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The struggle betwen the individual and society in a doll's house
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2. Nora’s secret of borrowing money from Krogstad impacts the storyline dramatically. Throughout the play we see how stressful it leaves Nora hoping that Helmer does not find out as it would create great controversy between the twos relationship. The readers understand that Nora borrowed the money in a good heart to save Helmer from himself as he was so stressed from work he was close to death. Thus Nora having great fears of Helmer finding out about the borrowed money as it would leave his reputation in shambles. It only gets worse once Krogstad finds out Nora forged her father’s signature, quite a corruption in itself ruining any reputation she and Helmer have if the public were to find out. Readers witness Nora telling Mrs Linde all about the problem throughout the duration of the play expressing the fear she has that when Helmer finds out that he will be shattered. This event leads to Mrs Linde and Krogstad getting back together after years apart, in both an attempt to drop the contract and to assort to her loneliness. This attempt works and Krogstad drops the contract involving Nora’s loan. …show more content…
The parenting of Nora is questionable. She does not spend a lot of time with her children in fact in the duration of the play only once did she make time for her two sons playing hide and seek with them. In contrast for not spending time with them, readers witness her buying them gifts for Christmas. These gifts for Christmas are of high quality, in a way, buying their love. Honestly Nora has the looks of an uninterested parent, no time for her children always too busy for them hoping that the gifts she buys will regarded as forgiveness for no attention. Realistically if this happened you could one day see how the inattentive ways of Nora affect the children’s lives. If they are quite disobedient, rude perhaps reckless, all these things can be related back to the
Throughout Act one, Nora’s most noticeable characteristic is her child like personality and her inability to understand the importance of honesty. As the play opens on Christmas Eve Nora comes home with an abundance of extravagant gifts for her family. She also eats some macaroons that she secretly bought that her husband doesn’t allow her to eat. When questioned about the purchase of the dessert by her husband Torvald Helmer, she denies it. Through this act of deception we are able to see that Nora, in denying buying and eating the macaroons is more like a child to her husband. In a normal husband-wife relationship, the wife would have admitted that she did in fact eat them due to the fact that they are on an equal playing field. In this case, Nora was scared to tell him in fear that she will be punished and get in trouble. The deception allows us into Nora’s mind to see that she hasn’t yet understood that if she stand up for herself and says that she did, that with time Torvald will stop treating her like one of his children but instead like the mother and wife that she is. Throughout the first scene yo...
In the beginning of the play, the readers witness Nora as a happy wife who has absolutely no fear of her future. Her husband has a high post job at the bank, income is high, and her family is “perfect” in every way. Nora is living the life every girl dreams of, and she is very well aware of it. However, as you continue with the play, the reader is able to indicate that Nora has been putting up a front, not only for her husband, but also for the sake of her societal status. In all actuality, Nora has proficiently hidden her anxiety for the deprivation of money to pay off her debts to Krogstad. Torvald Helmer, Nora’s husband, is wealthy and does not have to struggle with the burden of debt. However, Nora was financially poor before her marriage, and she is currently emotionally and financially poor because of her marriage. With the burden of the debt, and with Torvald being such a stickler with money, Nora has found herself in a conflict in which she will desperately do anything to get out of. As the play
The woman in this play is a very happy mother, who does not objectify to be a stay home wife, her life is happy and although she was faced by many obstacles before, like incurring into debt to save her husband’s life, she is a happy woman as long as she possesses the love of her children and husband. Life for Nora seems as calm as it could possibly be, but soon after the promotion of her husband and the imminent consequences such promotion will bring to Krogstad, bring a new set of complication to her life. Soon her past mistakes come to haunt her. She committed forgery, by signing in place of her deceased father, which of course is taken as leverage by Krogstad, the owner of the note she signed, in order for him to conserve his
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.
The central theme of A Doll's House is secession from society. It is demonstrated by several of its characters breaking away from the social standards of their time and acting on their own terms. No one character demonstrates this better than Nora.
...The play demonstrates this in the following lines: Helmer: Before anything else, you’re a wife and mother. Nora: I don’t believe that any more. I believe that before anything else, I’m a human being, just as much a one as you are … or at least I’m going to turn myself into one … I want to think everything out for myself and make my own decisions. Nora must be true to herself in order to participate in society in a meaningful manner. Her relationship with her children has been marred by her relationships with her father and husband; she treats her children as dolls, and they are apt to grow up in the same manner, with the same inability to be true to themselves. By the end of the play, Nora realizes that she cannot properly fulfill her duties as a mother until she learns how to become a person first. In this sense, her abandonment of her children is an act of mercy.
The literary work, A Doll’s House, was written by Henrik Ibsen and has been a historical work of literature since the late 1800’s. There are many themes through out the story that impose the different ideals of the 1870’s. Many of the characters reflect the time period through the positions they hold, the activities they do, as well as how they behave and act. Torvald Helmer and his wife Nora traditionally represent the upper-middle class in the way they present themselves, what types of activities they engage in, as well as what they do as an everyday task.
In her article she speaks about what the social norm was during the time of A Doll’s House. She states that many people write Nora off because, “no true mother leaves her children, under any circumstances. If she does, she is a monster” (Brooks14). Brooks goes on to talk about how Nora’s children would have been better off in her care than her husband, which is widely argued by many critics. She believes that by the end of the play there is no reason to think that the children would have been better off in the care of Torvald, due to the fact that he has “revealed how weak and selfish he is” (Brooks14). Additionally, Brooks disagrees with the statement that Nora does not care about her children. She believes that Nora, distances herself from her children due to the fear that she is “infecting” her children with “moral sickness”
It is through these stage directions that Nora’s playful and slightly immature character is revealed. In Act One many of the stage directions written for Nora is her ‘shrieking’ , this overly excited, erratic behaviour is a common theme from Nora throughout the play and emphasises her immaturity and lack of sincerity, most likely stemming from not having the opportunity of independence. A slightly comical action of Nora’s in the play ‘A Doll’s House’ is when she ‘stuffs the bag of macaroons in her pocket and wipes her mouth’ . This could be compared to a child attempting to hide evidence from their parents either in guilt, or in fear of being caught doing something forbidden; for Nora this is brought about by the strict rules of Torvald. Nora also appears very whimsical and is found to be ‘lost in her own thoughts’ and ‘hums ‘. It seems as if she is blissfully unaware and oblivious of the troubles and misfortune her family is receiving and this highlights her role, not as an equal partner in the family but rather a doll on display. However it is not just the stage directions of Nora that give rise to her childish actions. A significant moment in the play that reveals why Nora acts like a child is when Torvald questions Nora about purchasing macaroons. The stage directions state that he is ‘wagging his finger at her’ , this is an action similar to one a parent would make when telling off a
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.
The Struggle for Identity in A Doll's House 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 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
A Doll House was one of Henrik Ibsen's most controversial plays. He wrote this realistic play in 1879. Ibsen's writing style of realism was clearly shown in this play. This play was controversial at the time it was written, shocking conservative readers. But, at the same time, the play served as a rallying point for supporters of a drama with different ideas.
Nora Helmer was a delicate character that had been pampered all of her life, by her father, and by Torvald. She really didn't have a care in the world. She didn't even have to care for the children; the maid would usually take care of that. In every sense of the word, she was your typical housewife. Nora never left the house, mostly because her husband was afraid of the way people would talk. It really wasn't her fault she was the way she was; it was mostly Torvald's for spoiling her. Nora relies on Torvald for everything, from movements to thoughts, much like a puppet that is dependent on its puppet master for all of its actions. Her carefree spirit and somewhat childish manners are shown throughout the play with statements such as, "Is that my little lark twittering out there?" (1). "Is it my little squirrel bustling about?" (2). A lark is a happy, carefree bird, and a squirrel is quite the opposite. If you are to squirrel away something, you were hiding or storing it, kind of like what Nora was doing with her bag of macaroons. It seems childish that Nora must hide things such as macaroons from her husband, but if she didn't and he found out, she would be deceiving him and going against his wishes which would be socially wrong.
In "A Doll's House", Ibsen portrays the bleak picture of a role held by women of all economic classes that is sacrificial. The female characters in the play back-up Nora's assertion that even though men are unable to sacrifice their integrity, "hundreds of thousands of woman have." Mrs. Linde found it necessary to abandon Krogstad, her true but poor love, and marry a richer man in order to support her mother and two brothers. The nanny has to abandon her children to support herself by working for Nora. Though Nora is economically advantaged, in comparison to the other female characters, she leads a hard life because society dictates that Torvald be the marriages dominant member. Torvald condescends Nora and inadvertently forces Nora to hide the loan from him. Nora knows that Torvald could never accept the idea that his wife, or any other woman, could aid in saving his life.