In Henrik Ibesen's play A Doll House, Nora Helmer struggles with telling her husband, Torvald Helmer, the truth about a loan she receives for them to go to Italy when he was sick. Consequently, when Torvald learns of the news he instantly insults Nora and declares that she has "ruined [his] happiness" (Ibesen 93). However, when Torvald tries to dismiss his insults after receiving a note that her contract was revoked, she does not accept his apologizes and decides to leave Torvald and her children to "make sense of [her]self and everything around [her]" (Ibesen 100). Her selfish decision to leave makes her a bad wife and mother, but she there are a few more characteristics that makes her a bad wife. The characteristics that Nora shows in …show more content…
Unfortunately, there are two players to this game, and Nora decides to betray her husband and borrow money anyhow, not only to help her aide him during his illness, but also use it to an advantage: "Years from now, when I’m no longer pretty … Then it might be useful to have something up my sleeve” (Ibesen 18). Fabienne Oguer states that Torvald's motivation to play "Trust" is that “he believes Nora would feel guilty if she betrayed his trust" (Oguer 86). Unfortunately, it only makes her feel an obligation to be an individual, separate from martial control. Nora is motivated throughout the story to be according to her "free," however, she does not only want to be free of the loan she is owning to Krogstad, she wants to be free from her father and husband's control. Throughout the story, Nora feels as if she has always been treated like a doll child first by her father and then by her husband and is never given the opportunity to evolve as an individual and become a woman who has the potential to be independent and forceful (Yuehua 83). The perfect example her attempt to fulfill her potential as a woman is when she first borrows the loan from Krogstad by forging her dying father's signature. Although she knows her act is wrong and against the law, she still goes on with a naïve challenge to Krogstad during their encounter about the forged signature
Throughout the time, Nora’s definition and understanding of freedom has evolved. She considered freedom as something like a duty. In the first act,
Nora may have never worked and had everything done for her, but she is smarter than everyone thinks. Nora got herself into a situation when she had signed Krogstad’s papers, so she could save her husband and keep him alive and well. When she signed those papers she may not have known what she had done at the time, but she could be accused of fraud. She worked her butt off to pay it off and figured it out herself to get her out of the situation.
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen was first performed in 1879 when European society strictly enforced male supremacy over women. The play consists of a middle class couple, Torvald and Nora Helmer, who seem to have the perfect marriage, three children, and a pending respectable income with the husband’s recent promotion to bank manager. Torvald treats Nora like a doll, manicuring and manipulating her looks and actions. Although his controlling demeanor is concealed by innocent nicknames and monetary allowances, the affects of his domination over his wife are eventually exposed. At the end of the play, Nora leaves in a haze of anguish after her husband fails to defend her when she is accused
When her husband was sick, the doctors suggested to Nora that they move south until he recovered, but not to tell Torvald that he could die if he did not. (182). At the time, they did not have the money for this, and Torvald's morals are against borrowing any money (176). Without telling Torvald that his life depended on this trip to the south, she borrowed money from Krogstad, even though it is illegal for a woman to borrow without her husband's permission (184). Krogstad required Nora to have her father sign a bond as promise that she will pay the money, but she did not have the heart to ask her father because he will ask what it is for (194-195). This is because her father was sick as well, and she could not bare it if she caused him to worry about another person when he is on his deathbed. Therefore, Nora forged the signature so she can save her husband and spare her father (195). This act greatly compromised her reputation and is a large sacrifice to make.
Individuals have a tendency to adjust to their circumstance and environment. Despite the fact that Nora appeared ditsy, she may have been acting thusly, to purchase time, and pay off her obligation. In expansion to getting to be mindful of Nora's criminal action, we likewise see another lady rise. As the commentator states, Nora appeared to pick up a feeling of truth; maybe she continuously felt along these lines. Be that as it may, she was agreeable in her circumstance, and disregarded a horde of signs, that demonstrated the she was in a terrible relationship. This circumstance was conveyed to light when Nora has an epiphany, as seen here: He called me his doll-kid, and he played with me generally as I used to play with my dolls. Also, when I came to live in your home—I imply that I was essentially exchanged from dad's hands into yours… When I think back on it, it appears to me as though I had been living here like a poor lady - just from hand to mouth. I have existed just to perform traps for you, Torvald. In any case, you would have it so. You and dad have conferred an incredible sin against me. As indicated by Kimberly Powell, Nora's acknowledgment was not extremely prominent with
From the onset of the play, Nora reveals to the audience that she has a secret, which is the source of the burden she carries for the majority of her relationship with Torvald. She broke the law and “procured” money from Krogstad using her father’s forged signature, as a remedy for her sickly husband, who knew nothing about this (Act I). She did this behind his back because he wanted to live a “no debt, no borrowing” lifestyle (Act I). Her tone is seen to be cheerful, which is a direct contradiction, because although she appears happy on the outside, she is fighting a war with guilt on the inside. This is an example of a major sacrifice that Nora executes merely to save health of her husband, and the audience is shown through her use of words like “wonderful” and “lovely” that then transgress to words like “dreadfully difficult” just how she wore a type of mask that made her appear happy and worry free, but she was in fact full of anxiety and anguish (Act I). These emotions were all a
Nora Helmer from the play called, "A Doll 's House" by Henrik Ibsen is the main character of the play. By Nora committing a crime, forgery, to save her husband 's life, Torvald, she realizes that she has never been herself. At the beginning of the play, Nora seems happy with her life, her marriage, and her family. It seems that everything is going well because now they have some extra money to support their needs and live a better life without limitations, but there is always something wrong when there is too much happiness. Nora keeps a huge secret from Torvald, but she does this because she doesn 't want to end her family 's happiness and stability, and she also doesn 't want to be seems as she is against society 's expectations. Torvald always tells her that they should never take a loan even if they need it because borrowing money from the bank takes people 's liberty. Nora disobeys and she takes a loan, but she doesn’t do it to do the opposite of what Torvald says, she does it because she wants to save Torvald 's life. She even lies to him telling him that all the money comes from her father 's, but he dies before that money is available to her, and who knows this is Krogstad, who gives her the money.
Nora is a captivating character in Ibsen's A Doll's House. She swings between extremes: she is either very happy or immensely depressed, prosperous or completely desperate, wise or naive, impotent or purposeful. You can understand this range in Nora, because she staggers between the person she pretends to be and the one she someday hopes to become. Throughout the play, Nora is portrayed as subordinate to her male counterpart, Torvald. 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
In Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House” the relationship between husband and wife, male and female, is portrayed in many ways. Female’s were seen as inferior and had very little expected out of them other then being a wife and mother, which is accurate for the time period Ibsen wrote the play in. This is evident in the relationship between the two main characters, Torvald and Nora Helmer. Torvald expects Nora to be a wife and mother first and foremost above being a human being. Though these two responsibilities are a big deal, especially in the time period “A Doll’s House” is written in, they have taken precedent over Nora’s responsibility for herself, to find who she truly is. Nora does a lot of pretending, a lot of hiding, and ultimately is a doll in the eyes of Torvald. Through out the three acts Nora makes herself weak and allows herself to have no voice. She has played around to please Torvald, pretending to be happy and have her own opinions, but by the end of the play she realizes that it has all been an act and decides it 's time to take off the costume and stop pretending.
The first conflict the play encounters is Nora versus society. “During the time the play is written it is uncommon for one’s wife to receive a sum or loan of money without her husband’s consent” (Ibsen 1735). Nora feels like she is doing what is right to save her husband’s life, even though she knows he will disapprove such a thought. Torvald is a very smart businessman, even taking care of the family’s finances, and this would be shameful to his reputation and where he stands within the community if anyone
In Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House” the relationship between husband and wife, male and female, is portrayed in many ways. Female’s were seen as inferior and had very little expected out of them other then being a wife and mother, which is accurate for the time period Ibsen wrote the play in. This is evident in the relationship between the two main characters, Torvald and Nora Helmer. Torvald expects Nora to be a wife and mother first and foremost above being a human being. Though these two responsibilities are a big deal, especially in the time period “A Doll’s House” is written in, they have taken precedent over Nora’s responsibility to herself, to find who she truly is. Nora does a lot of pretending, a lot of hiding, and ultimately is a doll in the eyes of Torvald. Through out the three acts Nora makes herself weak and allows herself to have no voice. She has played around to please Torvald, pretending to be happy and have her own opinions, but by the end of the play she realizes that it has all been an act and decides its time to take off the costume and stop pretending.
Torvald may seem like a man who deeply cares about his family, but it turns out he only cares about himself and his perfect world. He likes being in control of everything, including his wife, Nora. “In Torvald’s world, neither his wife nor children have the power of autonomous movement, which makes it impossible not only for them to take risks, but also to change or grow” (Mahaffey 57). This is probably what lead Nora to taking the actions she did, because she knew he would never approve of them borrowing money. Nora realizes she “was his “doll wife” (as she had been her Daddy’s “doll child” before she left home), a delightful toy that he cared for and that gave him much entertainment and pleasure in return” (Mahaffey 57). Torvald “is committed to protecting Nora and his children [as long as] it doesn’t compromise his public reputation, what he calls his honor” (Mahaffey 59). When he discovers Nora’s secret, he becomes enraged and accuses her of ruining him, yet wants “The thing has to be hushed up at any cost” (Ibsen 1233). He even goes as far to say that he cannot trust Nora and does not want her with his children, because he believes “she was an unfit mother” (Templeton 35). At this point, Nora is struck with the truth that Torvald never really loved her like she loved him. When the threat of blackmail is no longer a concern, Torvald, immediately, apologies and forgives his wife because their secret is
Nora has fooled herself into believing that everything she does is aimed towards being the best wife to Torvald. She is only concerned with being the “perfect wife” according to a review by David M. Galens and Lynn M. Spampinato. However, what makes Nora’s behavior even more disturbing is that she is aware of what “tricks” are necessary to get what she wants which is demonstrated in the opening scene of the play discussed above. The money she hustles from Torvald is used for her to shop and to help pay back the loan she took out several years back.
By saying all these things Nora is seemingly proving to Torvald that he has power over her. Luckily, Torvald is not incredulous and feels that Nora is being
Nora obtains a loan because it is what she needs to do in order to save her husband’s life. She lies to her husband about how she obtained the money; she knows Torvald would never stand for being in debt since it could potentially ruin his reputation. Because Nora was a doll to both her father and husband, she had to turn to lying and excessive spending habits in order to obtain some ounce of power and control over Torvald. While lying is typically considered morally wrong and a sin, lying is a necessity for Nora.