Nora's Freedom People are always bound by something in life; it could be other people, obligations, debt, health or many other things. The book “A Doll’s House” shows the reader a multitude of ways people are not free no matter how rich or poor. Nora Helmer in “A Doll’s House” is bound by her “sacred duties” of being a daughter, wife, and mother. Nora's very first obligations were to her father and she was like property to him. He would play with her and loved her like any other father loves his daughter but treated her like a doll that he just owned. She could not even borrow money without his signature. “Below your signature I added a few lines making your father security for the loan” (Ibsen, 1146). Krogstad said this, he did …show more content…
Torvald has the same ownership over Nora that her father had. “Marriage was described as 'legalised prostitution' or slavery”(Forward). Nora was similar to a slave to torvald, he told her what to do, what to wear, and even how to dance. Nora loved her husband even though he treated her more like his pet than a wife. He called her many pet names like: squirrel, songbird, and wastrel. Torvald got sick and the doctor told Nora she needed to take him on a vacation so he would be able to heal. This is more evidence that people at this time did not understand medicine. However, As his wife she had a duty to keep him alive and healthy, but they did not have the money. Nora, without telling Torvald or her dying father, borrowed the money to “save” her husband's life. She had to borrow a few thousand dollars and did not have her own job. Now Nora was not only bound to Torvald because she was his wife but she also has this debt because of him that she can not pay without him. She saved the money Torvald gave her to make the payments, which meant she could not spend hardly any on herself. She also had to do so without being obvious that it was going somewhere else. She was bound by this debt and when Torvald did not give her enough money to make the payments she had to pick up small jobs that she was not legally allowed to be
Torvald was ill and the only thing that could save him would be time spent away from the cold. Nora never tells Torvald about this loan because he doesn’t believe in borrowing. Toward the end of the play when Torvald finds out about the loan, his true colors come out and Nora finally gets to see what her husband is really like. This is what really causes Nora to leave her family and to try to find who she really is. This situation also causes Torvald to change a little as well. Near the end when Torvald finds out about the loan, he gets angry with Nora. Once he learns that she is going to leave him and the children, he begins to change his ways a little and starts treating her with a little more respect. He hopes this will make Nora stay, but she already has her mind set and finally has control for once in her life.
She gains her independence and saves her husband. However, her reputation is nearly destroyed after Torvald finds out she forged the letter. Nora asking, “It is indiscreet, to save your husband’s life,” knows that she sacrificed a lot to save Torvald (Ibsen 1029). Nora believes she saved Torvald’s life, she also believes that if he knew then their lives would never be the same. If Torvald knew Nora had taken out a loan, he would feel indebted to her and that would be humiliating to his masculinity, while disrupting their “happy” home life. However, Nora relinquished many of the things that meant a lot to her. Nora forged her father’s signature risking her and Torvald’s reputation. She also takes on all the debt herself, paying it off with her spending money. Nora will not be able to buy as much for herself with the debt revealing her willingness to sacrifice wealth for Torvald’s wellbeing. Just as Cyrano sacrifices his life to send letters to Roxane, Nora sacrifices her happiness and reputation to save Torvald. This shows Nora’s devotion and unconditional love towards Torvald. Both Cyrano and Nora are risking their lives for someone they love. As Cyrano repeatedly risks his life for Roxane, Nora feels as though her “duties to herself” are more valuable than her devotion to anyone else as she states, “aren’t they your duties to your husband and children?... Duties to myself…” (1076). Nora has gone through a kind
Nora has been put down by her husband. Torvald says, “You can’t deny it, my little dear. It’s a sweet little spendthrift, but she uses up a deal of money.” (Ibsen, Page 6). He doesn’t take her seriously and he treats her like a child.
Despite what might be expected, she spared his life, by getting them both into huge amount of debt. Unknown to Torvald, Nora got a cash loan with the goal that they could afford the cost of a year-long trip to Italy. Doctors had said that Torvald would die without it; however, that he should not know how terrible his condition was.
Firstly, Nora and Torvald have different opinions regarding money: he upholds that borrowing is never an alternative to financial problems, but acknowledges that Nora does not follow this rule. Torvald believes she cannot help her tendency of over-spending, describing it as a hereditary condition: "It is in the blood; for indeed it is true that you can inherit these things, Nora." (p 9). She has been content to maintain her secret of borrowing money from Krogstad without her husband’s consent. This allows her husband to think of her as a possession and an expense, as "One would hardly believe how expensive such little persons are." (p 8). This becomes the main source from which the play 's tension originates. This is essential, as Nora’s terror of Torvald uncovering this secret causes her to weave an increasingly unstable web of lies, which subsequently collapses around her
Nora proceeds to apologize and plays the role of the obedient wife. Nora has the right to spend extra money after what she has been through for the first few years of marriage. Nora and Torvald were very poor. Torvald also became sick and had to travel to Italy to recover. Nora secretly and illegally got a loan to pay for the trip to Italy. During the time setting of the play, women weren’t allowed to do certain things without their husband’s permission such as take out loans. Nora has been working extra hard to pay back her debt and the promotion that Torvald will receive will help Nora become debt free.
It is important to know the motivation of the traffic light. Rachel Ross in Who Invented the Traffic Light? States, “ This system allows the traffic light system to communicate directly with the car and will improve safety and efficiency.” ( Ross) The people's was mainly think creating the traffic light will give the people safety the was that was the main point.
Nora’s first rebellion was when she took out a loan so that she could pay for her husband, Torvalds medical treatment. It was against the law for women to take out a loan without their husbands consent. When she did this she proved that she wasn’t as submissive and helpless as Torvald
As Mrs. Linde and Nora continue with their conversation, Nora begins to question whether Torvald does love her. Nora begins to tell her story of how she was the one to raise the money for the trip to Italy and not Torvald. She reveals how she went to Krogstad and asked for a loan to help pay for the trip. When Mrs. Linde asked if Torvald knew any of this information Nora replied, "He's so strict on that subject ... with all his masculine pride how painfully humiliating for him if he ever found out he was in debt to me" (1194). Nora did not feel comfortable telling Torvald about the predicament because she did not want to offend him. Torvald is set on complying by his morals and the fact that Nora disobeyed them would dishonor her
She couldn't possibly demand Torvald to take out some money - the dream they both lived in would be shattered. Nora decides to go behind Torvald, to make certain reality never touches her home life, and got the money using a forged signature. Nora’s reaction to Krogstad’s threat is understood much further with this context, as it is just as bad as Torvalds illness; it would lead to her perfect world being tainted by reality. Her sudden proclamation that she would no longer have time to see her children is due to this new crisis - and her the foundation of her realization she can no longer act as both a child and an adult sprouts. The consideration of leaving it all behind is also beginning to form for Nora, as she ask the Nurse about her decision to leave her daughter, implying she is also exploring that idea.
Not only does Torvald treat Nora badly, but he also treats her like a child. He speaks down to her. Torvald has many pet names for Nora. He says things to her like ?When did my little squirrel
Previous to the opening of the play, Nora makes the decision to get a loan without Torvald's knowledge so that he can go to Italy and improve his health, showing compassion and love for her husband. Nora's aquiring the loan with her father as a guarantor, shows that she cared enough not to worry her husband with money problems at a time that he needed to heal. Forging her
Torvald’s wife Nora is the center of several of the traits that classify him as a morally ambiguous character. Nora is more like a possession to Torvald than a soul mate or wife. She is like a doll to him, something that he can control and shape into what he wants. Nora is treated like a child and as if she can not function a second without him to be there to tell her what to do. Her dependency on him is extremely important to him because that is
restricted to playing with the children, doing little housework, and working on her needlepoint. A problem with her responsibilities is that her most important obligation is to please Torvald, making her role similar to that of a slave. Torvald easily talks down to Nora saying things like: “…worries that you couldn’t possible help me with”, “Nora, Nora, just like a woman”, and “Mayn’t I look at my dearest treasure? At all the beauty that belongs to no one but me—that’s my very own?” as if she is considered his property.
Later in the play things start getting complicated for Nora. Her husband Torvald had become Mr. Krogstad boss at work, and Torvald wanted to fire Mr. Krogstad. This is when Mr. Krogstad starts to blackmail Nora. He wants Nora to stop Torvald from firing him. If she does not, Mr. Krogstad was going to tell Torvald her secret. This should have been the perfect time for Nora to tell the truth to her husband, but she believed that telling Torvald the truth will ruin their relationship. Nora says to her friend Mrs. Linde “Torvald, with all his masculine pride – how painfully humiliating for him if he ever found out he was in debt to me. That would ruin our relationship. Our beautiful, happy home would never be the same” (Iben 802)