The art of drama
December 14th 2021
Essay
In “A Doll’s House” played by Henrik Ibsen, Nora Helmer: the main protagonist, is revealed through her interactions and conversations with the other characters in the play. She is portrayed as a submissive, immature woman, who is pampered and treated like an animal. Her position and role are compared to a doll which is controlled by her husband. Nora’s character shows that she cannot be a perfect woman, wife, and mother in “A Doll’s House.” Her character symbolizes oppressed women who were restricted from living a free life, but Nora proves this wrong as she gains self-realization, and independence within herself.
Nora does not have her own personality, she spent her whole life as an immature child. Before she got married, she was a doll to her father and after marrying Torvald Helmer she became the doll’s wife, in which he controlled her personality. As a wife, Nora is extremely submissive and out of the blue. She continuously tries convince herself that she is “light and happy” and has this need to please and satisfy her husband even though he treats her awful and calls her “squirrel” and “little spendthrift.” She lives in a home that could easily be represented as a modern family, a wealthy husband, three children living “carefree life in a beautiful charming home.” The reality of this family is that: Nora only worries about materialistic things and pleasing her husband with dresses and doing whatever he says, instead of simple conversation. Torvald, her husband, is more worried about his work position and business than his family. Nora is scared to eat macaroons in front of her husband, she has to do what he says, when he says it. Despite her not having the freedom to do what she wants, she is faithful, loving and loyal to her husband. Nora proved this when she saved Torvald by managing his money for his treatment. In doing this, she had to forge her father’s signature on a loan, which back then was seen as injustice because women could not take out any loans without the authority of either the father or husband. As his wife, she took the risk to save his life, which showed her individualism and self-identity that she had been struggling with all her life. At this point, Nora had realized if her husband knew the truth, it would be humiliating for him, and as soon as he discovered her independence, their “beautiful happy home would no longer be what it is now.” In the social society of that time, women were only seen and allowed to be housewives, not the money bringer, that was only the man’s job.
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