Theme Of Individuality In A Doll's House

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In Search of Individuality The story A Doll’s House, written by Henrik Ibsen, presents different scenes in which the main character Nora questions her identity, and is confronted with the realization of living under her husband’s shadow. Throughout the play, Nora encounters different characters that help her understand that she needs to find her own interests and passions. During a reencounter with her old friend Kristine Linde, Nora comes to understand that she is too concentrated in pleasing her husband Torvald, and her role of being a wife. It is at this point when Nora finds herself talking incessantly about her life, and apologizes to her friend Linde for talking so much about her own family. She also meets with Mr. Krogstad, and Linde, she learns to look at life from another perspective by learning to listen about other people’s personal life and not only about her family. At the beginning of the conversation with Mrs. Linde, she explains in detail how great life is treating her family, as her husband has a new job, and talks extensively of how things are going with her family. Throughout the conversation, it is noticeable how Mrs. Linde is allowed to say only some sentences. According to Tannen, author of “I’ll Explain it to You”, a person who has more expertise, offers more support, and is a better listener than an non-expert person (61). For instance, this is one of the causes for Mrs. Linde to show more interest about what Nora had to say, and of showing more support to what she says throughout the conversation. When Nora discovers by herself that she is talking too much, she apologizes for being selfish and asks Mrs. Linde how she is doing. It is when Nora listens, that she learns how much more problematic the life of Mrs. Linde is. Learning about the life of her friend helps her understand there is more to life than what she is going through while pleasing her husband in what he needs and wants, and caring for her

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