Theme Of Marriage In A Doll's House

1103 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Role of nora as a woman in the society as in a dolls house

In the play, A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, the controversy within the Helmer family conveys a critical attitude towards marriage and duty. The drama traces the awakening, self-realization and transformation of the main character, Nora Helmer. In the play, Nora borrows money from Krogstad by falsifying her father’s signature. She then pays for a trip to Italy using the borrowed money with the aim of saving the life of her sick husband, Torvald Helmer. Nora believes that if her husband, Torvald finds out about how she sacrificed for him, he would risk his life to save her. When Torvald is put into test, he shows no intention of sacrificing himself, despite the fact that his wife committed a crime to save his life. Moreover, instead of treating Nora with understanding and appreciation for her kind intention, he blames Nora and threatens that she should no longer be able to see the children. Torvald’s extreme selfishness leaves Nora astonished. In some instances, Nora wonders whether there is true love in their marriage, how important she is to Torvald and what is her role in this house. At the end, Nora leaves and shuts the door, symbolizing her role in this Doll house.
The play, A Doll's House demonstrates Nora as a character who believes that partners should be willing to sacrifice for each other in a marriage. Her perception is similar to Mrs.Linden’s, however, contradicts with that of her husband, Torvald who is demonstrated as selfish, insensitive and have no respect for marriage.
Nora believes that there should be true love in a marriage. This reveals the reason as to why when Krogstad threatens Nora for her predicament, Nora expresses that “there is no hope for [them] now.”(45) In this passage, Nora shows her fear and wor...

... middle of paper ...

...mately, now she has the courage to study and learn about herself and society. The shift from thinking about the sacrifice for her husband to deciding to abandon this Doll house, reflects an expanded sense of independence and self confidence in Nora. At the end, Nora leaves the Doll house as a tenacious and courageous, independent woman who knows what she wants in life.
In conclusion, the play A Doll's House depicts that Nora believes that a couple that loves each other should have the willingness to sacrifice for each other. According to her, the only thing that should bind couples together is true love and they should not care so much of what the society thinks about them. In the play, A Doll’s House, selfishness is depicted as one of the factors that prevents love to blossom in marriage. Nora illustrates this fact clearly by deciding to leave her selfish husband.

Show More
Related

  • Trifles And A Doll House Comparison Essay

    727 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Comparing A Doll's House And Hills Like White Elephants

    1941 Words  | 4 Pages

    In A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen wrote a play that showed how one woman, Nora Helmer, stood up to her husband after feeling like she was useless to their marriage and their family. Nora’s husband, Torvald Helmer, was the man of the house and would make every decision for the family, especially for Nora. He supported her financially, but not emotionally. He always took it upon himself to do everything a man was supposed to do at the time, but never let Nora explore herself. He made sure she was kept as just a wife and nothing more. As it was mentioned in the play, Nora was arranged into the marriage by her father. While going through eight years of marriage, she finally felt it was time to find herself as an independent woman in...

    Read More

  • Free Essays - Becoming Independent in A Doll's House

    851 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through their everyday conversation, Nora and Torvald reveal that they have a relationship full of meaningless talk and games. “Is that my little squirrel bustling about?” (2), Torvald questions Nora. “Yes!” (2) She answers, running up to Torvald like a puppy. Because of her whimsical attitude, Torvald had assumed that Nora was always happy and carefree, so what reason would there be for meaningful conversation? Their relationship consisted of nothing truly real. Everything was fun and games and for show. Torvald scolded Nora like he would a child, “Hasn’t Mrs. Sweet Tooth been breaking rules today in town…” (4). Then, Nora would respond as a young child would facing punishment, “I should not think of going against your wishes” (4). This type of communications cannot be healthy in any relationship, and greatly hindered the relationship between the two.

    Read More

  • Torvald Restraints Nora Helmer's Freedom

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Henry Ibsen’s play the Doll House, Torvald restraints Nora Helmer’s freedom. Torvald sees Nora as a doll and a child instead of an equal partner or wife. When Torvald does not sacrifice his reputation to save her, Nora realizes that “[she] had been living all these years with a strange man, and [she] had born him three children.” After years of having to live as a doll, Nora has an awakening that kindles her passion for freedom.

    Read More

  • The Growth of Nora in A Doll's House

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the play " A Doll's House", written by Henrik Ibsen, Nora, the main character of the play, decides to abandon her husband, her home and her children in order to find herself. She finally realizes she has to leave when confronted with a problem in her relationship with her husband, who keeps treating her like a doll, reflecting the childish treatment she always received from her father before. She finds the strength to leave with her childhood friend Kristine, who has led a hard life, and has the wisdom to guide and support her. Nora leaves the role of the doll child and doll wife she played her whole life, and becomes an independent self-thinking adult, when she realizes that the world is different than she always thought it was, and that she herself is not who she thinks she is.

    Read More

  • A Doll’s House

    1504 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ild-wife devolves into that of a desperate woman to preserve the illusion of the perfect home. In order for Nora to preserve her sanity she was essentially forced to break free of the stereotypical 19th century familial constraints. Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, depicts the entrapment of an average housewife and the societal pressures placed upon her. The play displays her gradual descent into what would be deemed “madness” in that specific time period. Ibsen illustrates Nora’s fall from societal grace as a result of her desire to represent herself as an individual, and to no longer be inhibited by the social norms placed upon her. Nora’s oppression spurred on by Torvald, society and herself resulted in the complete degradation of her character that destroyed all semblance of the illusion of her perfect family and her enforced 19th century housewife identity.

    Read More

  • A Doll's House Analysis Essay

    778 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Doll 's house is one of the modern works that Henrik Ibsen wrote. He was called the father of modern drama .He was famous for writing plays that related to real life. A Doll 's House is a three-act play that discusses the marriage in the 19th century. It is a well-made play that used the first act as an exposition. The extract that will be analyzed in the following paragraphs is a dialogue between Nora and the nurse that takes care of her children. This extract shows how she was afraid not only of Krogstad blackmail, but also of Torvald 's point of view about those who committed any mistake. Torvald says that the mothers who tell lies should not bring up children as they are not honest . Nora is also lying to her family and to Torvald. So she is afraid because she thinks she maybe 'poisoning ' her own children. The analysis of this extract will be about of Nora 's character, the theme, and the language in A Doll 's House.

    Read More

  • A Doll's House Symbolism Essay

    1088 Words  | 3 Pages

    The play “A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen starts in the Helmer’s home on Christmas Eve. At the beginning of the play, the audience is introduced to Nora Helmer, the woman of the household. Nora is completely delighted with her life, and feels favorable for the way her life is coming along. She looks forward to the New Year when her husband starts his new job as a bank manager, where he will “have a big salary and earn lots and lots of money” (Ibsen 1350). Torvald Helmer, her husband, teases her and treats her like a child who is incapable. Nora responds to her husband’s actions with pure affection and does not seem to mind her controlled doll-like life. In the play Ibsen creates the setting in the late 1800s where women took care of the household, family, and children. Men saw women as delicate, innocent, unknowledgeable, and uneducated in the business world. Symbolism plays a large role in comprehending the play. The Christmas tree, the Tarantella, and the New Year are symbols that unveil the life of the characters and what they stand for.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis: A Doll's House

    1433 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lastly, the amount of deception and dishonesty between Nora and Torvald would have broken the marriage even without Krogstad’s extortion plot. Both Nora and Torvald are living in a world of lies, and both of them are not honest with each other and themselves. In the beginning of the play, Torvald and Nora are portrayed to be a perfect couple with a perfect life. Nora is seen returning home after a day of shopping and is greeted lovingly by her husband. Even though they seemed to have had some financial troubles in the past, Torvald just received a new job as a bank manager and everything seemed to be alright, but behind the scenes nothing was alright.

    Read More

  • Gender In A Doll’s House And The Importance Of Being Earnest

    2000 Words  | 4 Pages

    A Doll’s House illustrates two types of women. Christine is without a husband and independent at the start of the play whereas Nora is married to Torvald and dependent on him and his position at the bank. Both begin at different ends of the spectrum. In the course of the play their paths cross and by the end of the play each woman is where the other started. It appears that a woman has two choices in society; to be married and dependent on a man or unmarried and struggle in the world because she does not have a man.

    Read More

  • A Feminist Perspective of A Doll's House

    1221 Words  | 3 Pages

    In "A Doll's House", Ibsen portrays the bleak picture of a role held by women of all economic classes that is sacrificial. The female characters in the play back-up Nora's assertion that even though men are unable to sacrifice their integrity, "hundreds of thousands of woman have." Mrs. Linde found it necessary to abandon Krogstad, her true but poor love, and marry a richer man in order to support her mother and two brothers. The nanny has to abandon her children to support herself by working for Nora. Though Nora is economically advantaged, in comparison to the other female characters, she leads a hard life because society dictates that Torvald be the marriages dominant member. Torvald condescends Nora and inadvertently forces Nora to hide the loan from him. Nora knows that Torvald could never accept the idea that his wife, or any other woman, could aid in saving his life.

    Read More

  • A Doll House Essay On Marriage

    918 Words  | 2 Pages

    When reading A Doll’s House, the author tries to pursue the message that a true happy marriage is a marriage of equal parts between both people. In the beginning Torvald and Nora have a happy, typical, marriage that anybody in that time would have. There are many examples that show that towards the end of the play, a happy and equal marriage is something that Nora and Torvald don’t have. Once Norra leaves Torvald, there are many good and bad consequences that have the possibility of happening. There are many good and bad things that happen between their marriage, but in the end, the couple doesn’t know how to act as equals.

    Read More

  • Sacrificial Role of Women in A Doll´s House by Herik Isben

    1243 Words  | 3 Pages

    In A Doll's House, Ibsen paints a bare picture of the sacrificial role held by women of different economic and financial standards in his society. The play's female characters demonstrate Nora's assertion that men refuse to sacrifice their integrity. In order to support her mother and two brothers, Mrs. Linde found it necessary to leave Krogstad. She left her true love, Krogstad, to marry a richer man. These are some of the sacrifices that women have to make to provide for there family. The nanny had to abandon her own child to support herself by working as Nora's children sitter. As she often told Nora, the nanny considers herself very fortunate to receive the job as the sitter, since she was a poor girl who was left astray. Isben concerns about women in society are brought up throughout the play. He believed that women had the right to develop their own individuality, but only if they made a sacrifice. Wo...

    Read More

  • Problems in Marriage in Henrik Ibsen´s A Doll´s House

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House play things was not what it seemed. It also teaches us a lesson on the consequences of having a marriage lacking trust and poor communication. The marriage of Torvald and Nora seemed normal like any other marriage in that time period. Torvald was the bread winner Nora was a house wife and she took care of their two children. Nora thought that the only thing she was missing to be the happiest person on earth was money, and all her problems were going to disappear. Since her husband was going to start a new job she believed that soon her dream was going to come true. All Nora wanted was to have a good life with her family, but what she did not know was that her secret was going to destroy her marriage with Torvald.

    Read More

  • Free Essays on A Doll's House: An Essay

    1872 Words  | 4 Pages

    A Doll House was a play written well ahead of its time. This play was written in a time when it was considered an outrage for a woman such as Nora not only to display a mind of her own, but also to leave her husband in order to obtain her freedom. This play relates to the Art Nouveau and Edwardian period because just as the furniture and clothing were considered decorative pieces, so were women. Women were expected only to tend to the husband's and children's needs. Women were not supposed to do anything without first consulting the husband and certainly never do anything without his prior knowledge and approval. Women were expected to be at home and always looking presentable for their husbands.

    Read More

More about Theme Of Marriage In A Doll's House

Open Document