s views are changed for the better, in which people aren’t judged for being unique in their physical appearances, thoughts, or actions, then people won’t feel as much of a need to keep
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.
She is instructed by Krogstad to “not do anything foolish” (Ibsen 45) and then attempts to keep Torvald away from any pressing matters. “[Nora]: You must not think of anything but me, either today or tomorrow; you mustn’t open a single letter-not even open the letter box” (Ibsen 49) Nora understands, by stating this, that she can keep Torvald blissfully ignorant to the reality that is, first of all, her getting a bank loan, and second of all, that she got a bank loan from none other than Krogstad himself. In fact, when the truth finally gets to Torvald, Nora seems distressed at first, but progressively her independence starts to
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
However, with the progression of the play’s narrative, she goes on to reveal that she is not a as she is called by her husband. The audience comes to see that this lady comprehends the business details quite well, and she goes on to incur a debt so as to be able to preserve the health of her husband. The way she conceals the matter of the debt shows how she endeavors to uphold the male supremacy in her relationship with Torvald. While this is an action that is guided by the patriarchal ways of the society, Nora shows her intelligence in the entire scenario and proves that she has capacities that go beyond the chores of being just a homemaker in the relationship. It needs to be comprehended that at this juncture in the course of the narrative one can understand that Nora has the spark to become independent and establish the strength of her own identity, but is kept in the subordination of her male counterpart- something that can only be scrutinized to be the effect of the society and its patriarchal parameters that Nora is burdened with in her
Victor Frankenstein’s creation is not the true monster of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. This becomes evident when one compares Victor to his own creation. Similarly, both Victor and his creation are hideous beings, internally and externally. What sets them apart is how differently they are in respects to isolation, in terms of the reasons for it and the result of it. Victor's Frankenstein's picked isolation and his obliviousness for the individuals who loves and cares for him and his own particular creation including make him look like a real monster. Conversely, the creature wish to accomplish companions and social connections nearly make him to a greater extent a human, up until this point, than Victor Frankenstein.
Nora engages in a mutually dependent game with Torvald in that she gains power in the relationship by being perceived as weak, yet paradoxically she has no real power or independence because she is a slave to the social construction of her gender. Her epiphany at the end at the play realises her and her marriage as a product of society, Nora comes to understand that she has been living with a constr...
She saves Torvald from dying by taking him on a trip to Italy, and dotes on him and the children throughout the play. In order to take Torvald on this trip, Nora had to borrow money from the bank and because her father was dead, and because Torvald refused to borrow the money, she had to forge his signature. Throughout the play, Nora lies to Torvald in order to keep him from finding out about the loan. This is evidenced later when she is telling Mrs. Linde about the loan, she tries to keep her quiet by saying “Not so loud. What if Torvald heard! He mustn’t, not for anything in the world . Nobody must know, Kristine. No one but you,” (Ibsen 16). Nora tries to keep up this illusion as the play goes on, and becomes more and more scared and desperate as it becomes clear that the secret will be revealed. When it finally does slip, Torvald berates her, and she crumbles. It becomes clear to her that she doesn’t love Torvald, and tells him that she realized this that “evening when the miraculous thing didn’t come -- then I knew you weren’t the man I expected,” (Ibsen 80). Torvald’s outburst and Nora’s realization finally allows the audience to piece together that Torvald has never loved Nora. When pressure was applied and the worst scenario came up, Torvald turned against his wife, calling her “a hypocrite, a liar- worse, worse- a criminal!” (Ibsen 72). Torvald has never thought highly of her, treating her like a
Throughout the play, the relationships between all of it’s characters can either be seen as manipulative, deceitful, or just downright fake. Nora uses Torvald for money while keeping little secrets from him like eating macaroons behind his back, Torvald uses Nora for entrainment pleasure, and Christine uses Nora to gain a job at Torvald’s bank which causes Krogstad to lose his job. This leads to the main conflict of the story, it revolves around Nora’s forgery of the loan document she gave to Krogstad. This is a crime in a legal and moral sense; legal being that Nora had committed forgery, and moral being that she kept it secret from Torvald. Because Krogstad lost his job, he threatens to expose Nora’s secret. This conflict causes a chain reaction of manipulation as Nora attempts to do everything in her power to prevent Krogstad from exposing her. Knowing about Krogstad’s history with Christine, Nora uses her to persuade Krogstad out of his decision. The cycle of lies, deceit, and manipulation is symbolic to that of a dollhouse because even though everything in the Helmer household and the relationships of the characters seemed to be perfect at the beginning of the play, it is all
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...