Women’s decisions are often times influenced by the men in their life. Whether it is their husband, father, or an older brother, women sometimes act based on what would please the man in their life most. In the plays Inherit the Wind and A Dolls House, Nora and Rachel exhibit a strong attachment to the men in their life that causes them to lose their true self. Sometimes women get so caught up in trying to please the men in their life that they lose themselves. In the play Inherit the Wind, when Nora visits Bert in jail and is trying to convince him to give up on the fight she says “Everybody says what you did was bad”(Lawrence and Lee 8). Nora has never once thought herself how she feels about the situation, but yet decides that Bert …show more content…
Nora shows her resentment towards her father and husband when she says, “I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald. That’s how I’ve survived. You wanted it like that. You and Papa have done me a great wrong. It’s because of you I’ve made nothing of my life”(Ibsen). Nora has come to realize that her whole life spent pleasing her men, has stopped her maturation. While acting as a good wife and daughter, she has never grown into the women she thought she should be. Nora succeeds in fighting the human tendency to think egocentrically. In fact, Nora fights off this tendency so well that she completely ignores herself her whole life and focuses only on the men in it. After realizing that she has made nothing of her life, she decides to leave her husband in attempt to find her self. Nora’s transformation throughout the play is very similar to Rachel’s transformation. They both left all the thinking and decision-making in the hands of their men, and after the dilemmas that they both have faced was resolved, they decided to leave their controlling men behind and think for themselves. However, Nora is not just closing the door on her old life, she’s giving way to a future dedicated to making up for lost time. This becomes evident when Vicki Mahaffey …show more content…
This forgiveness does not absolve anyone of blame, but creates a space for future self-realization by refocusing the attention from the past to the present and future (Mahaffey). Mahaffey is explaining here that Nora is going to forget about the past and focus on her individual thinking in the future. Most women like the men in their life to be in control. However, giving a man to much control could put your own self and personality at risk. In the plays Inherit the Wind and A Dolls House Rachel and Nora let their men control their thinking and beliefs for so long that they lost their true self. It was not until they distance themselves from these men did they attempt to regain themselves and develop their own thoughts and
But in the first act Nora shows that she isn’t unaware of her true personality and what was going on at the time. Nora has been defying Torvald in very small ways like when she was eating the macaroons and lying about it. But as the story goes on and all of the drama that goes on through Nora’s life, she starts to realize that the truth makes life easier, but also escalates situations which resulted in her walking out on her family to find her independence as a person in society, and to find out if she can make it in the real world on her own.
Throughout her life Nora had spent her time pleasing the men around her, first her father and then Torvald. As the reality erupted that her marriage to Torvald was loveless and not salvageable, she ignored Torvald's demand that she not leave him. He even made attempts to sway her decision by insinuating they could go on in the house as brother and sister. Her need to be a valued human in society had prevailed over the dependent, frail, creature that once belonged to Torvald. She set out to find her independence in spite of the limitations that society had placed on women. Her displeasure had burned a path beyond her little, secure world and the burden of being a plaything was lifted.
Whereas for Nora is trapped in her own predicament and circumstances. She has no power or equality in society, or even in her own marriage and household. She has a financial obligation, the back loan she did behind her husband’s back. To obtain the loan she had forged her father’s signature on the IOU. Nora claims that she can’t claim her own life or live her own life so long as she remains married to her husband. She goes on to say how she feels all her life she’s been played with like a
Because of her character, she failed to see the constraint that Torvald had put on her and failed to see what she was missing out on. As the play progresses, Nora is able to think in a more mature manner and realize the confined state she has been in for so long. Critics viewed her childlike character in a different light. Joan Templeton stated, “she was denounced as an irrational and frivolous narcissist; an abnormal woman” (Templeton 29). Nora’s childlike nature was viewed as the reason she left her behind, instead of the reason she was oblivious to her confinement. Other critics argue that Nora was not childlike because she was “a woman who works hard for years and stints herself without her husband and children” (Dukore
In A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen wrote a play that showed how one woman, Nora Helmer, stood up to her husband after feeling like she was useless to their marriage and their family. Nora’s husband, Torvald Helmer, was the man of the house and would make every decision for the family, especially for Nora. He supported her financially, but not emotionally. He always took it upon himself to do everything a man was supposed to do at the time, but never let Nora explore herself. He made sure she was kept as just a wife and nothing more. As it was mentioned in the play, Nora was arranged into the marriage by her father. While going through eight years of marriage, she finally felt it was time to find herself as an independent woman in...
After she reveals the "dastardly deed" to her husband, he becomes understandably agitated; in his frustration he shares the outside world with her, the ignorance of the serious business world, and destroys her innocence and self-esteem. This disillusion marks the final destructive blow to her doll's house. Their ideal home including their marriage and parenting has been a fabrication for the sake of society. Nora's decision to leave this false life behind and discover for herself what is real is directly symbolic of woman's ultimate realization. Although she becomes aware of her supposed subordinateness, it is not because of this that she has the desire to take action. Nora is utterly confused, as suggested by Harold Clurman, "She is groping sadly in a maze of confused feeling toward a way of life and a destiny of which she is most uncertain (256)." The one thing she is aware of is her ignorance, and her desire to go out into the world is not to "prove herself" but
During this time period, there was the stereotypical opinion that women should only be homemakers because they do not have the intellectual capacity to do anything more. The struggle for dominance between Torvald and Krogstad also brings to light Nora’s venture to have purpose. Ibsen uses her to comment on society’s gender roles. For the majority of the play, Nora plays her part as the ideal wife well. However, at times she portrays herself as being more than just a trophy wife. Her conflict with Krogstad reveals how innovative and unselfish she actually is. For instance, she does not spend all the allowance money Torvald gives her. In addition to saving a little of her allowance, she also does odd jobs to earn money. She does all of this in secret to pay off the loan to Krogstad. At first, Nora gives off the impression that she is a “spendthrift” and an airhead, but she proves herself to be a woman of perseverance and determination. The men’s struggle for dominance also reveals her marriage’s flaw. Torvald treats her like a doll he needs to take care of and show off to others. He underestimates her ability, similar to how society doubts that women can do more than just sit still and look pretty. His condescending demeanor towards her ultimately allows her to realize that she needs to leave him in order to be truly independent and live up to her potential. Like all women in society eventually realize,
...ome from different worlds, yet they still share the same type of sadness and pain in their everyday lives. What Nora does is considered courageous in that time in history, where women were not treated as equals and were always looked down on and ignored. Women speaking out and taking matters into their own hands was unheard of and often risky. They want to be independent so they do what they believe is necessary to accomplish and reach their goals, so that they can once again be happy for eternity.
Throughout Nora’s life, she has been mistreated and viewed as a doll not as a human. “Nora’s father, it transpires, an irresponsible spendthrift, brought her up with no sense of social obligations or serious thought for the morrow, while her husband, finding her a delightful companion like this, did nothing to repair the omission and treated her with a playfulness of a teen not a mother.” (Beerbohm147) As a result, Nora realizes that she has been mistreated and treated unfairly. “Nora, however, protests that she has been treated unfairly in being denied the opportunity to participate in her marriage and in society as an informed adult.” (Gosse219) Torvald and Nora’s father both viewed Nora as if she could not make decisions on her own. “The transformation from her carefree days as a girl to marriage meant no more to her than a change from a small doll’s house to a larger one.” (Salome226) In the play A Doll’s House, Nora is not oblivious to her mistreatment; she soon becomes very much aware of it. Nora states, “I was simply your little songbird, your doll […]” (Ibsen230) Nora has never been taken seriously; not by her father and now not by her husband. They do not take her thoughts or her comments in to any considerations what so...
Many women in modern society make life altering decisions on a daily basis. Women today have prestigious and powerful careers unlike in earlier eras. It is more common for women to be full time employees than homemakers. In 1879, when Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll's House, there was great controversy over the out come of the play. Nora’s walking out on her husband and children was appalling to many audiences centuries ago. Divorce was unspoken, and a very uncommon occurrence. As years go by, society’s opinions on family situations change. No longer do women have a “housewife” reputation to live by and there are all types of family situations. After many years of emotional neglect, and overwhelming control, Nora finds herself leaving her family. Today, it could be said that Nora’s decision is very rational and well overdue.
Nora 's character is a little bit complicated. she is a representative of women in her time and shows how women were thought to be a content with the luxuries of modern society without worrying about men 's outside world. However, Nora proves that this idea is entirely wrong. Nora is not a spendthrift as all people think specially her husband. on the contrary, she has a business awareness and she is mature
Through characters such as Nils Krogstad and Torvald Helmer, one sees how those living in this society worried primarily over their social standing and reputation, while through the character of Mrs. Lindie the reader sees how even women fell into the trap of behaving as “dolls”: doing everything that is expected of them while remaining obedient. Though some of these characters may seem cruel, they have a huge impact on Nora’s character and help push her towards the realization that she is not living as she wants to live. Brunnemer says, “There is an evolutionary process whereby the mini-Nora of the opening scenes becomes the super-Nora of the close” (1). In the beginning of the play, Nora is portrayed as an obedient wife who would never stray from her husband’s wishes, and subsequently society’s expectations. By the end of the play, we see her blossom into an individual who wishes to make her own decisions and follow her own path. Brunnemer also says that, “Nora in having her worst fears materialize, is freed from them” (1). This statement summarizes the ultimate push for Nora’s transformation, by mentioning that she does not fully realize her lack of freedom until her husband discovers the forgery. After the situation passes, and her worst fears are brought to light, she realizes that she does not enjoy the life that she
Nora is a dynamic character. When the play begins Nora is viewed and presented as a playful and carefree person. She seems to be more intent on shopping for frivolous things. But, as time goes on it becomes apparent that Nora actually has a certain amount of seriousness in her decisions and actions in dealing with the debt she incurred to save Torvald’s life. Nora’s openness in her friendship with Dr. Rank changes after he professes his affections toward her. Her restraint in dealing with him shows that Nora is a mature and intelligent woman. Nora shows courage, not seen previously, by manipulating her way around Krogstad and his threats to reveal her secret. After feeling betrayed by Torvald, Nora reveals that she is leaving him. Having
According to her husband Torvald, Nora is childish even though she is his wife but however she is loving but little that he is aware that she’s unpredictably a strong and an independent woman. As the plays moves forward readers will highly realize that Nora’s persona shifts from that of everyday playful trophy wife seen by Torvald and friends to someone who is highly self empowering and a willing woman.
She becomes a man and tries to arrange money so Torvald could go to south even thought women in those times were not all to borrow money without their husbands consent. This shows that Nora desires to have more power than Torvald. It is ironic when Torvald calls Nora a “spendthrift”, when Nora is the one who tries to save up every penny so she could clear the debt. Even though, women at that time weren’t independent and would always have to ask their husband for money, Nora did not have to do it. This shows that even thought Nora is portrayed as a dependent woman; she still did some deeds unknowing, which makes it evident that Nora does not need Torvald to live her own life. Another way gender roles are shown in this play is when Nora’s friend sews dress for her. Nora asks her friend to do it in the room, as her husband hates dressmakers. This proves that Nora’s husband is unaware of Nora working day and night to support his