In A Doll's
house (1879), the woman character Nora Helmer is a fully capable woman, so capable;
that she must hide that she has been supporting her family through her
husband's inadequacy to preserve the harmony in their household. The harmony is dependent on the husband's supposed superiority and Nora's adorably-helpless-wife
act. As the secret is revealed and Nora had confronted with the reality of the
male ego, she decides that she cannot continue playing the part of her marriage
if she truly wants to live to her full prospective. The theme that is more
interesting to Ibsen is the duties towards oneself and achieving individuality and individual rights in society. Indeed, in a patriarchal
society that is controlled by men's rules, this is a woman, who should try to
get her rights: “What duties do you mean? Nora: my duties towards myself” (Doll's
House IIIrd Act, 68).
Nora
embodies the individualist alternative. In her, Ibsen depicts the full glory of
a woman who finally finds herself in opposition to all social norms. The play
ends with the dramatic sound of a door slamming shut. Nora walks away from the
security of her household and from all traditionally sacred values of marriage
and motherhood. She leaves to face an uncertain but compelling future of
self-becoming. She is going off to know her own responsibilities towards
herself. This kind of self-realization, which usually leads to a new beginning,
is one of Ibsen's main ideologies posed in his play.
Nora is the
main protagonist of the story, is the wife of Torvald, and the mother of three
children. She lives like a doll in a doll-house, and her character serves as a
symbol for every oppressed woman who is restricted from living a free life.
At the
beginning of the play, Nora is shown as rather a submissive, childish
woman, who enjoys being patronized, pampered, and treated like a defenseless
animal. She seems happy and does not seem to mind her husband calling her a
“little featherbrain”, “squirrel”, “skylark” and other similar condescending
nicknames. In fact, she also seems to enjoy the treatment Torvald gives
her. However, along with this, one sees certain defiance, rebelliousness, and
impulsiveness in her character. In spite of being forbidden from eating sweets,
she eats macaroons without the knowledge of her husband, and even lies to him
about it, saying “I wouldn’t do anything that you don’t like.” Nora is also
manipulative and often plays dumb to get her way with her husband. When
attempting to convince Torvald not to dismiss Krogstad, she says “Your squirrel
will scamper about and do all her tricks, if you’ll be nice and do what she
asks.”
However,
as one enters deeper into the plot of the play, one realizes that Nora is
not as deceptive and selfish as she first seems to be. Despite her
seemingly shrewd nature, she also possesses a certain innocence and
vulnerability. She is, in reality, innocent and inexperienced about the outside
world. Nora also displays a bit of self-doubt, which is largely due to her
being treated like a doll all her life. She is continuously reminded by Torvald
that she is a “prodigal”, a spendthrift, “just like your father”.
She
expresses her lack of self-confidence when she says to her husband, “I wish I
had inherited more of papa’s good qualities.” Her insecurity is also evident in
her eagerness to provide Mrs. Linde a beautiful and perfect picture of her
life, by immediately telling her that she has three beautiful children and that
her husband now has a magnificent position at the bank.
At the
same time, she also believes that she is not given the credit she deserves.
“You none of you think I could do anything worthwhile…” Nora is guilty of
committing forgery, an innocent mistake she commits in her desperation to save
her husband from his illness. However, this eventually leads to her being
blackmailed by Krogstad. Nora presumes and dreads that once her crime is
revealed, Torvald will take the blame on himself and even go to the extent of
taking his own life.
This
shows that Nora trusts her husband, despite his dominating and patronizing
nature. “He’d really do it- he’d do it! He’d do it in spite of
everything.” It is when this “miracle” that she so firmly believed would occur,
does not happen, that Nora finally opens her eyes to her husband’s true
nature.
Nora’s
climactic transformation into a matured, bold, courageous and independent woman
forms a crucial part of her personality. When she realizes that her husband
is not the protector or savior he claimed himself to be, and opens her eyes to
his blatant hypocrisy, she immediately gives up playing the role of his little
“doll”.
At the
end of the play, Nora shows many traits of a new woman. When Torvald finds out
about her unlawful deed, he blows up on her to show her what she has done.
After a long time, she had to think about what she had done she finally takes the responsibility to let him know and take full
blame for her acts. She showed characteristics of a “New Woman” in this
instance because she owned up to her flaw and told Torvald the truth instead of
hiding behind her lies and acting like Korgstad had it out for her. Also
following the blowup, Torvald obtained another letter from Krogstad explaining
that they do not have to pay back the bond and sent the bond to them. Even
though Nora and Torvald knew everything would be fine, Nora takes it upon
herself to realize she would be guilty her whole life knowing what she had
done. She refused to stay with Torvald and leaves the house to find herself.
She says: “I believe that before all else I am a reasonable human being, just
as you are, at all events, that I must try and become one.” This quote stands
out as a declaration of independence, that she is not just a woman, but that
she is also a human being and should not be treated like an insubordinate
person that is looked down upon. She knows that she has more potential than just being a mother and a wife and that she wants to seek that out without being
with Mr. Helmer.
Thus Nora
resists and rejects the domestic role and acts in opposition to the social
conventions and morals. The problem portrayed in the play is about women's
rights, as human rights. It is also about the need for every woman to find
out herself and stand on her feet in order to recognize the truth about
herself, her life, and her society. For the contemporary women's movement, Ibsen's legacy is an ambiguous one. On the one hand, he has articulated
forcefully the feelings and the drama of awakening consciousness. While on the
other hand, Nora's exit marks merely the beginning of an arduous struggle.
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