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Nora Gender Roles

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Nora is the main character of the play A Doll’s House, and her overall sense of helplessness coupled with her decisions that seem rash at first glance but become more reasonable after context and culture are taken into account enables her to become a character that effectively portrays how important and prominent gender roles were during the Victorian era in Norway. An example of her helplessness is how she has to turn to multiple people for help regarding a bank loan that she took out and how she is subservient to Torvald in every way. She has to ask Torvald for permission to do seemingly everything in her day-to-day life, indicating the prominence of gender roles and men being in control. It is important to note that this aspect of the play …show more content…

They are relatively distant and it actually seems to be more of a father-daughter relationship than a marriage. They are distant because they do not talk very much, and most of their conservations consist of events such as Nora asking to borrow some money from Torvald so she can shop, and Torvald scolding her for being a “spendthrift” (Ibsen 2). While they are seen as a trophy couple with Nora being beautiful and Torvald being a powerful banker, their relationship is actually rather superficial and fake. Torvald is very controlling, essentially acting as Nora’s puppeteer rather than a husband. This aspect of a wife living with her husband that acts as more of a servant or helper rather than an actual wife in a play that is meant to be relatable to the average person indicates how a woman’s role was to essentially be subservient to her …show more content…

The play itself is named A Doll’s House, and Nora is the doll the title is referring to. While Torvald has control over her and is essentially the reason she is the way that she is, Nora exemplifies the meaning through her restricted life and the way she acts. She is moulded to be perfect in Torvald’s eyes, like a doll. With all of this taken into account, a very clear central theme is formed. The theme alludes to the prominence of gender roles during the time period in which the play was written, which made women have very little to no free will, and the problems that arose from this. This is predictable, given that Henrik Ibsen’s works generally emphasize equality. Much like most women of this time, Nora has no choice in her own actions. Also, her husband is controlling and she has little freedom outside of the house. Finally, she is made to live out a life that is perfect and suits Torvald, like a doll. While there is more visible action on Torvald’s part, Nora is the character that conveys the prominence of gender roles. While Torvald seems to be the cause of the theme, Nora conveys it by acting as his doll. With all of this evidence, it is very certain that Nora conveys the prominence of gender roles by acting as the doll in A Doll’s

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