A Doll House I feel that this play was a great interpretation of what is was like to be a wealthy business man. The play shows that even the wealthy have problems and are not living the perfect lives that people think they are. There are many complex relationships in this play between the character of Nora. First there is her relationship with Krogstad. Krogstad loaned Nora a sum of money, so she would be able to save her sick husbands life. However no woman could sign a legal contract at the time so Nora s father had to sign the contract in order for her to get the money.
Nora knew that her father was dying so she forged his signature. Next there is her relationship with her husband Torvald. Nora told Torvald that she got the money from her father. So right away we find out that Nora has lied to two people, one of whom is her own husband. She lies to Torvald about the loan because he would be afraid that the rest of the town would find out and that would kill his dignity. Torvald feels that there is no man who gives up honor for love.
When Nora finds out that Krogstad learned what she had done and threatens to tell Torvald if he gets fired, She goes from a spoiled wife without a care in the world to a woman living in fear of what Torvald might find out. Nora never had to care for anything her whole life. She was spoiled by both her father and her husband. She didn t even have to care for her children. She only played with them when it was convenient with her. When Torvald finds out what his wife has done he blows up in an outrage.
The Research paper on Twentieth Century Literary Criticism Vol Nora Torvald Ibsen
... her husband ever since they moved from their last home. Torvald was very sick and Nora was pregnant with their first child. Nora? s father ... three children than to a girl in her teens, ? (239). Nora finds ways to stall for time to keep the truth from ... to play the piano so he can illustrate the dance to the forgetful Nora (1232-1233). Despite all of her efforts we find ...
Shortly after reading the first letter another letter arrives, it is from Krogstad saying that the loan did not have to be paid back. Nevertheless Nora decides to leave Torvald, saying that she doesn t even know him and he never understood her. In my opinion I think that Nora did the right thing. She was waiting for what she called a miracle to come true. When Torvald said that he would be by Nora s side no matter what happened, he really meant he would stand by her as long as his reputation wasn t on the line. I feel that there are two main themes in this play love and responsibility.
Nora thinks that she is in love with Torvald. She also thinks that Torvald is in love with her. But when it is time for her to stand by her, and she realizes that his reputation is the most important thing to him, she realizes that it is not her he is in love with it s his doll he loves. Once she realizes this she feels she has no choice but to leave him and try to become the person she wants to be, not the doll her father and Torvald had. The next theme is responsibility.
Nora was certainly being responsible by paying back her loan the best she could. Torvald on the other hand showed no responsibility when it was time for him to stand by his wife like he said he would. At hhe same time I feel that Nora was irresponsible for just walking out on seven years of marriage and her children, Without warning. Overall I feel that if any actions that happened in this play happened in today s society the penalty wouldn t be nearly as strict.
But I can understand what Nora was going through and totally understand the reasons for all of her actions.
