A Doll's House Role Essay

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Recommended: Female problems in the nineteenth century

The nineteenth century was truly a different time for women and what their assumed roles in life would be. Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House” is an examination into those assumed roles and a challenge to them. It was a time of obedience and inequality and in the first act each character is shown to portray these qualities. However, the characters in this play have multiple layers that get peeled back as the story progresses. As each new layer is revealed the audience is shown that even with the nineteenth century ideals, the true nature of each character is not quite what they appeared to be initially. Early on in “A Doll’s House” we are introduced to Nora. She is portrayed as the stereotypical nineteenth century married woman. The audience’s …show more content…

In actuality, she was defiant, and ate macaroons secretly when her husband had forbidden her to do so. She was quite wise and resourceful. While her husband was gravely ill she forged her father’s signature and borrowed money without her father or husband’s permission to do so and then boastfully related the story of doing so to her friend, Mrs. Linde. She was proud of the sacrifices she made for her husband, but her perceptions of what her husband truly thought of her would become clear. She had realized that the childlike and submissive role she was playing for her husband was no longer a role she wanted to play. She defied the normal roles of the nineteenth century and chose to find her true self, leaving her husband and children …show more content…

It was when his job was at risk because of his own crime of forgery that he blackmailed Nora with the crime of forgery she had committed herself. He was conniving and cruel to Nora in his desperation to keep his job secure to continue to be able to provide for his family. In the nineteenth century men played the roles of the provider and Krogstad would stop at nothing to do just that. However, it was when he was reunited with his beloved Mrs. Linde that he sees that he truly doesn’t need to be the breadwinner because he has his love back and her support. “I have never had such an amazing piece of good fortune in my life (Ibsen

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