Abstract This paper looks at HenrikIbsen's play "The Doll's House" and how the theme of deception runs through it. The author shows how from the start the character of Nora seems too perfect-- perfect wife, perfect woman, but towards the end the truth emerges when Nora's true character is revealed.
From the Paper "Nora is a sheltered housewife who is domineered by he husband, until circumstances force her to show her own independence. Nora was a perfect wife at the beginning of the play, but there were underlying deceptions beneath the perfection.
"From the start of the play, we realize that there was a general sense of falsehood in the Helmer house, brought on mostly by Nora's inability or unwillingness to accept the real world. Nora's desire to conceal the truth from Torvald and herself is further augmented by the patriarchal attitudes of Torvald towards her and her open acceptance and manipulation of such treatment in order to further suppress reality. Nora's departure, as well as being an escape from a house of lies is also an opportunity for personal growth and the means by which she discovers reality."
Abstract This paper presents a brief look at how HenrikIbsen uses Krogstad as a foil character in order to create more audience sympathy for Nora in his famous play, "The Doll's House".
From the Paper "The ultimate goal of drama is believed to be the audience's suspension of disbelief for the brief time that they are watching the play. That said it does not follow that works of drama do not have other purposes as well. They are meant to make the audience think about the world beyond the stage about society and about the minds of individuals. Such is the case with Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House. Ibsen uses minor characters and subplot ..."
Abstract This paper explains that, although much has been written about viewing HenrikIbsen's "A Doll's House from purely a feminist perspective, the truth is that Ibsen's clever crafting of this play and careful development of his heroine Nora has allowed readers and critics over the years to apply many valid interpretations. The author points out that Ibsen's play is about the roles that people are willing or are forced to play: The role that Nora assumes at the end of the play is just another role - one that she has no idea how to play but feels she must. The paper concludes that Ibsen had to make Nora the explorer into a new world so that the audience might begin to understand his motive of revealing how the strict roles of society have stripped people of their human rights.
From the Paper "The other female character has also become a thinking human being through her trials in life. Ironically, Mrs. Linde because of her ability to think chooses to marry Krogstad during the course of the play. She says in regard to Krogstad's letter that she does not want him to ask for it back because "a whole day's gone by and I've witnessed things in this house that I could hardly believe...This wretched secret must be brought into the open so that there's complete understanding between them". Mrs. Linde's objective is not to destroy their marriage put to force Torvald and Nora to be honest..." with themselves and each other. Mrs. Linde has realized the necessity of this kind of honesty through her life of hardship which is why she decides to marry Krogstad. She accepts that he is not perfect and not a model man of the middle-class, but he can give her what she wants to be happy.
Abstract This paper explains that HenrikIbsen's "A Doll's House" is a powerful story that has several underlying themes, including but not limited to family life and women's rights. The paper further relates that Ibsen's use of symbolism and his setting are unique and helps illustrate the story for the reader. In addition, with the use of these elements, he helped paint a picture of the scenes throughout the entire story for the reader. These are just a few of the literary devices that Ibsen utilized very well, and are the focus of this term paper.
From the Paper "One final intriguing use of symbolism involves Dr. Rank, the very good friend of the married couple. Dr. Rank admits that he is very ill from syphilis (which he has suffered from since birth) and he will soon pass. Upon returning from a masquerade, the three of them discuss of the next masquerade, and of what they will dress-up as. When Torvald raises the question to Dr. Rank, he responds vigorously, "At the next masquerade I shall be invisible." he adds "There's a big black hat- haven't you heard of the invisible hat? It comes down all over you, and then no one can see you.""
Abstract This paper examines HenrikIbsen's play "A Doll's House" to show how Ibsen illustrates his point that women have the potential to be independent and forceful, but in a society that is controlled by men, they have to make deep sacrifices in order to achieve their rights.
From the Paper "A patriarchy is defined as a social system in which a community or society is governed by men. For centuries, women have been under the domination of men in patriarchal social systems. In these systems, women are dominated by the law and by repression. Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House shows how women are paternalistically dominated in a society that is governed by men. The protagonist, Nora, is treated like a doll child first by her father and then by her husband. She is never allowed to evolve as a person, and as a result, she is considered to be delightful, ignorant, whimsical, and foolish by the other characters. Yet beneath her twittering, girlish exterior is a woman who has the potential to be independent and forceful, but whose efforts are hampered by the male characters in the play. She is a virtual captive in a lovely dollhouse created by her husband, where her husband keeps her for his amusement."
Abstract This paper compares the main characters in HenrikIbsen's play "A Doll's House" and James Baldwin's story "Sonny's Blues", noting that the world inhabited by the characters in Ibsen's "The Doll's House" and that of the characters in James Baldwin's "Sonny Blues" are very different and widely separated in time and place.
From the Paper "The world inhabited by the characters in Ibsen's A Doll's House and that of the characters in James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" are very different, widely separated in time and place. In each case, however, the main character, Nora in "A Doll's House" and Sonny in "Sonny's Blues," face a society that is changing and have some trouble dealing with the nature of this change and specifically with the changes they themselves are making. Nora makes a change more from necessity than desire, given her realization of the falseness of the world her husband has built for the family and desirous of asserting herself in a world where the old truths are shown to be hollow."
Abstract This paper is a presentation to a school board in support of HenrikIbsen's play, "A Doll's House." The writer presents the report as an overview of the play and the opinion as to its merit, in order for students to see the play. Using excerpts from the book, the writer attempts to persuade the School Board to allow production of the play to continue. In order to support their argument, the writer refers to reviews of the play in order to give the board a better understanding of the message that is actually being conveyed in the play.
From the Paper "While some people might view this as a play about abandonment, play is actually about self-esteem and self worth. For several decades, this we has worked to heal the wounds it perpetuated on the female gender since the nation's inception. Women are finally encouraged to be equal, and not base their self worth on the level of martyrdom they are willing to attain. For students who participate in the production of this play, as well as students who see its performance, there are several important lessons to be learned. The most important lesson is that people should never be treated as objects."
This paper explains that, although exaggerated for theatrical purpose, HenrikIbsen's "A Doll's House" presents an accurate portrayal of women's status in marriage at that time.
Abstract This paper explains that, at the time HenrikIbsen wrote his play "A Doll's House", the popular culture of the day encouraged women to focus obsessively on their home and families. The author relates that Torvald's attitude towards Nora is reflected throughout the play in his use of amusing names for her, which emphasize his superior position; the only time he calls her by her real name Nora is when he is lecturing her about her careless spending, scolds her for speaking to Krogstad and essentially orders her to never lie to him. The paper relates that, while clearly Torvald sees Nora as an entertaining child who must be guided, Nora's conversations with her friend Mrs. Linde show that, to some extent, he is right.
Table of Contents
Thesis
Introduction
Women at the End of the 19th Century and the "Cult of Domesticity"
How Torvald Relates to Nora
Examples from Act I
Examples from Act II
Examples from Act III
How Nora Relates to Torvald
Manipulation
Lies
Nora's Solution
From the Paper "Finally, she lies and says that one of the children tampered with the mailbox. Nora is distressed by her lying, believing as Torvald does that her lies may somehow result in the ruination of her children. Nora's life as a wife is defined by the "cult of domesticity." Her action to get a loan to save her husband's life was a strong and independent thing to do, and in conflict with beliefs at that time regarding women. She had to hide her actions or risk looking like a woman who did not know how to behave properly."
Abstract This paper examines the treatment of women in HenrikIbsen'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 This paper explains that the first theme of HenrikIbsen's "A Doll's House" is the significance of money within the patriarchal family system, which reinforces the notion of the male being the member of the household in charge of earning and doling out money. The author points out that Nora eventually realizes that she has the same role, which she played in her father's home; she remains an interesting figure-piece to be put on display without receiving true love. The paper relates that Nora's abandonment of her children can be perceived as a sacrifice for their benefit because Nora believes that her false role could rub-off on her children, which will lead them to the same hollow life she has.
From the Paper "This is what prompts Nora to begin to divulge her secret dealings: she is affronted that another woman would look at her and be fooled by her role as Torvald's "little featherhead." The fact that she tells Mrs. Linde about the loan after this, reveals that she believes her experience in the real, troubling world to be more valuable than the sheltered scope of her life's apparent accomplishments--husband, children, and money. This is how the feminine role begins to crack for Nora: she encounters a woman whom, according to the patriarchal rule of society, she should pity; but instead, she is somehow envious of Mrs. Linde's experience, as well as defensive of her own."
Abstract This paper explains that, in "A Doll's House", HenrikIbsen tells the story of Nora Helmer and her husband Torvald, a happy and charming couple who obviously love each other very much. The paper reviews the plot and points out that infatuation and cheerfulness is not the same as true love and happiness. The paper concludes that Nora leaves at the end of the play because she thought that she had control over Torvald and could make him love her no matter what. However, when she discovers this is not the case, she no longer wants to be involved in the marriage.
From the Paper "She doesn't realize that it even bothers her until her husband's feelings about her being become apparent. When Nora starts to realize that her husband is always treating her that way, she also starts to realize that she doesn't like it very much. It also reminds her of her father, because he treated her as if she were a doll. He was very careful with her and made sure that she had pretty things and nice clothes. He shielded her from the realities of life and the outside world."
Abstract This paper relates that, through an analysis of HenrikIbsen's plays, "A Doll's House", "Ghosts", and "Hedda Gabler", one can realize the under current of misogyny that Ibsen provides in his own patriarchal Victorian milieu, which devalues the role of women under the various aggressions of men brought forth. The paper explains that, for Ibsen, women provided a servant function within patriarchal society that did not necessarily provide a "feminist" perspective, but revealed that men should be tolerant and respect women. The paper concludes that, as a result, the dark under current of misogynist values provided by Ibsen in his plays informs the reader of the struggle of women in Victorian society, but does not effectively redefine a feminist ideology for women to liberate themselves from patriarchal aggression.
From the Paper "Hedda's behaviors and actions often appear crude and uninformed as to the nature of husband to use her as a servant for his career. Ibsen often has Hedda appear as naive of the fact that her husband is merely trying to us her as a kind of "trophy wife" to accent his real desire to achieve success in his artistic ambitions. In this manner, she wholly a woman that is able to be traditional, but becomes so enamored of her love that she takes independent action to get his attention. The circumstances under which Hedda burns Lovborg's manuscript are, of course, entirely different and infinitely more dramatic"
Abstract This paper describes and analyzes the characters of Nora and Torvald in HenrikIbsen'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 This paper discusses the marriage of Nora and Torvald in HenrikIbsen'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 paper examines Ibsen's famous play "A DollHouse". The author states that the play is a depiction of 19th-century women and a struggle for the main character Nora to find her freedom as an individual. The paper depicts the journey from unknowingly assuming a role in society, to coming to understand the role.
From the Paper "A Doll's House is a play about society and the role we are given in society. Ibsen focuses on the place of women, with Nora as his central character. However, even though it is a story about Nora, there is a greater meaning for everyone. Ibsen is asking for people to consider their world and their place in it. To achieve this, Ibsen creates a memorable character in Nora, with all the components of the play meant to emphasize her."
