Social Problems In Henrik Ibsen's 'A Doll's House'

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Nick Pant
Mrs. Black
English II Honors
11/17/2014
ADH Analysis Susan B. Anthony once said “I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand” (http://www.brainyquote.com) Anthony was fighting for the independence of women and equality between both men and women. In Henrik Ibsen’s Norwegian play A Doll’s House, a similar idea is shown all throughout the work. A main social problem in the play is that women have no power in society because they have limited education; therefore Nora committed the crime of forgery, lied to her husband, and almost committed adultery. To begin with, an example of women having no power in society is their lack of education. …show more content…

For example, women are expected to always speak with integrity; however Nora is the complete opposite. “Not even a nibble at a macaroon? No, Torvald I promise you honestly”(Ibsen 143). This dialogue between Nora and Torvald validates that she has no power because she has to lie to get what she wants; in this case, its macaroons. A second example is where Mrs. Linde and Nora are speaking to one another and she chatters, “Good Heavens, no! How could you think so? A man who has such strong opinions about these things! And besides, how painful and humiliating it would be for Torvald, with his manly independence, to know that he owed me anything! Good Heavens, no! How could you think so? A man who has such strong opinions about these things! And besides, how painful and humiliating it would be for Torvald, with his manly independence, to know that he owed me anything!”(Ibsen Act 1). This quote shows that if Torvald found out that she made her own decisions, he would be furious; therefore she keeps it a secret. Putting all of this together, this proves that women have no power in society because Nora has to lie to get what she wants and if she makes her own decisions they have to be kept a

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