With the progression of the play, Nora’s persona also shifts from that of a wife who is the everyday playful, trophy wife that is seen by her husband and friends, to that of a woman who is self-empowering and willing. The reader’s first impression of Nora is of a submissive, money-loving, juvenile wife. In the first act of the play, Nora appears to just want money from Torvald, her husband. We first encounter this in the scene with Torvald after she revealed to him what she had bought for the children, Nora definitely does not delay herself whatsoever in asking for money. In fact, even her answer to what she would like for Christmas, her answer is money.
In the books A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen and The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, the main characters have similar circumstances they experienced in their story. Nora Helmer, the main character in A Doll’s House, is the well-known wife of Torvald Helmer. Nora is protected from living her life and guided by her husband making decisions for her as if she was a doll. She often overlooks the reality of her life with the wealth and materialistic things her husband provides. She is highly intelligent, but rarely thinks for herself.
Nora had no choice but to seek a loan behind her husband’s back in o... ... middle of paper ... ...ho knows her interests. Nora’s character is great for showing women’s tough character and serves the purpose of showing women becoming more socially accepted. All of these are shown with Nora’s possession of a secret, lying life. Before her transformation, she appears as an attractive, amusing doll to Torvald and her father, but it is only when they find out of her secret letter and forgery is when they start to understand her for more than the gorgeous child that she is. After the transformation, Nora shows that she can fight for her rights, work hard, endure huge amounts of stress, and she is skilled to do things when she is strong-minded.
Nora tells her husband “Hm, if you only knew what expenses we lark and squirrels have, Torvald” (Ibsen 796). I believe that by Nora doing this she is giving Torvald the consent to continue calling her by pet names. In my opinion this is not a normal behavior for a marriage couple. But it seems like Nora did not care that Torvald treated her like a child or called her pet names, what was important to her was the money that Torvald was giving her. We can see as the play progresses that Nora was not as innocent as she seems in front of he... ... middle of paper ... ...e. Nora had made up her mind that she was going to leave Torvald.
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.
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.
She was known as the playful, trophy wife by everyone at the beginning of the play, but as the play goes on she is shown as a self-empowering, eager woman. To many people, Nora’s first impression was most likely a money-loving, childish wife. She seems to just want money from her husband and when she was asked by her husband what she wanted for Christmas her response was “money”. Nora also acts childish so her husband, Torvald, treats her like one. Torvald treats Nora more like a house pet instead of his wife.
As most other men during this time, Torvald believed that women were not capable of making difficult decisions, or thinking for themselves. As the play progresses, Nora faces a life changing decision to abandon her duty as a wife and mother to find her own individuality. Even though Torvald is responsible for partial deterioration in their marriage, it is Nora's feministic beliefs, passion for life, thoughtlessness, and spontaneity that stimulate her ultimate plan to break away and shatter all that remained pleasant in Torvald's “perfect little dollhouse”. Nora, the protagonist, has been treated as a "play thing" by her father and then her husband, Torvald. She is thought to be fragile and incapable of resolving any serious problems.
This quote reflects that Nora is spoiled because it seems that she likes to brag about her life and family with all the money Torvald will bring in. One may believe that this is all an act that Nora is displaying because she wants people to think that life is all happy and wonderful. It also shows how Nora is dependant where she relies on her husband to work and bring home money, while she watches the children. Near the end of the play the audience begins to see how Nora finally starts to understand herself. She states “ I believe that before all else I am a reasonable human being just as you are…I must think over things for myself and get to understand them.”(Ibsen ).
However, at the end of the play, the patriarchal authority in Nora’s life shifts and gives her what she has always dreamed of. The influence of patriarchy in A Doll’s House changed Nora, which gave her the power to think for herself and create the life she has always wanted. In the first act, it is the day before Christmas and Nora enters with a plethora of gifts for her family. She gives the delivery boy a generous tip and continues to unpack the gifts. She makes little noise, but just enough for her husband, Torvald, to here that she is home.