How has the symbols of money and the macaroons explain the gender roles in Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House

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In Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, the audience is viewing the life of a women that is almost not normal, or not the same as others. This women happens to be the protagonist of the novel, Nora Helmer. Nora is joined in the play mainly by her husband Torvald. These two have a relationship between each other that majority of people would find weird. The first appearance of this play was in the late nineteenth century, or in detail, 1879 in Norway. Torvald treats Nora differently compared to a normal, average husband. This treatment causes Nora to have a peculiar attitude towards her life. This diverse attitude is seen through mainly two symbols presented in the novel, the macaroons, and also money. The macaroons are seen primarily with Nora. She is seen eating these macaroons throughout the play, and is signaled essentially towards her attitude. Money is a corrupt indication of the different ways people are treated in the play, chiefly through Nora. These two symbols lead to the problem of gender roles in the play. The gender roles are managed and interpreted by the two specified symbols, money and the macaroons.

The macaroons suggest Nora’s behavior and personality throughout the play. The first aspect of the macaroons being displayed is the connection of Nora’s childish behavior, and the treatment of Nora by Torvald. When the props of the macaroons are being displayed in the play, Nora is shown to highlight her naive behavior. This statement can be allied by the type of language used by Torvald and Nora prior and after she stashes away the macaroons. “Is it the squirrel frisking around?” This quote is spoken by Torvald which indicates the commencement of Nora’s strange behavior. Nora is then heard to speak in a...

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...wed to treat Nora in any way they desire. Essentially, power contains aspects to fully control the female characters in the play by the male characters.

The gender roles in the play are shown and explained by two of the main symbols in the play, money and the macaroons. One can see that money is over the importance of the macaroons. This is because of the need of money and standard of economy in everyone’s lives. The macaroons do however show more of a creative way by Ibsen to properly convey the attitude of the gender roles in the play. Both of these symbols however are equal in the fact that they show the audience how the gender roles were truly shown in Norway in the nineteenth century. In conclusion, the gender roles are something of controversy in the play, but are easily depicted, described and explained by the two symbols of money and the macaroons.

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