A Doll House Essay Research Paper Henrik

A Doll House Essay, Research Paper

Henrik Ibsen & # 8217 ; s play A Doll House examines a adult female & # 8217 ; s battle for independency in her matrimony and societal universe. Through the usage of character alteration, Ibsen conveys his subject that by interrupting off from all societal outlooks, we can be true to ourselves. When Ibsen presents Nora Helmer, we see a & # 8220 ; perfect & # 8221 ; married woman, who lives in a & # 8220 ; perfect & # 8221 ; house with a & # 8220 ; perfect & # 8221 ; hubby and kids. The Helmer kids have a nursemaid that raises them. By holding the nursemaid, Nora has the freedom to come and travel as she pleases. Torvald Helmer, Nora & # 8217 ; s hubby, will get down a new occupation as bank director, so they will be rich, which will do her & # 8220 ; perfect & # 8221 ; life even better. Torvald even calls Nora pet names like & # 8220 ; my sweet small lark & # 8221 ; ( Ibsen 1567 ) and & # 8220 ; my squirrel & # 8221 ; ( Ibsen 1565 ) . These names may look to be harmless and cunning small monikers, but the names really demo how small he thinks of her. & # 8220 ; Torvald uses derogative diminutives to turn to Nora & # 8221 ; ( Kashdan 52 ) . Torvald talks down to her. Nora is & # 8220 ; regarded as belongings instead than a spouse & # 8221 ; ( Drama for Students 112 ) . He isn & # 8217 ; t handling her like a existent individual. In Torvald eyes, she isn & # 8217 ; t an equal. & # 8220 ; Nora is viewed as an object, a plaything, a kid, but ne’er an equal & # 8221 ; ( Drama for Students 109 ) . Nora and Torvald seem to be in love with each other though. However, Torvald is really commanding of Nora. Torvald makes small regulations for Nora to follow. During the clip period when the drama was written, a hubby commanding his married woman and devising regulations for her was non uncommon. One incident of control is when Nora comes place from Christmas shopping. Torvald knows how much Nora loves macaroons and suspects she has bought some to eat. He remarks to Nora, & # 8220 ; My sweet tooth truly didn & # 8217 ; Ts make a small roundabout way through the candymaker & # 8230 ; non even munched a macaroon or two & # 8221 ; ( Ibsen 1566 ) . Torvald didn & # 8217 ; t want Nora to hold excessively many Sweets because he didn & # 8217 ; T want her dentitions to decompose. This is his manner of allowing Nora know he has his oculus on her. & # 8220 ; Some of these regulations, such as no feeding macaroons, are junior-grade and take downing & # 8221 ; ( Drama for Students 109 ) . If Nora has macaroons every one time in a piece International Relations and Security Network & # 8217 ; t a large trade. Torvald is doing a immense issue over something little and worthless. This is an illustration of how much control a adult male had over a adult female. Nora wasn & # 8217 ; t say to make anything without traveling through him. Torvald controlled Nora in everyway possible or so he thought he did. Torvald wants his married woman perfect and he will demur no less. Torvald besides watches how much money she spends. Nora likes to pass money. She finds every alibi to acquire money out of Torvald. For illustration, she says & # 8220 ; This twelvemonth we truly should allow ourselves travel a spot, it & # 8217 ; s the first Christmas we haven & # 8217 ; T had to conserve & # 8221 ; ( Ibsen 1565 ) . Torvald states & # 8220 ; But you know we can & # 8217 ; t travel wasting & # 8221 ; ( Ibsen 1565 ) . Torvald doesn & # 8217 ; t like her disbursement so much. & # 8220 ; Nora is enslaved by Torvald in economic footings & # 8221 ; ( Lutterbie 1639 ) . Torvald merely gives Nora privation he wants her to pass. When Nora does desire something and Torvald won & # 8217 ; t give it to her, all she has to make is implore. & # 8220 ; If she flirts and wheedles and begs, he rewards her with whatever she asks & # 8221 ; ( Drama for Students 109 ) .

Torvald likes for Nora to implore. It shows he is laterality over Nora. He knows that she is dependent on him and that she can’t survive without him. Nora besides has to be perfect for her Torvald. “Nora, Nora” couldn’t act up or misconduct. Torvald gets really disquieted when she doesn’t act like he thinks she should. One incident is when she is practising her tarantella dance. “Torvald is critical of Nora when she patterns her dance because he wants to maintain her passion under control and he is concerned with propriety” ( Drama for Students 109 ) . Nora begins dancing excessively fast and stops listening to Torvald instructions on how to dance. Torvald becomes huffy when she doesn’t do like he says. As long as Nora does what Torvald says, everything is perfect. Nora may look to be this perfect adult female, but her life is really filled with secrets and prevarications. Nora has several secrets she has been concealing from Torvald. One secret is the loan she forges her father’s signature on. She borrows the loan from Krogstad to salvage Torvald’s life. “She has committed counterfeit and she is proud of it, for she did it out of love for her hubby, to salvage his life” ( Ibsen “Notes” 1613 ) . A adult female borrowing money during this clip period is unheard of. As Kristine tells Nora, “A married woman can’t borrow without her husband’s consent” ( Ibsen 1571 ) . However, in secret Nora does hold concern sense so she can pull off the money and that is how she borrows it. Torvald finally gets good and Nora is left with paying the loan back. She finds ways to salvage money. As Nora herself states, “Torvald gives me money for new apparels and such, I ne’er used more than half” ( Ibsen 1572 ) . Nora finds other ways to do money. She finds a occupation where she is lucky plenty to acquire a batch of copying to make. Nora show that she is a responsible individual “when she repays the loan at great personal sacrifice” ( Drama for Students 112 ) . Thankss to Nora’s misrepresentation, Torvald ne’er learns of the occupation. Another secret Nora supports from Torvald has to make with the macaroons. Nora comes in from Christmas shopping and she has with her a bag of macaroons. She in secret keeps them hidden in the piano. Whenever Torvald isn’t around she sneaks one. There is besides a minute with Kristine and Dr. Rank in the room. She offers some macaroons to Kristine and Dr. Rank. Dr Rank makes a remark about how Torvald doesn’t like for her to eat them. Nora lies and says Kristine brought them excessively her. As Nora’s secret side is revealed, her life seems anything but perfect. As we look at the character alteration in Nora, we see two different sides to her. The beginning of the drama reveals a adult female wholly dependent on her hubby for everything, . It isn’t until the terminal of the drama that she realizes she can be herself and she doesn’t have to depend on her hubby. Nora realizes “that if she wants an individuality as an grownup that she must go forth her husband’s home” ( Drama for Students 112 ) . By analyzing Nora, we see from Ibsen’s subject that if we ignore all the outlooks the societal universe has for a individual, our true egos can be revealed.

& # 8220 ; A Doll & # 8217 ; s House. & # 8221 ; Drama for Students. 1985. Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House. The Bedford Introduction to Literature.