Living in a society where women were viewed as codependent on men, Henrik Isben’s character Nora Helman challenged this mentality. This story challenged the social and marital norms of men and women with a controversial conclusion. Some were critical of Isben’s ending so he wrote a different outcome that would have pleased audiences more but not have had such a powerful message. In Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, despite censorship and audience resistance, the original ending written by Ibsen is undoubtedly the best ending. In A Doll’s House, Nora experiences an epiphany that triggers development in her character. In the beginning of the story, Nora is not only content in her life, but also happy – or so she makes herself out to be. She acts happy, …show more content…
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 …show more content…
One of the edits to the story was to have Nora commit suicide. Towards the end of Act III, Nora envisions her death when Torvald has gone to read the letter expressing what Nora has done. Suicide is sometimes viewed as the ultimate weakness, or being too strong for too long. If this would have been incorporated into the story, the meaning and impact would have been far less. Nora would have been seen as taking the easy way out, and Torvald would have gotten sympathy as a victim. Ibsen published an alternate ending to A Doll’s House that gave audiences a peak of just how controlling Torvald was. Instead of Nora walking out on her husband and children, Torvald dragged Nora back to the children’s room to look at them one last time. Nora ends up collapsing in tears in the doorway of their room and stays with Torvald. This ending gives Torvald the triumph over Nora because he knew if he used the children to make her feel guilty for even considering leaving that she would stay. Both of these edits to the plot line are not as influential as the original ending. If this ending would have been applied by Ibsen, the story would not have been about women’s right, but just a story for entertainment purposes (Braddock,
to discover and educate herself. She must strive to find her individuality. That the perception of woman is inaccurate is also supported by the role of Torvald. Woman is believed to be subordinate to the domineering husband. Instead of being the strong supporter and protector of his family, Nora's husband is a mean and cowardly man. Worried about his reputation he cares little about his wife's feelings and fails to notice many of her needs. The popular impression of man is discarded in favor of a more realistic view, thus illustrating society's distorted views. Ibsen, through this controversial play, has an impact upon society's view of the subordinate position of women. By describing this role of woman, discussing its effects, and predicting a change in contemporary views, he stressed the importance of woman's realization of this believed inferiority. Woman should no longer be seen as the shadow of man, but a person in herself, with her own triumphs and tragedies. The exploration of Nora reveals that she is dependant upon her husband and displays no independent standing. Her progression of understanding suggests woman's future ability to comprehend their plight. Her state of shocked awareness at the end of the play is representative of the awakening of society to the changing view of the role of woman. "A Doll's House" magnificently illustrates the need f...
In the closing scenes, Nora witnesses the final indication that she is truly regarded as Torvald’s possession. Beforehand, Torvald stated that he would protect Nora at all costs. However, as soon as he discovers the possibility of his reputation being tainted, he instantly degrades her to a point of dehumanization. As a result, Nora comprehends that true love never existed in their marriage, “You don’t understand me. And I’ve never understood you either- until tonight. No, don’t interrupt. You can just listen to what I say. We’re closing out accounts” (Ibsen 1234). Through this scene, Ibsen effectively represents Nora’s final mental awakening. The author employs sharp and decisive diction to convey Nora’s transformation. She no longer amuses Torvald with her childish antics, but speaks with a matter of fact tone. Nora had become accustomed to “pretending” her whole life, and therefore had convinced herself that she was in a loving marriage. As Sabiha Huq, English professor at Khulna University, indicates, “Nora has admonished a life living through hypocrisy and falsehood” (par. 1). It becomes evident to Nora that her whole life she has been dependent on a male figure and has never accomplished anything for herself. Subsequently, Nora feels as though her life has been meaningless, “I went from Papa’s hands into yours… it seems as if I’d lived here like a beggar--just from hand to mouth. I’ve
Throughout the change from a carefree doll into an independent woman who is finally finding herself, we see that Nora is acting the way she does due to society. She has lost herself due to being a wife and a mother. Society is typically male dominant and because of the roles she has to fulfill, she lost herself.
In society’s view, the marriage between Nora and Torvald is a wonderful relationship. Torvald supports the family through his job at the bank while Nora is the caretaker for the children. However, they have no real communication between them. Torvald commonly refers to Nora as his “little lark” or “squirrel” (1010, 1012). He never treats Nora as an equal marital partner, much less an individual. In the end, the marriage has to end because of its lack of real communication. Thus, a source of deception in the play stems from the fact that the actual marriage between Nora and Torvald is not a healthy relationship, as in society’s view. Furthermore, when Nora decides to go against her husband’s will to borrow the money for the loan, she forsakes her matrimonial bond, yet gains personal independence. Nora considers the loan “something to be proud and happy for” (1017). Yet, in essence, she is pleased with her ability to lie to her husband. Through this circumstance, Ibsen successfully reveals that a relationship built on ...
Throughout A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen illustrates through an intriguing story how a once infantile-like woman gains independence and a life of her own. Ibsen creates a naturalistic drama that demonstrates how on the outside Nora and Torvald seam to have it all, but in reality their life together is empty. Instead of meaningful discussions, Torvald uses degrading pet names and meaningless talk to relate to Nora. Continuing to treat Nora like a pampered yet unimportant pet, Torvald thoroughly demonstrates how men of his era treat women as insignificant items to be possessed and shown off. While the Helmer household may have the appearance of being sociably acceptable, the marriage of Torvald and Nora was falling apart because of the lack of identity, love, and communication.
The problem with suicide is that it can be depicted as the greatest form of courage and the ultimate weakness. As a strength, suicide is Nora’s last bid for complete control of her life by removing herself from society completely. As a weakness, suicide leaves Nora vulnerable for being a scapegoat for the shame brought upon her family. Suicide also paints Torvald as the victim, Nora was an unfit wife and mother who abandoned her family through death. The abandonment of her children through death leaves no chance for Nora to be able to reconnect with them like she would be able to if she were to strike out on her own looking for her independence. Nora’s children would have psychological problems that would leave them emotionally damaged and leave them with enormous guilt. Suicide presents the same problem the ending in which Nora stays with her family does, reinforcing the role of women as being repressed and controlled by a patriarchal society. This alternate ending does not highlight the message Ibsen was trying to portray like Ibsen’s original
A Doll House shows the protagonist, Nora, being treated by the men in her life as nothing more than a “doll” to dress
...e traditional role of women in a patriarchal society when she forges a signature to secure a bank loan. Initially this rebellious act illustrates her as childish and deceptive person, who is concerned about the Helmer’s reputation. However by the end of the play, Nora Helmer become independent as she weaves her way through her husband’s overbear rules durable by making her own rules to make, which eventually causes her to leave. Her reasons for leaving are that she had lived her whole life as a doll and she needed to find her true self. Henrik Ibsen’s underlying purpose in characterizing Nora Helmer as dynamic was to illustrate her struggles in living a typical Norwegian marriage. Ibsen was trying to convey how a couple in a Norwegian marriage was not union and did not split power among the couple equally. The males of the marriage had superiority over their wives.
The inferior role of Nora is extremely important to her character. Nora is oppressed by a variety of "tyrannical social conventions." Ibsen in his "A Doll's House" depicts the role of women as subordinate in order to emphasize their role in society. Nora is oppressed by the manipulation from Torvald. Torvald has a very typical relationship with society. He is a smug bank manager. With his job arrive many responsibilities. He often treats his wife as if she is one of these responsibilities. Torvald is very authoritative and puts his appearance, both social and physical, ahead of his wife that he supposedly loves. Torvald is a man that is worried about his reputation, and cares little about his wife's feelings.
A Doll 's house is one of the modern works that Henrik Ibsen wrote. He was called the father of modern drama .He was famous for writing plays that related to real life. A Doll 's House is a three-act play that discusses the marriage in the 19th century. It is a well-made play that used the first act as an exposition. The extract that will be analyzed in the following paragraphs is a dialogue between Nora and the nurse that takes care of her children. This extract shows how she was afraid not only of Krogstad blackmail, but also of Torvald 's point of view about those who committed any mistake. Torvald says that the mothers who tell lies should not bring up children as they are not honest . Nora is also lying to her family and to Torvald. So she is afraid because she thinks she maybe 'poisoning ' her own children. The analysis of this extract will be about of Nora 's character, the theme, and the language in A Doll 's House.
The enforcement of specific gender roles by societal standards in 19th century married life proved to be suffocating. Women were objects to perform those duties for which their gender was thought to have been created: to remain complacent, readily accept any chore and complete it “gracefully” (Ibsen 213). Contrarily, men were the absolute monarchs over their respective homes and all that dwelled within. In Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, Nora is subjected to moral degradation through her familial role, the consistent patronization of her husband and her own assumed subordinance. Ibsen belittles the role of the housewife through means of stage direction, diminutive pet names and through Nora’s interaction with her morally ultimate husband, Torvald. Nora parades the façade of being naïve and frivolous, deteriorating her character from being a seemingly ignorant child-wife to a desperate woman in order to preserve her illusion of the security of home and ironically her own sanity. A Doll’s House ‘s depiction of the entrapment of the average 19th century housewife and the societal pressures placed upon her displays a woman’s gradual descent into madness. Ibsen illustrates this descent through Torvald’s progressive infantilization of Nora and the pressure on Nora to adhere to societal norms. Nora is a woman pressured by 19th century societal standards and their oppressive nature result in the gradual degradation of her character that destroys all semblances of family and identity.Nora’s role in her family is initially portrayed as being background, often “laughing quietly and happily to herself” (Ibsen 148) because of her isolation in not only space, but also person. Ibsen’s character rarely ventures from the main set of the drawi...
While it was important to highlight the oppression of women in marriage and Nora’s dramatic exit served a valuable purpose to Ibsen’s thesis, It may have also been very effective if the last scene ended less shockingly. Audiences would have dealt more calmly with an ending in which Nora did not completely desert her family. If the end were different it may have benefited the overall mission of the play in ways, such as, more people attending shows and gaining the message without disturbing their moral beliefs too much. Also, the avoidance of a cliff hanger, an attribute of dramas that does not get along with many in the light of such a controversial topic. An alternate ending composed so that Nora could find herself and return with her family may have increased the approval of, A Doll's House, and allow it to end on a more settling note.
At the beginning of "A Doll's House", Nora seems completely happy. She responds to Torvald's teasing, relishes in the excitement of his new job, and takes pleasure in the company of her children and friends. Nora never appears to disagree with her doll-like existence, in which she is cuddled, pampered and patronized. As the play progresses, Nora's true character appears and proves that she is more than just a "silly girl" as Torvald calls her. Her understanding of the business details related to the dept she incurred in taking out a loan to help Torvald's health shows her intelligence and her abilities beyond being merely a wife. The secret labor she undertakes to pay off her dept demonstrates her determination and ambition. In addition, her willingness to break the law in order to aid her...
...on as a disgrace to society because women are not expected to leave there husbands. Nora proved that she can withstand enormous amounts of pressure and that she is capable of doing things when she is determined. She is eventually freed from that doll ouse, as she calls it, and it allows her to leave without being afraid to learn about her and the world around her.
Although the title, “A Doll’s House”, serves as the foreshadowing of the play’s plot, and the characterization of Nora Helmer, the protagonist, it does not in any way predict the unexpected ending; the ending that essentially upset Ibsen’s audience in the 19th century and served as a great promotion of the play and giving recognition to Ibsen as a playwright.