Who is responsible for Nora's immature tendencies that eventually lead to her departure? She is fully held accountable for her actions or should her husband and father be the blame for her behavior because they treated her like a child? This may be rather difficult to point the finger at a specific character in play it is easy to assume that everyone played a role in Nora's childish behavior.
During the entire play, there is clear evidence of Nora being treated as a child rather than a grown woman. Her husband, Torvald is one of the main characters that can be seen as blamable for his wife's behavior. For example, he always calls Nora by pet names, such as "little sky-lark” or "little squirrel”, as though she is his daughter rather than his wife. Additionally, he almost sets rules or restraints for Nora, as a father would his young child a lot like when he told her she couldn’t eat macaroons because it will ruin her teeth. Another character, Mrs. Linde, Nora's old friend, thinks she is a spoiled brat based on
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She proves her maturity and being more of an "adult” than Torvald thought Nora could ever be due to the loan she took out with Krogstad and the jobs she occupied to pay the loan back. Although Nora took out the loan and continued to paying it back and after also bragging to Mrs. Linde about how she has a sense for business, she still seems to be naive in the way she is handling the loan. For instance, when Mrs. Linde asked Nora about her debt from the loans she had taken out she responded saying, "That’s hard to say exactly” (Ibsen 1114). Which means she does not have the slightest idea as to what she’s doing, that additionally proves her truly immature character. When Nora forged her father's signature she did not take the time to use the correct date, again showing her irresponsible
Nora clearly represents the doll of the house and Torvald's dehumanization of her is flagrant throughout the story. He relentlessly refers to his wife through the use of pet names such as "my little skylark" and "my helpless little squirrel." In addition Torvald uses the possessive "my" often to reflect the notion that she belongs solely to him. She is his plaything, his toy, and his possession. Torvald even states to Nora that it was "quite expensive for him to keep such a pet." Once Torvald becomes aware of his wife's transgressions he reduces even her further calling her a miserable creature and a heedless child.
At the beginning of the story Nora is very happy, and everything with her family is going great. Nora responds in joy when Torvald brings up all the extra money that he will bring to the family with his new job. But as the story goes on Nora says she is not just a “silly girl” as Torvald says she is. Torvald does not agree that she understands all the business details referring to debt that she incurred to take out a loan to preserve Torvald’s health. She thinks that if she knows all these things about business that she will think that Torvald will see her as an intelligent person that knows more than just being a wife. But the fact that she is willing to break the law just to show her courage for Torvalds health.
Nora Helmer was a delicate character and she relied on Torvald for her identity. This dependence that she had kept her from having her own personality. Yet when it is discovered that Nora only plays the part of the good typical housewife who stays at home to please her husband, it is then understandable that she is living not for herself but to please others. From early childhood Nora has always held the opinions of either her father or Torvald, hoping to please them. This mentality makes her act infantile, showing that she has no ambitions of her own. Because she had been pampered all of her life, first by her father and now by Torvald, Nora would only have to make a cute animal sound to get what she wanted from Torvald, “If your little squirrel were to ask you for something very, very, prettily” (Ibsen 34) she said.
In “A Doll’s House”, when Torvald learns of her secret affairs concerning Nora forging her father’s signature to get a loan to save Torvald’s life, he began to treat her horribly, insulting her in every way that is possible. In that moment, Nora realized that she could no longer live a life as Torvald’s wife anymore. He wanted to live a life in which no one in the society would know what had happened. They would act like they were a happily married couple in public, but in private they would act as though they were brother and sisters. Torvald cared about his image rather than
Whereas one can see Mrs. Linde as mature and world-weary, one can easily read the character Nora as immature and childlike; one of the first examples of this immaturity and childishness can be found in the first few pages. Nora has come in from a day of shopping and in these excerpts we can see her child-like manner while interacting with her husband, Torvald:
Nora had no power over her life; it is obvious that her father had total control and then he handed that control over Nora to Torvald when they got married. Torvald’s behavior towards Nora and her own actions make this play outdated. Nora would have had a lot more options and rights if she were born in today’s world.
When confronted by Krogstad, who tells her it is against the law to sign someone else's signature, she responds, "This I refuse to believe. " A daughter hasn't a right to protect her dying father from anxiety and care? A wife hasn't a right to save her husband's life. I don't know much about laws, but I'm sure that somewhere in the books these things are allowed. " Nora simply does not understand the ways of the world, and the final realization that she is in real danger of risking hers and her husband's reputation, and worse, makes her snap out of the childish dream she had been living. & nbsp; Kristine, Nora's childhood friend, is the wisdom and support Nora needs to grow up.
Although Krostad’s blackmail does not change Nora’s whimsical nature, it opens her eyes to her underappreciated potential. “I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald,” (Find a different quote perhaps?) she exclaims in her confrontation with Torvald. She realizes that she has been putting on a facade for him throughout their marriage. Acting like someone she is not in order to fill the role that her father, Torvald, and society expected her to have.
Nora and Torvald's relationship, on the outside appears to be a happy. Nora is treated like a child in this relationship, but as the play progresses she begins to realize how phony her marriage is. Torvald sees Nora's only role as being the subservient and loving wife. He refers to Nora as "my little squirrel" (p.1565), "my little lark" (p.1565), or "spendthrift"(1565). To him, she is only a possession. Torvald calls Nora by pet-names and speaks down to her because he thinks that she is not intelligent and that she can not think on her own.
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.
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.
...dlike mentality and needs to grow before she can raise her own children. Her defiance of Torvald, when he refuses to let her leave, reflects her epiphany that she isn't obligated to let Torvald dictate her actions. The height of Nora's realization comes when she tells Torvald that her duty to herself is as strong as her duty as a wife and mother. She now sees that she is a human being before she is a wife and mother and she owes herself to explore her personality, ambitions, and beliefs.
Nora’s life struggle began at a young age. Her father treated her like an inhuman object, and now her husband has done the same thing. After many years of maintaining her “perfect” life, Nora could no longer live like this. She finally stands up for herself and makes a choice to leave her family. This decision is completely reasonable. It is unimaginable to think anyone could treat another person so crudely. No person should be molded into being someone they are not. It is unfair to treat a loved one like an object instead of an equal human being. Unfortunately there are many women today who find themselves in the same position in Nora. Many of which do not have the strength to confront, and to pry themselves from grips of their abusers. It is possible that the greatest miracle will be Nora, out on her own, finding her true self.
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...