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Comment on the use of language in Shakespeare's Hamlet
Hamlet diction details
Comment on the use of language in Shakespeare's Hamlet
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Ibsen effectively utilizes this idea in his work, as he displays Nora’s epiphany that she has been treated wrongly. Nora comes to realize that as soon as Torvald’s “fear was over – and it was not fear for what threatened…[Nora,] but for what might happen to [Torvald]” (Pg. 70). In the final scene of the play, Ibsen juxtaposes the responses between Nora and Torvald relating to Nora’s forgery incident. Ibsen establishes that up until her epiphany, Nora had been frightful of the future; Nora’s best interest was to protect her husband and the only thing on her mind was what would happen to Torvald. However, Torvald only worries about himself with fear motivating his actions. Ibsen juxtaposes these two responses to reveal how Norwegian society often overlooked women’s interests during the late 1800s and focused on the interests of men. …show more content…
Up until Nora’s epiphany, she believed that Torvald loved her and would be willing to sacrifice his honor for her, just as she had done for Torvald; she never imagined that Torvald “would consent to accept…[Krogstad’s] conditions” (Pg. 70) The knowledge that Torvald was not willing to sacrifice his honor for Nora, while Nora sacrificed her honor to help Torvald recover from being ill ultimately allows Nora to see the problems with society, as wives were always seen as below their husbands, and have the epiphany that she has been wronged by Torvald. Ibsen furthers this through the diction of “consent” with the denotation of giving permission to something, the connotation of attempting to preserve one’s honor, and the tone of demeaning. This exhibits that Torvald was willing to go to any depths in order to protect his own honor and helping Nora was nowhere in his
Societal pressures urge Nora and Willy to mold themselves into the people they think they should be, ignoring their true selves. Nora grew up the plaything of her father and became the same to her husband, adopting their tastes and opinions as her own because society expected women to support the dominant males in their lives whole-heartedly (Ibsen 3.593-603). According to society, Nora’s duties lay within the home caring for her children and husband, not bothering herself with the matters of the world and its workings. This naïveté though, directly caused her to take out an illegal loan in her father’s name. Under the impression that her actions would be understood because they aimed only to save her husband’s life, Nora deludes herself into thinking that she still fits into the role society created for her. The moment Torvald discovers her lies, thoug...
Readers learn that the relationship between Torvald and Nora to be more of a father-daughter one as opposed to them being husband and wife. Their marriage is deemed unhealthy for that reason; Torvald treats Nora as his daughter, not his wife. In the time period of this work, the idea that a woman is nothing more than a child in an adult’s body was typical and traditional. They were expected to be “without mind, but with much heart, devoid of logic, but sensitive and intrusive” (Valency, 253). This is what made Ibsen’s ending extremely controversial. Nora is “given” a mind and uses logic to realize what has become of her past and present lifestyles. She does the opposite of what was expected from female characters in this time. The ending challenged what rights women had at a time where it was thought they were nothing more than a man’s wife, or a father’s daughter – always under the control of men and unable to make right decisions on their own. Ibsen was strong enough to keep this ending, the better of them, for the text instead of succumbing and changing the conclusion just to be accepted and approved by
...a that an idealistic lifestyle based off of lies and falsehood is in fact, not an idealistic lifestyle at all. At every opportunity Ibsen suggests that behind the façade of marriage, what exists is nothing close to what a marriage should be, and this is exactly what Nora comes to realize nearing the end of the play. The one miracle she had hopped to occur, was that their “Living together could be a true marriage.” It is undeniable that the ideas Ibsen develops that truth plays a crucial role in idealistic living; and when such idealistic lifestyles are built on deceit an individual will eventually undergo an epiphany resulting in a radical understanding of reality. In the case of this play, Nora and Torvald’s relationship disintegrates and she leaves him to find herself and to find a true idealistic lifestyle. As for Nora and Torvald, their marriage is destroyed.
Edvard Beyer quoted in Aderholts translation of the Henrik Ibsen play, “There is hardly a single line that does not have a demonstrable dramatic function…. And all of a sudden single everyday words take on a double meaning of foreboding undertones.” (2) Nora’s “important thing” and Mrs. Linde’s “[y]ou are a child” are just a few exhibits of Ibsen’s double meanings. “Important thing,” the misrepresentation, a secret, laid the foundation of colored building blocks of their eight years of marriage. Is this truly the start of that first lying block Nora so easily laid down? No, it started with the injustices her father played upon her; treating her as his little doll, a doll to play dress-up and present his doting daughter to others. Subsequently, it was not hard for Torvald to continue Nora’s life as a living doll; his own game within as she is a willing subject. “[Quite] right, Christine. You see, Torvald loves me so indescribably, he wants to have me all to himself, as he says.” (Act II 54) Reveals how Torvald wants his toy all to himself; all along Nora knowing this she plays along with the game. While she keeps Torvald from finding out her biggest secret, she knowingly continues to play the role of Nora the doll; helpless without direction from the puppet master. Impressively Ibsen’s suggestions are lines of double meaning and the game of manipulation between Nora and those surrounding
Patriarchy's socialization of women into servicing creatures is the major accusation in Nora's painful account to Torvald of how first her father, and then he, used her for their amusement. . . how she had no right to think for herself, only the duty to accept their opinions. Excluded from meaning anything, Nora has never been subject, only object. (Templeton 142).
Torvalds wife Nora Helmer is a typical women for her time; She is a housewife. She allows Torvald to be controlling of her; molding who she is. She is not allowed to freely think and behave as she wants. Torvald confronts Nora, suspecting her of eating macaroons and asks if “little Miss Sweet Tooth been breaking rules in town today?” (I.142-I.143) This confrontation shows the debasing affiliation that these two have. This proves he sees her nothing more than a “doll wife”. Torvald using the word “little” followed by the pet name “sweet tooth” when referring to Nora is proof she is portraying the role of a “doll wife” which she willingly fulfills. Torvald is a typical husband during a time when the opinion of society meant everything to a man. His eagerness for social acceptance essentially causes the demise of their marriage. When Torvald finds out about the forgery and the loan which is the big secret Nora withholds from him, he berates her for it even though her actions saved his life. His acceptance by society is ruined in his eyes. Torvald is furious and tells Nora she took away his “happiness” and she has ruined his “whole future.” (III.464-III.465) His narcissistic side is exposed in this encounter. Torvald selfishly reacts to the secret that saved his life when he was very ill. Torvald’s selfish behavior causes Nora ...
Patriarchy's socialization of women into servicing creatures is the major accusation in Nora's painful account to Torvald of how first her father, and then he, used her for their amusement. . . how she had no right to think for herself, only the duty to accept their opinions. Excluded from meaning anything, Nora has never been subject, only object. (Templeton 142).
In his play, A Doll 's House, Henrik Ibsen develops the character of Torvald’s wife, named Nora. Nora struggles to define her individuality as she seems to play two different characters. Partly living as Torvald 's perfect wife, while also living day by day to attempting to conceal a big secret from her husband that could potentially destroy his business. While trapped within Nora 's degrading marriage that consists of many animal names, secretly, her character develops into determined and intelligent women. It is in this secret, that Nora recognizes she must break away from her marriage and follow her dreams of being a strong independent woman.
After asking his wife if she understands what she has done Nora answers “[Looking squarely at him, her face hardening] Yes. I am beginning to understand everything” (835). This statement might be the key phrase of Nora’s realization. The double- meaning implies Nora’s understanding of the actual situation as well as her awareness that her marriage, even though it conforms with social expectations, is far from perfect. She now doubts the depth of her love for Torvald and becomes calm with comprehension as she begins to recognize the truth about her marriage. While she expects compassion for her sacrifice, she is none given. Instead of sacrificing anything to help Nora out of her predicament, Torvald is only worried about himself and appearances. It becomes very clear, after the second letter from Krogstad arrives, that her well-being always comes second “I’m saved. Nora, I’m saved! You too, of course” (836). Throughout the conversation with Torvald, Nora finally realizes, she needs to rearrange her life and priorities to be happy. This implies independence and self-awareness. While Nora finally understands the situation, she is in and what she needs to do but Torvald defines her new attitudes as madness “You’re ill, Nora; you’re feverish; I almost think you’re out of your mind” (840). “However, the characterization has been tied to the fact that she is breaking taboos or challenging conventions” (Langås 160). Torvald is still stuck in his fantasy world of how a wife should talk and act per his standard and the society he stands for. “Nora still has no way of knowing that she is not endangering her children with her presence and in the end, she feels impelled to leave, and her decision is less an act of defiance against her husband and society than an attempt to save the lives of her children” (Brooks
At the same time, Nora lies because of Torvald’s perception of gender roles--his inability to accept the help from his wife’s “whims and fancies.”. Despite the juxtaposition between Nora and Mrs. Linde, they both have a common experience of sacrifice and they both embrace their independent role to help people they love. Mrs. Linde’s influence causes Nora’s conformity to her community to fall, as she discovers her lack of purpose of life. Later on, when Krogstad threatens to reveal the extent of Nora’s crimes of forgery in the case that Nora does not influence Torvald to not dismiss him, she begins to build up guilt and fear due to her wrongdoings. She is proud of making one of the few independent actions in her lifetime, but fears the denunciation of society, and especially Torvald.
The marital discord that is ever present within the relationship between Nora and Torvald Helmer is furthermore portrayed through the differences in the demeanour of both Torvald and Nora. Torvald is constructed as someone who is both visually stable and emotionally collected, as seen when he is “smiling” (Ibsen, 11) whilst Nora is “clapping her hands…takes his arm” (Ibsen, 11). Ironically enough, the playwright constructs an almost father-daughter relationship rather than a husband-wife, as we say Nora’s playful actions and Torvald’s subsequent emotions. Even the basic roots of their relationship remain unclear as seen through the visual stage directions; however, one thing remains the same. Regardless of whether it is a husband-wife or father-daughter
Ibsen wants the reader to know that Nora was a victim of circumstance mainly because she was forced to sign the paper and if she didn’t Torvald would perish. Nora’s situation is that she truly does not know her husband. She seems to be operating under a pretense of how she thinks of him to be, and only, in the end, does she realize that her husband truly does treat her in a degrading manner.
Nora, seeing his true feelings about her, leaves him. The whole situation could have been avoided had Mrs. Linde let Krogstad ask for his letter back. Ibsen methodically builds and releases the suspense throughout the play, never being too melodramatic or over-the-top. The ebb and flow of the emotional feel of the play makes it more realistic and, in turn, the relatability of the play makes the suspense, as a reader, more believable. Works Cited for: Ibsen, Henrik.
Torvald is the personification of masculine authority of Ibsen’s context. He is a husband who is “proud to be a man”; and hence constantly patronizes Nora with a playful manner calling her “feather brain”, implying that as a feminine figure she is inferior to him. Although Nora is constantly chided as if she were a child, an audience with Ibsen’s context would see Torvald’s tr...
Ibsen deliberately chooses to show Nora’s true self by revealing it in conversations between her and other characters; Mrs. Linde is one of these minor characters who is juxtaposed against Nora. Mrs. Linde married primarily for financial security and future ambitions, while Nora sincerely believes that she married Torvald for love and happiness. This provides a conflict for the apparently childlike Nora as she realizes that her partner in the marriage probably didn’t marry her for the same reason. Also, an example of dramatic irony arises at the end of the play when Mrs. Linde’s relationship with Krogstad revives again, while Nora’s marriage to Helmer crumbles. As Nora unhappily but determinedly leaves her home for a different life, Mrs. Linde’s happiness seems to be just beginning: "How different now!