Henrik Ibson
A Doll's House, by Henrik Ibsen, shows the fragility of the Victorian convention of marriage as illustrated in the relationship between Nora and Torvald Helmer. Their marriage eventually fades away to nothing in the end when Nora feels compelled to leave the household to find her niche in the world. Refute or agree with the following statement:
In the beginning of the story, Nora is treated and acts like a child while her husband, Torvald, appears to be more mature and dominant in their relationship. By the end of the story, their relationship has changed and possibly been reversed, indicating that Nora may have matured and Torvald may have regressed to being a child. Provide specific textual evidence for each character's actions to support your claim.
Posted by Ray and Jessica :)
In "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen, Nora Torvald is a housewife with a big secret. She lives a bohemian lifestyle and enjoys accommodating her husband Helmer and their 3 children. However, over the course of the play, Nora reveals to the audience that she is hiding a deep dark secret, one that could potentially be punishable by the law if she was ever revealed.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of the play, it seems as though Nora has few cares in the world, as she is devoted to caring for her home and family, yet she still manages to act like a child. Nora's immature behavior at the beginning of the play is evident through her actions, like when she offered the visiting Doctor Rank a macaroon:
"RANK: See here, macaroons! I thought they were contraband here.
NORA: Yes, but these are some that Kristine gave me.
MRS. LINDE: What? I- ?
NORA: Now, now, don't be afraid. You couldn't possibly know that Torvald had forbidden them. You see, he's worried they'll ruin my teeth. But hmp! Just this once" (1724).
Nora acts exactly like a young rebellious child who is forbidden from something and has the impulse to do it anyway. Nora even goes as far as lying about where the macaroons came from, pinning it on the innocent bystander, Mrs. Linde, who had just stopped by to visit an old friend. Nora's childish actions show that she is very immature and show that she is very inferior in her marriage. On the contrary, Helmer is portrayed as the alpha male, the dominant force in the marriage as he controls the actions of his wife, such as his declaration to forbid sweets in the house.
As the play continues, it is revealed through Nora's conversations with Krogstad, the lawyer, and Mrs. Linde, her friend and confidant, that Nora forged a signature in order to borrow money from Krogstad so that she could pay for an extended vacation to ensure her husband's full mental recovery a few years prior. When Nora realizes that Helmer's discovery of her criminal past is inevitable, she owns up to her actions and explains the situation to her husband. He is absolutely furious at his little doll, who he has always manipulated and controlled. Even though a letter arrives from Krogstad saying that he will forget about the loan, Nora realizes that she has been controlled for all those years and decides to stand up for herself. Helmer cannot believe that his subordinate being is thinking for herself and questions her actions:
"HELMER:...Aren't your duties to your husband and children?
NORA: I have other duties equally sacred.
HELMER: That isn't true. What duties are they?
NORA: Duties to myself.
HELMER: Before all else, you're a wife and a mother.
NORA: I don't believe in that anymore" (1759).
Nora's standing up to her husband is revolutionary in both of their minds, as Nora has begun to develop her own backbone and Helmer is simply flabbergasted. Helmer questions her departure over and over in the final scene as he rambles what seems to be nonsense and makes up stories, ultimately stalling her determined escape from her husband and the social restraints put on her that truly make her a doll in Helmer's house. All of Helmer's stories and pleas to keep Nora there actually turn Helmer into the childish, immature partner in the marriage. Likewise, Nora newfound dominance takes full effect on both Helmer and the audience with the final door slam that ends the play.
In "A Doll House", Nora's life as a childish woman changes through out the play to her final change at the end as she takes on a more mature role. In the beginning of the play, Nora plays along with Tarvold's little names and is childish about many things such as money. Nora's constant asking for money and saying that this Christmas should be special is child like in that she changes from just going along with his little names to using them to get her way.
ReplyDeleteNora: Yes, whatever you say, Torvald.
Helmer: Now, now, the little lark's wings mustn't droop. Come on, don't be a sulky squirel. Nora, guess what I have here.
Nora: Money!
(1715)
This child like receiving of money changes at the end of the play when she sits down with Tarvold and is not afraid to ask for a serious conversation as husband and wife and more importantly, as equals.
Nora: We've been married now eight years. Doesn't it occur to you that this is the first time we two, you and I, man and wife, have ever talked seriously together?
Helmer: What do you mean- seriously?
Nora: In eight whole years- longer even- right from our first acquaintance, we've never exchanged a serious word on any serious thing.
(1757)
I disagree to an extent with this statement. Throughout the play Nora appears and acts like child to satisfy her husband and her society. Both Nora and Torvald obey society's demands, which makes them puppets in the Victorian society which they survive in. The difference between the married couple is that Nora pretends to obey to society, while naive Torvald succumbs to society. This shows that while Nora may act like child-like to not arise supsicion in Torvald, Torvald is actually the child in the relationship since he never thinks outside the bounderies set by society.
ReplyDeleteNora, through most of the play, repeats the silly demeaning phrases that Torvald says to her such as:
Helmer: "What's become of the little lark?"
Nora: "Here's your lark!"
(1747)
When repeating these horrible little phrases, Nora gives the apperance of being a helpless little creature under Torvald's wing, however she is actually controlling Torvald because she is the one manipulating him so that he will never find out about her scandelous secret.
Another example of how Torvald acts more like a child than Nora is toward the end of the play when Torvald can't seem to grasp the reason why Nora is leaving him. Because Torvald has become society's puppet, he can't think outside the box and realize his own feelings or thoughts about his marriage. He is vunerable and impressionable, from society, which makes him more like a child than Nora because she has developed her own train of thought unique to herself and not controlled by any other means. Torvald shows his child-like manner when he says:
Helmer: "There's a gulf that's opened between us-that's clear. Oh, but Nora, can't we bridge it somehow."
Nora:"The way I am now, I'm no wife for you."
Helmer: "I have the strength to make myself over."
Nora: "Maybe-if your doll gets taken away."
Helmer: "But to part! To part from you! No, Nora no- I can't imagine it."
(1760)
This shows Torvald's ignorant persistence to convince Nora to stay. Obviously she has made up her mind and he can't understand why Nora would want to leave a place where she can never be herself and live like a doll under his command. He only enjoys the idea that he is in love not that he loves her.
A Doll’s House is a play written by Ibsen (in Norway) during the Victorian Era, a time where if a woman did not marry she was looked down, if she disputed her husband it was rude, and where if she left her husband and kids she would perhaps be non-existent as well as a disgrace. In this play we find quite the opposite when the main character, Nora goes against society’s norms by leaving her family. This is also why A Doll’s House was extremely controversial at the time it was written. In the beginning of the play we find a young woman named Nora living what seems a happy and even frivolous lifestyle. However, we soon find out that she is hiding an enormous secret from her husband that could change their lives for the worse; nevertheless, Nora lives a carefree life with a well-to-do husband and maid to care for her children which only nourishes her childish behavior.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement that at the beginning of the novel Nora acts and is treated like a child but by the end she has progressed into the more mature role making Torvald seem childish. When the play first begins we find, as mentioned, that she lives a nice, comfortable life and behaves childishly as seen perfectly by Dan’s example with the macaroons. In this situation she bluntly lies to Dr. Rank about where she has gotten the macaroon and “blames” Mrs. Linde, a sign of immaturity. Nora is somewhat of a habitual liar as seen by the hidden secret as well as when she lies to Torvald about even having bought macaroons. Not only does Nora act like a child this behavior is encouraged by Torvald who babies her. The following dialogue exemplifies Nora’s immaturity and the childish way with which he treats Nora:
Nora: Oh, but Torvald, this year we really should let ourselves go a little bit. It’s the first Christmas we haven’t had to economize.
Helmer: But you know we can’t go squandering.
Nora: Oh yes, Torvald, we can squander a little now. Can’t we? Just a tiny, wee bit. Now that you’ve got a big salary and are going to make piles and piles of money.
This dialogue shows, again, the immaturity of Nora because in this scene she portrays herself as a teenage girls begging her father for money.
By the end of the play Nora has matured in a way that makes Torvald seem more of a child as shown through this scene:
Nora: We’ve been married now eight years. Doesn’t it occur to you that this is the first time we two, you and I, man and wife, have ever talked seriously together?
Helmer: What do you mean-seriously?
Nora: In eight whole years-longer even-right from our first acquaintance, we’ve never exchanged a serious word on anything serious.
Helmer: You mean I should constantly go and involve you in problems you couldn’t possibly help me with?
In this scene, Nora is the more responsible partner while Torvald is oblivious to their deteriorating marriage and childish treatment of Nora. Nora is taking the initiative to start a “serious” conversation which neither one of them has ever had.
For the quotes I used page 1714 and 1757
ReplyDelete“In the beginning of the story, Nora is treated and acts like a child while her husband, Torvald, appears to be more mature and dominant in their relationship.” I will defend this statement, but only because of one word: ‘appears.’
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that Nora is treated and acts like a child, at the beginning of the story, I also believe that she is allowing this treatment to happen for a specific reason, and that she is acting like a child for a specific reason. It seems to me that at the beginning of the story, Torvald does indeed APPEAR to be the dominant, mature figure, and, if the reader were to only read the beginning of the story, I feel that they would assume that this is the way it actually is throughout the story’s entirety. However, to me, the rest of the story reveals that Nora is actually the more dominant figure. While many of her actions may not be the most responsible or ethical, it seems to me that she was even perhaps more mature than Torvald throughout the story.
“Nora: And he will Kristine! Just leave it to me; I’ll bring it up so delicately- find something attractive to humor him with. Oh, I’m so eager to help you.” In this statement, Nora reveals that she feels that she can manipulate Torvald. So, while society sees a man who works for the family, and appears to be the dominant figure, Nora is really the more dominant figure. She is even the one who illegally receives money to take Torvald on a vacation to ‘heal’ him. This is also a sign that Nora is really the more dominant figure. Also, the aforementioned quote brings up the specific reason that I alluded to earlier: Nora plays along with Torvald in order to hold more power over him. If he does not suspect anything is wrong, or feel any tension in the marriage, Nora has an easier time getting what she wants.
While reading this story, I could not help but thinking of one quote from the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, that represented the relationship between Torvald and Nora perfectly. In the movie Maria says, “The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants.” This is perfect in applying to A Doll House because Torvald appears to be the head of the house, however, Nora is able to get almost anything she wants from him, except true love.
Keep it up guys. I love the disagreement Lindsay, and Brooks your opinion was very interesting. Great blog post, I'll be more specific at the end. But future "blogees" keep the variety up!
ReplyDeleteIn Henrik Ibsen’s short story, “A Doll’s House,” the protagonist is a character forcing back repressed feelings of wanting to be free. At first her married life seems to be going so well as she takes on the role of a housewife and mother, while taking commands like a child under her master husband, Torvald, but then she realizes the extent of her confinements and decides to embrace her awakening and escape. Breaking from the strings that her husband controlled her with, she reveals her not so perfect past after she comes clean about her lies. Tainted in the eyes of her dominant husband, Nora brings forth a more mature and dominant stance against her husband who switches into her old inferior position.
ReplyDeleteNora: Oh, one does have a tiny bit of influence, I should hope. Just because I am a women, don’t think it means that- When one has a subordinate person, Mr. Krogstad, one really out to be careful about pushing someone who- hm-
Krogstad: Who has influence?
Nora: That’s right.
When Nora asserts her authority, Torvald is not sure where he fits in and questions why she is leaving him.
Helmer: And it was supposed to seem like your own idea? You were to hide it from me that he’d been here. He asked you that, too, didn’t he?
He is continually questioning her, and hoping to convince her to stay. He does not know how to be without her once he switches to the inferior role, so attempts to keep her, but only because he loves the idea of her, and not her.
(quotes from 1271 and 1275)
In Ibsen's A Doll's House, Nora is not the traditional Victorian housewife that listens and obeys the rules of society. She marches to her own drum, in a sense, and proves throughout the story that she is not mature enough to handle a stable marriage.
ReplyDeleteNora is introduced at the beginning of the story as very childish. She replies to her husband's possesive nicknames for her, like "my little dear" (1716). She sucks up to Torvald in order to get the things she wants, so Nora seems to only be married for the title and the pleasure of getting the things she wants. Torvald asks Nora what she wants for Christmas, and naturally any woman would maybe ask for jewelry or some other luxury, but Nora simply wants her husband's money to spend on herself.
At the end of the story, Nora begins to feel guilt about forging her signature in order to pay for her husband's holiday. Once Torvald finds out the action she had taken for his well-being, he is ashamed. At the same time, Nora becomes ashamed of herself because she realizes she only took her husband on holiday for her own benefit, allowing her to still have a pathway to the things she wanted. Nora decides to leave her home, husbamd, and children, and as she leaves, Nora and Torvald converse:
Nora: I'm sure I'll think of you often, and about the children and the house here.
Helmer: May I write you?
Nora: No-never. You're not to do that
Helmer: Oh, but let me send you-
Nora: Nothing. Nothing.
Helmer: Or help you if you need it.
Nora: I accept no help from strangers.
(1761).
Nora's attitude towards Torvald is cowardly. She does not make any effort to try and face up to the mistakes she has made, even though Torvald is willing to forgive her and allow her to stay. Her ungrateful response to Torvald shows that Nora did not mature from the beginning of the story. Her childlike nature remained, showing her unwillingness to thank Torvald for the love, children, home, and life that he had provided for her.
I disagree with the statement. I do not feel that Torvold was child-like; I feel that he is a puppet of society. Society pulls his strings to bend him to its whims. Society controls him and tells him what to do. For instance, society tells Torvold that the only way for him to be a respectable gentleman is if he marries and has children. When he marries Nora, Torvold does it because he likes the idea of marriage, not because he actually loves Nora. Nora is not a puppet of society. She can think for herself outside the bounds society has laid out. She is not afraid to bend the rules to make her life easier, or at least less of a struggle. She submits to Torvald and relinquishes her freedom to him so that she may live in servitude to her husband as she is taught all wives should do. She does not enjoy this enslavement but if she does not at least pretend to be happy and carefree in her structured, sheltered life, where would she go? How would she support herself? She could not be employed anywhere; she was a woman. She would be left to beg on the streets. Nora feels she would rather be caged by Torvold and taken care of, than free and starving without shelter. But as the end of the story approaches Nora has taken all that she can handle of being smothered by Torvold so she walks out on him and her children. This act definatenly shows that she is not at all controlled by society. She understands the decision she has made and acknowledges the consequences of her choice of going against society. Torvold cannot comprehend Nora’s decision because it is simply unheard of. His brain that society has rewired had never even considered Nora walking out an option. Her choice was absolutely unfathomable to Torvold. I do not think Torvold was child-like, but perhaps more machine-like as he followed each command society gave him.
ReplyDeleteIn Act I the relationship between Nora and Torvald is established, and we see clearly in both his words and actions that Torvald thinks of Nora as a kind of pet, or toy, or plaything.
ReplyDeleteTorvald:"Is that my little lark, twittering out there?...When did my squirrel get home?"
Because Nora refers to herself in the same way that Torvald refers to her, it's clear that Nora sees herself only in terms of her husband. This self-perception, for the most, part continues through two-thirds of the play and establishes the symbolic meaning of the title. Nora is clearly living a doll's life in a doll's house. From her doll's house, Nora starts her journey towards awareness and independence. The dramatic action of the play charts her discovery of how empty and false her self-perceptions are, and it becomes essential for her to leave.
The confrontation between Torvald and Nora is the play's dramatic and thematic climax. Nora takes the final steps on her journey toward independence of thought and spirit. She takes off her costume before starting the conversation. This symbolizes that she's casting off the image that both her father and her husband have forced her to inhabit.
Nora:You don't talk or think like the man I could bind myself to. When your first panic was over - not about what threatened me, but about what might happen to you - and when there was no more danger, then, as far as you were concerned, it was just as if nothing had happened at all. I was simply your little songbird, your doll, and from now on you would handle it more gently than ever because it was so delicate and fragile. At that moment, Torvald, I realized that for eight years I'd been living her with a strange man and that I'd borne him three children. Oh, I can't bear to think of it - I could tear myself to little pieces!
The image of the doll's house reinforces Nora's new understanding that she's been the plaything of two men. Her repeated references to her children, and her refusal to pass on to them the kind of life that has been forced on her, indicates that she's breaking the cycle represented by her relationship with her father and Rank's relationship with his. Finally, her pointed remark about the sacrifices made by thousands of women suggests that she knows more about the world than she thinks she does. Once freed from Torvald's control, she may in fact discover a fuller wisdom that's only now beginning to awaken.
In Act I, Nora is little more than a child playing a role; she is a "doll" occupying a Doll's House, a child who has exchanged a father for a husband without changing or maturing in any way. Nevertheless, through the course of the play she is finally forced to confront the reality of the life she is living. Nora realizes in the final act of A Doll's House that if she wants the opportunity to develop an identity as an adult that she must leave her husband's home. When Nora finally gives up her dream for a miracle and, instead, accepts the reality of her husband's failings, she finally takes her first steps toward maturity.
In the beginning of "A Doll House," by Ibsen, the character Nora is very childish. She uses her friend, Mrs Linde to cover for her stash of macroons saying," There, there dear. You couldn't have possibly have known that they were contraband here." (1724). However Nora again shows childish behavior before the tarantella. When Torvald goes to check the mail, she not only begs him to not go like a small child, but her actions meet a new maturity level as she starts to dance. This suggests that she is acutely aware of the power that feminine whiles are able manipulate men. For this reason, Nora is seen as maturing from a child into an adult. Torvald on the other hand, undergoes a reverse maturation. In the beginning Torvald calls Nora his "little lark" or his "little songbird." His pet names for Nora suggest that he feels that he is more mature than Nora and that she needs to be guided and protected. Towards the end of the novel, Torvald no longer calls Nora those pet names, suggesting that he lost his faith in his maturity and became more childlike.
ReplyDelete"A Doll's House" is interesting in that it chronicles a marriage within a short time period. Usually when we think of drastic changes in a marriage, we think of them taking place over months or even years. "A Doll's House" literally takes place within a few days.
ReplyDeleteNora starts out childlike and immature. She is the doll that lives in Torvald's house, hence the title. While Nora runs about spending money and hiding macaroons, Torvald manages the money and patronizes her. Nora invites this, most likely because it is the only behavior she knows - she implies, both through her own behavior and the way she allows her husband to behave - that she considers her marriage to be normal.
HELMER: Bought, did you say? All these things? Has my little spendthrift been wasting money again?
NORA: Yes, but Torvald, this year we really can let ourselves go a little. This is the first Christmas that we have not needed to economize.
HELMER: Still, you know, we can't spend money recklessly.
NORA: Yes, Torvald, we may be a wee bit more reckless now, mayn't we? Just a tiny wee bit! You are going to have a big salary and earn lots and lots of money.
(2-3)
This is completely normal to Nora. She lived in an era in which independent women were frowned upon; Torvald is not very liberal in his views on women and there is no indication that Nora was raised in a progressive household or even very well educated. She is simple-minded, carefree, and kept away from the messiness of reality. The fact that she is on an allowance does not bother her.
Nora's change takes place rather suddenly, even at the end of the play, she and Torvald have a power struggle that is familiar to parents everywhere.
HELMER: Do you know what is in this letter?
NORA: Yes, I know. Let me go! Let me get out!
HELMER: Where are you going?
NORA: You shan't save me, Torvald!
(51)
Just moments later, Nora comes out of the bedroom after changing her clothes(which, according to "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" could be representative of the great personality change about to take place). Her things are packed.
NORA: Sit down. It will take some time; I have a lot to talk over with you.
HELMER: You alarm me, Nora! And I don't understand you.
NORA: No, that is just it. You don't understand me and I have never understood you either - before tonight. No, you musn't interrupt me. You must simply listen to what I say. Torvald, this is a settling of accounts (64-65).
Nora is speaking rather authoritatively now. "Sit down." "You don't understand me." "You must simply listen to what I say." Instead of speaking in questions, as she often did earlier in the play, she is giving commands. Finally, and I think most interestingly, she uses the phrase, "This is a settling of accounts." Her husband is a banker who deals with accounts literally in the financial sense. Torvald also deals with figurative accounts in his home life. If anyone is the one to settle financial or domestic accounts, it is him. And yet, at the end of the play, Nora is settling them.
"A Doll's House" is more than just a play about a simpering housewife. It is the story of a woman, who, I am convinced, suffers a mental break after years of being mistreated under the guise of affection. This break comes suddenly and strongly. Of course, her mental break doesn't make things worse for her: If anything, her life gets better.
In Ibsen's work, A Doll House, the main characters Nora and Torvald share a marriage. In the beginning of the play Nora appears to act somewhat childish as Trovald is portrayed as older and mature. In the beginning of the novel Nora is seen asking Torvald for money, making her seem independent and childish. She is also referred to as pet names such as "My squirrel" and "my little lark" and asked questions like "are your scatter brains off again?" (1714) by Torvald which makes him appear to be much older, more mature, and almost as if he is a parent figure rather than a husband because he addresses her in a manner that makes her seem dependable and not necessarily put together. Towards the end of the play their roles are almost reversed. Upon deciding to leave her family Nora has gained her independence and composure, giving her the appearance that she has matured. While telling Torvald that she is leaving he is seen "struggling for composure" (1759), making him appear needy and dependent which reverses his maturity. Nora is no longer the needy child that she was first depicted as, and Torvald is no longer the mature independent composed man that he once was.
ReplyDelete@Dan: Well put Dan, you showed Nora's evolution throughout the play. I found the beginning of your response very interesting. You showed how Nora had a care-free world, only responsible for her maternal duties. The quotes you chose enhanced this idea and amplified your points.
ReplyDelete@Haley: The name calling is definitely a huge part of the play. Also the idea of Christmas and money further help your argument. The theme of money, that you showed, from the beginning to the end of the play shows Nora's transformation beautifully.
@Lindsay: I enjoyed reading your disagreement. Do you think Nora acting like a puppet in the beginning is in fact the thing that makes her childish? Perhaps finding her own voice is the symbol of her maturity.
@Ciara: I love how you referred to Torvald and Nora's master. This shows how subordinate Nora is, and her true child-like nature at the beginning of the play.
@Virginia: Very interesting it is a disagreement to our prompt and a contrast to Lindsay's response. Torvald's conformity to society might very well be his maturity. His understanding of the social roles and what is expected of him, overall make him mature.
@Jessie: The tarentella is a perfect example of how childish Nora is during the play. The violent unpredictable dance symbolizes a child. Great example!
The marriage between Nora and Torvald is the epitome of a Victorian marriage, at least in the beginning. Their relationship is male dominated and Nora acts, and is treated as if she were a child. Ibsen states,
ReplyDelete"Helmer: Don't deny it, my dear little Nora. Spendthrifts are sweet, but they use up a frightful amount of money. It's incredible what it costs a man to feed such birds"(1716). Here he speaks to her as if she is merely a house pet, and he owns and dominates her. However as the story progresses, the roles strangely reverse as Nora makes a daring attempt to save her identity by leaving her family in order to finally become independent and to find herself. "Nora: ...There's another job I have to do first. I have to try to educate myself . You can't help me with that. Ive got to do it alone. And that's why I'm leavingyou now."(1758). As the reversal is complete, Nora takes control by taking control of her life for the first time in a long time.