Life of the 19th century differs little to life as we have accustomed to in the 21st century. Edith Wharton and Henrik Ibsen both capture how, when love and rivalry intertwines with friendship, it breeds deception. When one is trapped in a loveless marriage, production of appearances that are not reality is inevitable. The themes of appearance and reality, deception, and women in the 19th century all present themselves in a highly relatable manner in the play A Doll’s House and the story “Roman Fever.”
Henrik Ibsen portrays appearance versus reality within every character in the play. We ascertain initial perceptions of the individuals only to be whirl winded to the truth in the end. Ibsen presents Nora as a submissive, materialistic, and childish woman. She appears to be a “spendthrift” (Ibsen 609), squandering money on her selfish material wants. Her husband, Torvald treats her like a child, never referring to her by anything but a sweet pet name, “Is that my little lark twittering out there?...When did my squirrel get in?” (Ibsen 609). He is often busy, and does not give Nora an equal part in the marriage, again belittling her potential. This perception of Nora is held by not only her husband in the way he talks to her in a condescending manner, but Nora’s friend Mrs. Linde also sees her as a inexperienced woman. Evidence of this is when Mrs. Linde says to Nora, “[C]onsidering you really know so little of life’s burden yourself” (Ibsen 616). Nora is viewed as a trophy wife, having little problems to face while she enjoys indulging in shopping.
Despite the evidence of Nora perhaps being indeed a ‘doll’, as the play progresses we are faced with a Nora that is much the opposite of the first Nora. Instead of the image of Nora co...
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... left to think that she may have convinced her late husband that he was the father, as we learnt that she married very soon after the return from Rome and recovery from her sickness.
The themes of Appearance and Reality and Deception are connected, because when one is pretending to be what he is not there is a need for lies. Both of these works captivate the 21st century reader because it is universal, and it is very interesting to know that the scandalous lives of people do not much differ from century to century.
Works Cited
Ibsen, Henrik.A Doll’s House. Responding to Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays, and Essays. Fifth ed. Judith A. Stanford. New York: McGraw Hill, 2006. 608-664. Print.
Wharton, Edith. "Roman Fever." Responding to Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays, and Essays. Fifth ed. Judith A. Stanford. New York: McGraw Hill, 2006. 547-557. Print.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House (1879). Trans. Rolf Fjelde. Rpt. in Michael Meyer, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 5th edition. Boston & New York: Bedford/St. Martin's Press, 1999. 1564-1612.
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