A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen History has proven that the holy sanctity of marriage has faltered. Women no longer feel obligated to remain in a union that does not suite her needs or hold her best interest. In the late nineteenth century, it was considered scandalous for a woman to walk out on her family obligations. Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House,” written in 1879, is a direct attack on the values of family and marriage regarded as sacred to many during that time. Through Nora in A Dolls Hous, Ibsn shows how womn at th tim had to appar conomically dpndnt, in ordr to appas th fragil mal go, though many scrtly harbourd a dsir for financial indpndnc. Although sh spnds much of th arlir portion of th play acting as a ptulant, charming child, prtnding to b a dpndnt fathrbrain in ordr to plas Torvald, th rality is quit diffrnt. Sh yarns to arn hr own kp, to work lik a man, taking up copying work that sh hids from hr husband, driving a guilty plasur from dfying som of th social xpctations of fmals, which dictat that th husband is th mastr of th houshold, as wll as th sol bradwinnr.
Torvalds aversion to his wife working is marked, thinking that Nora working, tiring [her] pretty eyes or her sweet little fingers through work would imply that he could not support her on his own income. He also objects to what he considers unrefined activities such as dressmaking. Clearly, Torvald cant stand to have his own power overshadowed by a woman, considered by him to be before all else a wife and a mother, and thus lesser in status than himself. Ibsen here shows mens insecurity over their position in society. Through Torvalds shallow ideals of women working and unappeasable pride, which are repellent to the audience, he criticises the social ideal of the economically dominant male of that era. Fully aware of Torvalds hurt and humiliation if he were ever to find out, Nora hides her capability from Torvald, but announcing proudly to Mrs.
The Essay on A Dolls House Nora And Torvald
Becoming Independent 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 ...
Linde that it was I who raised the money for the holiday that saved Torvalds life. The tough life led by women who had to learn to support themselves, to struggle along without a husband to take care of them is shown through the comparison between Nora and Mrs. Linde. Noras pampered lifestyle is at great odds with Mrs. Lindes difficult working life, described by Mrs. Linde as feeling like she was shipwrecked and clinging to a spar. Working has clearly taken its toll, giving Mrs. Linde an embittered air that can be seen through the way she deprecatingly speaks of the luxuries in Noras everyday existence, remarking that it must be pleasantto have everything you need. Through these two vastly different female characters, Ibsen juxtaposes the idealistic and at times naive view of independence that Nora holds (in Mrs.
Lindes words as knowing so little about the troubles and hardships of life) with the harsh reality, that workingwomen lead hard lives. He also highlights, through Mrs. Lindes plight, how 19th Century society made life difficult for those who dared to be individual. Women also covet independence in a physical sense. Torvalds pet names for Nora, such as little songbird, show the generally accepted notion of women as being caged creatures. Through the setting of A Dolls House, a single room in which all events take place, Ibsen may be showing the reader here that, as society expected women to remain in the house, as dolls to be played with by men, they are often kept in a locked box, this suffocating atmosphere causing women to feel isolated from outside society, and become desirous of freedom. The final stage direction in A Dolls House is that of a doorslamming, symbolic of Noras newfound independence and her simultaneous exit from her sheltered existence and entrance into the outside world as an individual. Female characters in 19th Century texts also need intellectual freedom. Women of that time, often reduced to being domestic caretakers who looked after their children and the day-to-day running of the household or china-doll trophy wives, felt confined in their regulated environment, without stimuli in their environment.
The Essay on Abortion Women Child Life
In 1973 the Abortion In 1973 the Supreme Court decision known as Roe vs. Wade, made it possible for women to have safe and legal abortions by well-trained professionals. This decision not only gave a woman the right to choose, but it drastically decreased pregnancy-related injury and death. Now the policy proposal has been done to close up abortion clinics, thus making it virtually impossible for ...
From birth, they are often taught to copy the opinions of the men around them, rather than formulate their own original thoughts and ideas. Nora is an example of this sort of indoctrination, having been taught to have the same opinion of her father, a sort of training for marriage, when she could have the same tastes as Torvald. Through Noras accusation of Torvald for having committed a grievous sin against herself, saying that its Torvalds fault shes made nothing of her life, Ibsen shows how womens intelligence and capabilities were ignored, even suppressed so that when she was married, she could be a suitable doll-wife, according to societys demands. I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald, says Nora in the final scene of A Dolls House. Through Noras epiphany and intellectual liberation, Ibsen represents the long-ignored views of a woman, showing their deep dissatisfaction with the social ideal. Female characters in 19th Century texts also need sexual independence.
That is, for their sexual freedoms to be equal to those of men. In stark contrast to men of the time, such as Onegin from Eugene Onegin, who were permitted to be discreetly promiscuous, even to the extent that they could brag about their various conquests, and be lauded for being a professional flirt. Women, however, were expected to remain chaste before marriage, and faithful to their husband after, further perpetrating the conception of women as innocent maidens, pure and untainted. To flout this unwritten expectation with a display of female sexuality, as Nora does in flirting with Dr. Rank, is dangerous. Women who do so run the risk of unwittingly giving out a sexual invitation, as well as risking the ire of their husband.
Ibsen may be showing here that it is possible for women to strike a balance between independence and security, to be neither alone and isolated, nor dominated, showing his approval of this melding through the happiness of both Mrs. Linde and Krogstad in this solution. In the 19th Century, appearance and fortune were the most important prerequisites in females. This shallow and superficial system meant that women were often trapped in roles as either dutiful housewife, or doll-wife, without their need for independence being taken into account. The unhappiness of those who chose to marry for the sake of cementing their fiscal futures was marked, while those women who chose independence seemed to be relegated to a strenuous working life. Here, the writers of 19th Century texts show that women were often condemned to discontented lives, suggesting that the only way to attain true happiness is to blend the need for independence and the need for security.
The Essay on Comparison of Nora (A Doll’s House) and Mrs.Alving (Ghosts)
Nora and Mrs. Alving are two main characters in Ibsen’s plays. They are similar in some ways, but obviously they are both uniquely diverse. They play many of the same roles in their plays, and are probably the most similar two characters between “Ghosts” and “A Doll’s House.” Nora is a unique character, a kind not usually seen in most plays. She swings her mood ...
Nora is a Victorian wife who finds herself in dilemma; she can no longer live in her home, with a husband she does not love. She decides to leave, and slam the door on all the responsibilities society has forced her to accept. She comes to accept that she comes before everything and everyone else. This is a truly contemporary idea. A woman in the Victorian Era is to put her family first, and herself last. This concept is believed to true up until the 1920s; in the 1920s the Womans Rights Movement changed that.
It made women realize that if they were not happy, then how could she possibly bring happiness into her home. The woman of modern time has accepted this, and it is not as unusual for a woman to leave her home if she is unhappy; whereas then she would have been condemned.
Bibliography:
Ibsen, Henrik. A Dolls House. London: Penguin Classics, 1976 Magill, Frank N., editor. Masterpieces of World Literature, Harper & Row, 1989, pp.
203-206. Meyer, Michael, editor. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, 4th Edition, St. Martin’s Press, 1996, pp. 1128-1136..
