On Ibsen's A Doll's House
Author: Ian Johnston
Those of you who have just read A Doll's House for the first time will, I suspect, have little trouble forming an initial sense of what it is about, and, if past experience is any guide, many of you will quickly reach a consensus that the major thrust of this play has something to do with gender relations in modern society and offers us, in the actions of the heroine, a vision of the need for a new-found freedom for women (or a woman) amid a suffocating society governed wholly by unsympathetic and insensitive men.
I say this because there is no doubt that A Doll's House has long been seen as a landmark in our century's most important social struggle, the fight against the dehumanizing oppression of women, particularly in the middle-class family. Nora's final exit away from all her traditional social obligations is the most famous dramatic statement in fictional depictions of this struggle, and it helped to turn Ibsen (with or without his consent) into an applauded or vilified champion of women's rights and this play into a vital statement which feminists have repeatedly invoked to further their cause. So in reading responses to and interpretations of this play, one frequently comes across statements like the following:
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).
Furthermore, if we go to see a production of this play (at least among English-speaking theatre companies), the chances are we will see something based more or less on this interpretative line: heroic Nora fighting for her freedom against oppressive males and winning out in the end by her courageous final departure. The sympathies will almost certainly be distributed so that our hearts are with Nora, however much we might carry some reservations about her leaving her children.
Now, this construction certainly arises from what is in the play, and I don't wish to dismiss it out of hand. However, today I would like to raise some serious question about or qualifications to it. I want to do so because this vision of A Doll's House has always struck me as oversimple, as, in some sense, seriously reductive, an approach that removes from the play much of its complexity and almost all its mystery and power.
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.
Deliberate killings, human bombs, dozens of vicious groups, and a growing sense of insecurity trouble Iraq (Tirman). Cluster bombs and landmines’ have caused many deaths to innocent civilians. People forced from their homes in fear of their lives and their family’s lives. When some refugees tried to go home, they were killed.
Afghanistan has had a history, full of violence and wars since the last 176 years, from being invaded by the British in 1838 to the soviet Russians in 1979, but those long wars have left the once prosperous and wealthy country, into a country torn apart into shreds (BBC News). The future of Afghanistan will be highly unstable due to its high levels of poverty, which is a major factor on the outcome of the country’s future. Wars are great contributors to high poverty levels and it is reported that “20 million out of the 26 million people in the country, are living under the line of poverty” (Rural poverty Portal), that is about 75% of the country’s population. When 75% of the country population is living under the harsh living conditions and poverty, it leaves the country’s economy running on fumes. The high level of poverty also leaves most of the country in a survival mi...
SUMMARY: The Syrian Civil War between the Syrian government, and the insurgents, as well as the Free Syrian Army has been escalating since early 2011. The United States, and our allies have faced difficulty in sending aid to Syria, and continue to deal with obstacles in sending even basic medications to Syrian civilians. However, the United States and its allies have also contributed to the lack of organization and the disparity in Syria by sending aid and artillery to individuals based only on political connection, and ignoring organization, local alliances, and without a true understanding of the reality of the Syrian localities to best protect the Syrian protestors. The question addressed in this memo will be defining the viable options to be pursued in Syria, how to pursue them, and assessing the most beneficial path of least resistance when offering aid, funds, and artillery to specific groups in the country. The recommendation will be that although the best alternative action item would be to choose a Syrian group with the least oppositional values comparative to the United States to fund, supply with arms, and train; that the United States should do nothing for the time being. Given the physical and financial risk involved with the Syrian Civil War, it would be prudent for the United States to simply observe how the war progresses over the next several months, as well as complete some research to truly understand the state of affairs in local areas of Syria to determine the extent to which the United States could identify a group to provide aid to, as well as the extent to which the United States involvement would be within Syria.
It sometimes takes a lifetime to change yourself, but changing in response to what other people want, without considering your own needs could be much more challenging. In a world without any flaws all people would be treated equally and with the same kind of respect. On the other hand, in the world we live in, almost all situations we find ourselves in have the potential to become a conflict. A Doll's House, a play by Henrik Ibsen, is an exceptional example of a conflict that exists as women are seen as possessions and not individuals by men. Ibsen uses the Christmas tree, macaroons, tarantella, and the doll’s house as symbols in A Doll’s House to express the flaws in a society that requires women to be the subservient and docile servants of men.
Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F., David Hall. (2011). “Abstinence-Only Education and Teen Pregnancy Rates: Why We Need Comprehensive Sex Education in the U.S.” PLoS ONE 6(10)
A Doll House was a great play that showed women’s struggles. Nora dealt with the struggle of money and having to comply with the men in her life. Anne Marie had to deal with the struggles of making a mistake and sacrificing the most important thing to her for a better life and Ms. Linde spent most of her life sacrificing everything she deserved for the people she loved. These were models of the women for many centuries around the world. All of them showed great courage and selflessness for the one’s they loved. Ibsen made a great impact to women’s liberation by writing this play and allowing women to see that it was okay to fight for their rights. This play will be a great model for history for many years to come.
However, Advocates for Youth Researchers studied the National Survey of Family Growth to determine the impact of sexuality education on youth sexual risk-taking for young people ages 15-19, and found that teens who received comprehensive sex education were 50 percent less likely to experience pregnancy than those who received abstinence-only education (Kohler et al 2008). Proving that comprehensive programs do not increase teen pregnancy, but rather have the potential to significantly decrease it. Although teen pregnancy in the U.S has declined in recent years, the teen birth rate remains higher than in most other developed countries at 26.5 per 1,000 in youths aged 15-19 (CDC 2013). This illustrates the need for action. Comprehensive sexuality education will teach these teens the how to prevent pregnancy and could potentially lower these numbers. Empowering teens with pregnancy knowledge is only one of the many benefits of comprehensive sexuality education, but providing life-saving information to teens about STD’s is vitally important as
Ultimately, she decides to break away from her husband and children to leave behind the society that has oppressed her. She feels compelled to learn more about herself and what she wants in life. In the play, A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen highlights the negative treatment that women received during the late 1800s and uses Nora to rebel against society’s expectations for the role of women.
Henrik Ibsen catches the world off guard with his play A Doll House. The world is in what is known as the Victorian era and women and men have specific roles. The way the story unravels takes the reader by surprise. Ibsen wanted to write a play that would challenge the social norms and that would show the world that no matter how hard they press, they would not always win. Ibsen uses society’s customs, deception, and symbolism to keep the reader on their feet and bring them a play that they would never forget.
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, is a play that was written ahead of its time. In this play Ibsen tackles women's rights as a matter of importance. Throughout this time period it was neglected. A Doll's House was written during the movement of Naturalism, which commonly reflected society. Ibsen acknowledges the fact that in 19th century life the role of the woman was to stay at home, raise the children and attend to her husband. Nora Helmer is the character in A Doll House who plays the 19th woman and is portrayed as a victim. Michael Meyers said of Henrik Ibsen's plays: "The common denominator in many of Ibsen's dramas is his interest in individuals struggling for and authentic identity in the face of tyrannical social conventions. This conflict often results in his characters' being divided between a sense of duty to themselves and their responsibility to others."(1563) All of the aspects of this quote can be applied to the play A Doll House, in Nora Helmer's character, who throughout much of the play is oppressed, presents an inauthentic identity to the audience and throughout the play attempts to discovery her authentic identity.
On the other hand, towards the end of the play, Nora shows the independence and
A local government is a political subdivision of the state, constituted by law and may or may not have substantial or much control over local affairs. “Under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, all powers not granted to the federal government are reserved for the states and the people. All state governments are modeled after the federal government and consist of three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial. The U.S. Constitution mandates that all states uphold a "republican form" of government, although the three-branch structure is not required” (State and Local Government 2014)Therefore, Local Governments exercise certain basic powers like police power, and the power to implement social services so as to best serve the interest and promote the general welfare of their respective inhabitants. In order for the autonomy of Local Government to function, the national and or federal government places the power to delegate authority to the state that then transfers these basic powers to the local governments to allow for the inclusion of its constituents in governmental and local affairs by what we call decentralization. Often times the state government divides powers between the local governments which usually include two divisions: municipalities and counties. Counties are usually the largest and broadest geographic area and include many local governments however; a county’s power is very miniscule compared to city government. Generally in North Carolina, local governments do not have the power or authority do anything unless it is explicitly granted or enumerated in the state constitution. Although cities have a large range of delegated authority and counties have the least, the state government would still exerci...
...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.
There are many interesting statistics regarding teen pregnancy in the United States. In 2012 alone, there were 305, 388 babies born to teenage mothers (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy 2013). Even though 305, 388 is a considerably high number of teen births, the number of teen births in 2012 actually decreased six percent from 2011 and fifty-two percent from 1991(The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pre...