Abstract This paper describes and analyzes the characters of Nora and Torvald in Henrik Ibsen's novel, "A DollHouse", explaining that the marriage between the couple is based on deceit and fantasy and that the couple is not prepared to deal with the reality of their marriage or the reality of each other's true nature.
From the Paper "The relationship between Nora and Torvald in A Doll House is unrealistic and based upon each one of them playing a role that has been determined by convention and by the influence of both Nora's father and Torvald. The couple does really know each other and are unprepared to cope with adversity together. It is a relationship in which Torvald is the dominant character and Nora works in underhanded ways to get the things she wants. The title of the play has been widely mistaken for A Doll's House. But the fact that Ibsen called it a "doll house" can be attributed to two things. A doll house is a toy house where toy people live; and the house in the play is not Nora's at all. It is completely owned by Torvald, whom has all the financial and legal responsibilities of the marriage. It is truly a doll house and she and Torvald live a fantasy life there. This is the core of the plot.
When the play opens we see Nora come into the house and we hear Torvald calling to her from offstage. He speaks to her condescendingly, as if she were a child. He calls her names like "little squirrel" and "scatterbrain" that are on the surface meant to connote affection but actually reveal that he does not take her seriously and does not actually respect her. He makes a truly condescending statement when he says, "Nora, Nora! How like a woman." "
Abstract The paper looks at the characters in the two works "A DollHouse" by Ibsen and "Medea" by Euripides. It examines the way the characters act and their relationships, and draws conclusions of whether males are active and females passive. Both works are interesting in the ways they portrays the very differing roles of the men and women of the time.
From the Paper "In this essay I have chosen to work with the concepts active and passive and to critically explore the active and passive characteristics of the persons in A Doll House and Medea. The essay will also examine the relationship between the two concepts, the two texts (A Doll House and Medea), and the Western concepts of feminine and masculine. The essay will argue that the two texts and its main characters both sustain and challenge the Western notion that active is associated with masculinity while the passive is associated with femininity as well as the Western concept of 'feminine' and 'masculine' in general."
Abstract A paper on the "A Doll's House" by Henrick Ibsen that states that the play focused upon self discovery, depicting the way that various characters are forced to eventually resolve the conflicts that rise within them, conflicts related to their identities and the confusion that arises from identity crisis.
Abstract This paper purports that Nora is right in leaving her husband and children. Nora is a victim of oppression and of patriarchy. Her life has been a dollhouse that she must leave in order to find herself.
Abstract This paper looks at how lack of trust and honesty leads Nora and Torvald Helmer down a long path to destruction. It explains that the play gives a picture of a marriage relationship that comes apart when a crisis reveals the lack of trust and the resulting deception that was present. Nora and Torvald Helmer have been married for eight years, but have filled those years playing the role of what society would have said was a happily married couple. It shows how a lack of trust and honesty has left them as strangers without a firm relationship to hold them together.
From the Paper "The crisis occurs when it is revealed that years earlier, Nora had forged her father's name to acquire a loan. The money was needed to take her husband to Italy so he could recuperate from a life threatening illness. Torvald felt that to borrow would result in "Something of freedom lost - and something of beauty, too - from a home that's founded on borrowing and debt" (1569). So, with the help of Nils Krogstad, a bank clerk, Nora had secretly taken out the loan. Now Krogstad, in retaliation for Torvald firing him from his job at the bank, threatens to make it public that the loan was obtained by forgery. This turns Nora's life to turmoil."
Abstract This paper discusses the marriage of Nora and Torvald in Henrik Ibsen's play 'A Doll's House', noting that the marriage is typical to the ones during the 1870's where the man wears the pants in the family and the wife basically does everything her husband tells her to do. The paper describes how Nora was raised to be completely dependent on the men in her life and, in particular, looks at how Nora must question the foundation of everything she believes in when her marriage is put to the test.
From the Paper "Nora had no worries of her secret coming out even after admitting it to Mrs. Linde. But her confidence quickly went away when Torvald decided that he was going to fire Krogstad from his bank. With Krogstad angry about the fact that he may lose his job, he then threatens Nora that if he indeed loses his job at the bank, that he will tell her husband about the crime she committed. Nora tries to convince Torvald to not fire Krogstad but her requests are quickly shut down. Torvald tells her, "The more you plead for him, the more impossible you make it for me to keep him on. It's already known at the bank that I am going to give Krogstad his notice. If it ever got around that the new manager had been talked by his wife......" (Ibsen 42), he doesn't want to made fun of for listening to his wife."
Abstract This essay compares the characters of Iago, from "Othello", with Krogstad in "A Doll's House". These two men play significant roles in destroying a marriage; however, the results of their involvement are different. Iago ruins Othello and instigates the murder of Othello's wife. Krogstad inadvertently liberates Nora from her marriage so that she is free to leave her unhappy life. While both Iago and Krogstad are secondary characters, they play primary roles in effecting a dramatic change in the outcome of the plays.
Abstract This paper examines the treatment of women in Henrik Ibsen's drama, "A Doll's House". It also looks at the behavior and actions of the sheltered wife Nora and the causes of Nora's transformation as a character.
From the Paper "Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House is almost certainly not as shocking to those who read it today as it was when it was first published. In many ways general public attitudes have caught up with Ibsen's own so that his play now appears to express what man..."
Abstract The author states that ?A Doll's House? is a strong feminist statement although Ibsen himself always claimed to be resolutely apolitical. The paper describes Nora as a character trapped by the circumstance of her past who refuses to remain trapped. The author of this paper sees the play as an argument that both women and men deserve to be free. The author concludes that the political overtones of the play contributed to its longevity.
From the Paper "His behavior towards her when he discovers what she has done ? and it is important to remember that she has acted only out of concern for his welfare and has shown both courage and initiative in doing so ? is patronizing and unkind. She acts entirely out of love for him, but his response to her actions makes her realize that he has never actually seen her as a real human being on her own but rather as a pretty doll."
Tags: feminist, social, change, infantile, political, doll, norwegian, dramaturgical, rights
Abstract This paper examines Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" and, in particular, describes at his interpretation of the standing of women in society. It looks at how Ibsen metaphorically chains women into tightly bound packages who have had their actions, their inner values and morals and even their individual thoughts greatly affected by the suffocating rules imposed by society.
From the Paper "Nora has been chained so long by Society that even her thoughts are affected. She thinks only of herself and her family, and she cares not what rules there are if they don't impinge on her little world. She is living in a bubble. She thinks that she can do as she pleases and when her husband is taken ill, she borrows money to save his life by taking a vacation to a warmer climate. She has no understanding of how their situation affects their lives, and she doesn't know or care how the Law will see her resulting actions to get the money she needs to fix the problem. She doesn't want to upset her father who is dying, and refuses to tell her husband how ill he is, so she tries to be manly and take the responsibility on her own."
Abstract This paper explains that, in both William Shakespeare's "Othello" and Henrik Ibsen's "The DollHouse", a major source of conflict is some serious misunderstanding between a man and a woman. The author points out that, while the plays differ in significant ways, they also have some traits in common such as a third person who wants to improve his position and attempts to manipulate the man's wife in an effort to reach his goal. The paper compares the three characters in each play to explore the similarities and differences related to this third-party plotting: the third persons Krogstad ("DollHouse") and Iago ("Othello"), the husbands Torvald and Othello and the wives Nora and Desdemona.
From the Paper "While there are differences between Torvald and Othello as well as between Iago and Krogstad, the most important differences may be the ones between Desdemona and Nora. Desdemona is faced with the most terrible of dilemmas: the husband she loves is about to kill her, and she does not know why. He tells her to "think on thy sins," and she repeatedly tells him she has done nothing against him. Even as she dies she protects Othello, calling out to a companion that she has killed herself."
An analysis of the relationship between the male and female characters in the ancient text, "The Medea" by Euripides and the modern text, "A DollHouse" by H. Ibsen.
Abstract This paper examines two texts, one ancient, "The Medea" by Euripides and the other modern, "A DollHouse" by H. Ibsen. It looks at the roles of the two female characters - Medea in " The Medea" and Nora in "A DollHouse" and discusses how the relationships between the male and the female characters reflect the relationship of the colonizer and the colonized. The paper examines what such a relationship entails and argues that this relationship can be changed only under extreme circumstances, which require a drastic action on the part of the colonized.
From the Paper "Both Medea and Nora have challenged the concept of the passive feminine and the gender roles assigned to men and women within our society. The relationships between the male and the female often resemble the relationship between the colonizers and the colonized. The male/colonizer is active, the female/colonized is passive. The balance of power tips sharply towards the male/colonizer. The female/colonized are often the 'Others'; they are weak, simple creatures that need protection and guardianship, provided by the 'naturally' stronger, dominant male/colonizer. Nora and Medea refused to stay in the roles of the colonized and succeeded in freeing themselves from oppression by taking drastic action. Both however, were punished for it, shunned by the society in which they lived and both lost their children."
Abstract This paper presents a discussion about three stories and the identities of the protagonists. The writer of this paper examines "DollHouse", "Oedipus" and "Hamlet" to compare and contrast the identity complexities in each instance.
From the Paper ?Many times an author becomes so involved with the character of the work that they go on a mission of self-discovery along with the character. While the reader watches the events unfold we also are treated to the character discovering in the end that they really are. It is a common theme that is not easily noticed until one peels of the topcoat of the story and examines the underpinnings.?
A comparative analysis of the female protagonists in the novels, "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Tennessee Williams and "A DollHouse" by Henrik Ibsen, including their success and failure in life and self-discovery, and their conflicts with men and personal
2,925 words (approx. 11.7 pages), 14 sources, 1993, $ 103.95
From the Paper "The protagonists in A Streetcar Named Desire (Tennessee Williams; 1947) and A Doll House (Henrik Ibsen; 1879) are both women who are thwarted in their goals by male antagonists. However, Nora Helmer in A Doll House is able to transcend her situation through learning to depend on herself, whereas in A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche DuBois' continuing dependence upon others prevents her from approaching true fulfillment. This paper will show that Nora overcomes her situation because she has an inner strength and sense of independence that Blanche lacks. Throughout A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche remains dependent upon men for validation of her life. By contrast, Nora becomes independent from her husband at the end of A Doll House. For Blanche, the end of A Streetcar Named Desire is tragic; she loses her hold on reality and must be taken away to an asylum. The..."
Abstract This paper will show how Nora in "The DollsHouse" by Ibsen, shows the characteristics of Freud's theory of Electra and the Id, as well as the theory of Repression that are so a part of the psychology in this play. By combining these ideas together a complete psychoanalysis of the main character Nora can be had for examination.
