After reading “A Doll’s House,” many agree that it was open-ended. This openness leaves opportunity for the reader to interpret the ending and take it in whichever direction they foresee it heading, varying based on their understanding of the work. For this week’s blog post, you are going to continue the ending of “A Doll’s House.” You are to decide what happens after Nora leaves Torvald. This is an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the characters and the themes in Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House.”
In the second part of the blog post, you are to explain the characters actions, of your written ending, using Freud’s studies. The website below has a variety of Freud’s topics of study that can be used to base your character’s actions on. You should pick 2 areas of his works to be able to defend and analyze why your characters did what they did in your extended ending.
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/freud.html
I’m going to tackle this challenge in narrative rather than dialogue form, because it could get a little too lengthy otherwise.
ReplyDelete“After departing in a flourish of fur coats and mink stoles, Nora found herself helplessly wandering the abyss of alleyways and streets that encapsulated the city. An apparition of a minotaur, a beast she recalled from her clandestine readings of the ancient volumes that entombed her husband’s office, pursued her in the interior recesses of her mind. Torvald had always discovered her when she attempted to steal a glance at these tomes. He chastised her and sent her out with a ‘my little lark mustn’t employ herself with such monstrosities’ and a quick pat on the head. Shaking this memory and returning to the labyrinth that confronted her, Nora desperately tried to grasp a landmark, any landmark, in the thick, pure snow. She stopped at a familiar shop, staring in at the luxuries lining the windows. She would have once begged to be allowed a simple perusal, a mere trying-on session, with these items to her husband, but now she had no one to say the word that had ruled her life for so long: ‘no’. The odd reflection in the mirror stared back at her. Red, shivering lips smudged with rouge contrasted against the pale night. Hurriedly, she wiped the façade off with her mink stole, a gift from Torvald on their first Christmas. Casting the soiled thing to the ground, she stared down her reflection once more. Her cheeks, flushed from the vigorous removal of the rouge, still gave color to her chiseled face. Nora, shaking, traveled from store to store, the lone window shopper. Every reflection that met her intrigued her as the blood in her cheeks remained bright. With a fistful of snow she attempted to cleanse her face of the scarlet color that permeated throughout. The attempts were futile. Clump after clump of snow melted in her hands and face, leaving her soaked. She turned her head to once again face the maze that had precluded her in her attempts to conceive a direction. ‘I must get to Christine’s’ she thought. Nora, though, had forgotten her ball of thread, and no Theseus would find her in the insipid blizzard that seeped into her hands and feet. She sank down into a snow bank, and remembered no more.
A bright light penetrated her eyelids. As her vision cleared she identified Christine and Krogstad leaning over her nervously. The anxiety in the their eyes frightened her at first, but gradually softened into warm glances of affection. ‘You’re lucky Krogstad was out looking for work and found you. Heaven knows what would have happened if he had not,’ Christine stammered, almost weeping. Nora threw off the covers and advanced, albeit wobbily, towards her caregivers. ‘Christine, you must help me escape! I can bear it no longer,’ Nora cried. Christine took Nora into her arms ‘What shall you do, dear?’ Nora answered, ‘Anything. Cook. Clean. Nanny! Get me to England, Christine, I beg of you.’ Christine, seeing the desperation in Nora’s face, responded ‘We get you to the wharf tomorrow. Rest.’”
Nora, obviously in this passage, is experiencing regression in the face of the breakdown of the life she has known for so long. Unable to confront the possibility of leaving her husband and the security, she returns to the materialism that underlay much of her marriage. Nora even seeks comfort and reassurance in the enraptures of snow, ironically named a bank. The snow-white purity surrounding her frustrates her attempt to baptize herself into a new life of freedom and independence as the color red, decadent and sensual, continues to blemish her face. In futility she finally gives herself over to the snow, after experiencing another of Freud’s dynamics, introjections. She copies her husband’s violence and moral standing by attempting to wash the color of her face stubbornly and without success. Within the baptism of the snow, she wakes up free from the tyrannical power of Torvald, but again regresses to her servile self in the duties she said she would perform to “escape”. In reality, she will not escape the subjugation in England but re-baptize herself into her old doll form, symbolized in the wharf.
ReplyDelete“Upon stepping out into the pure white snow in her black coat, Nora finds herself heading toward the confectioners in hopes of instantly satisfying a craving which had been suppressed for so long. Not an hour later her pockets were void of money, as she sat stuffing her face with sweets on a park bench when Torvald wonders past. Torvald was in obvious distress that she had run off, and he attempts to lure her back into his nest by purchasing more sweets.
ReplyDeleteThe windows remained open and the candles lit from the events that had occurred not an hour before. A single breeze blew out all of the candles in the room as Torvald laid motionless in bed unaware of his little lark flying away.”
In this ending Nora follows two principles simultaneously. By allowing her ego to function according to the reality principle she instantly takes care of a basic need to satisfy a craving of sweets, but her craving is not finished until later when the scene reenters with the windows open and a breeze blowing into the room. The breeze also allows Nora to complete the nirvana principle, in which she blew out her own candle in hopes that death would release her from the struggles with Torvald and the constraints of society. By not existing any longer Nora creates a void in Torvald’s life as she succumbs to her death instinct.
“As the door slammed shut, Nora quickly drew in her breath. How relieved she felt, so free! The cold winter air whipped against her face as she descended her former home’s steps. Walking towards Mrs. Linde’s house, she noticed the world around her. Christmas carolers, shops filled with gifts, and people with smiles on their faces lined the street as she walked through town. How she would love to celebrate the holidays with someone close to her heart, but who? Quickly wheeling her body around, she headed down a different dark, gravel road. She knocks on the door.
ReplyDeleteNora: Hopefully he is here. (Nora whispers to herself) Why hello Doctor! How have you been?
Dr.Rank: Honestly delighted to see you at my door on this cold holiday night, please come in Nora. Can I get you something? Some tea, or maybe your favorite macaroons? I know how you enjoy those delectable treats!
All through the night, the two friends sat by the crackling warm fire, enjoying each others company. The night was filled with chatter, laughter, and Christmas music. By the end of the night, Nora professed her wish to stay with Dr. Rank till his illness took away his life. He was a dear friend, one she could not lose. She enjoyed his company. Her life was happy and far away from Torvald as she chuckled at another one of Dr. Rank’s ridiculous jokes. How her life had changed in just one day.”
Nora’s actions in the new ending are can be interpreted through the plethora of Freud’s’ studies. Freud studied anxiety, which Nora feels after she has left her former house for good. Freud coined Nora’s particular exhibition of anxiety as realistic anxiety or fear. After leaving her husband, Nora feared spending the holidays alone without a male figure. Her decision to spend the holidays with Dr. Rank proves that Nora cannot live without some sort of male figure dictating her life, which is seen through her decision to take care of Dr. Rank till her dies. She must wait on him, and care for him, her life consumed and grasped once again by a male and not herself. Nora’s decision to also fall back into her similar routine with a male, although different from Torvald, soon after leaving her house falls under Freud’s theory on the id and the pleasure theory, which demands that needs are to be taken care of immediately. Nora’s need for a man in her life, one that actually understands her as a person is immediately fulfilled when she decides to divert her plans of going to Mrs. Linde’s house and instead go to her dear friend, Dr. Rank’s house. Her need for a man to control her life also is fulfilled when she tells Dr. Rank that she will take care of him. Many of Nora’s actions in the extended ending are closely related to Freudian principles and theories.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAfter hearing Nora’s desire of abandoning her husband and children and actually acting on her decision, Torvald instantaneosly decides to call the cops. Torvald decided to take such a drastic step because when members of society would hear how Nora left Torvald, his reputation would be tarnished. As a way of saving himself in the eyes of society, this was the most convenient way that Torvald may get Nora back and save his image in society. Cops (find Nora walking on her way to Mrs. Linde's house): "You are indicted for forging your father’s signature." The cops rapidly take Nora to prison and explain to her that her trial will take place the next day. Nora is told that if she desires, then she may hire a lawyer to fight this case on behalf of her. Torvald takes the burden upon himseld to hire Nora a lawyer as a way to show Nora how much he truly cares for. Nora accepts the lawyer, however, the lawyer is not up to the mark. As a result, Nora is sentenced to pay a grand fine. In an attempt to show his masculine pride, Torvald explains to Nora, "Hey, featherhead, don't you worry, you will be out of here before you know it" and pays the amount to release Nora. Despite Torvald’s idyllic act, Nora decides to continue her as she explains how "she is exhausted of playing the role of the perfect wife and daughter." After living away from her daily routine that she has followed throughout her life, Nora falls into depression because she does not know what she desires to do with her life. Upon hearing from a close friend about Nora’s malicious condition, Torvald goes to Nora and convinces her, "we need you for our family to function properly. I beg you to please come back" and he brings her back home and begins to care for her the way that a loving and caring husband would. After two years, Nora becomes normal again, however, she does not return into playing the role of the subordinate family member. Instead, Nora and Torvald promise to treat each other as equals.
ReplyDeleteTorvald’s rationale behind getting Nora arrested can be evinced through the Freudian theory of psychoanalysis. After Nora told Torvald that she finally quits holding the job of being the doll of his house, Torvald is unsure how he should react to this. As a result, his first instinct or his id comes to power and coerces him to pick up the phone and call the police to get his wife arrested. Torvald thought that by performing such an act, he may save his “breaking” family. However, this plan ends up backfiring on him as Nora decides to continue her journey of discovering who she truly is. This leads her to isolate herself because she abhors the previous lifestyle she was living. However, this isolation backfires and perniciously affects Nora’s life because she is not aware of any other lifestyle other than the one she lived with her father and husband. Isolation, another Freudian concept, ends up leading to depression because she has isolated herself from contact with the “real” world. Hapless Nora now is granted a second life as Torvald ends up coming to her rescue by bringing her out of depression. Freudian concepts can be applied in order to understand the rationale behind the acts of each character.
"The world begin to spin the opposite direction on its axis. A new life was breaking through the exoskeleton of the former. Nora shook off the shackles of her former life with each step away from the front door of her now ex-husband's house. As each bit of suffering fell from Nora's tense shoulders, a new sense of optimism and hope ran through her soul. She was on her own now. She was able to live her life according to her preferences and dreams, no one elses. After so many years of confidement and artificial happiness, Nora was in a state of delirium at her recent action towards Torvald. She had finally broken free of her title as "Torvlad's wife." She was now to be known as Nora, the individual, independent woman. And with this proud, brave persona fluctuating throughout her body, Nora turned the corner down the street towards town. Where she was going, she did not know. However, she was going, and that in itself was a step towards her dreams."
ReplyDeleteThroughout A Doll's House, Nora is shown to have an oversized superego. This is the hesitation to confront obstacles and problems in life. She was scared to stand up for herself because no one had before her and she did not know the possible consequences. However, by leaving Torvald, Nora breaks free of this superego finally. Her ego, that is the urge to satisy her personal wishes, comes to life by leaving Torvald. This new ego is a result of Nora's reality principle. She realizes that she needs to break free of society's grip on her to satisfy her want to explore life. She realizes that in order to complete her desires she needs to leave Torvald, the one who had taken care of her for so long. While this action is anything but easy, it is necessary for Nora nontheless.
Nora storms out of the door. She steps out into the cold London night. As she walked down the diminutive labyrinth of alleyways, she reflected on her life, and how everything would change. Her self-justification of the warranted separation with her husband seemed to transcend her motherly call to raise her children. Nora spent the night in a cold alleyway; tired, alone, and defeated. She knew that she wasn’t happy with Torvald. But her human needs were more important than her contentment. The following morning, Nora proceeded back to Torvald’s residence. She apologized for the incident and claimed she was thinking irrationally. Her justification sufficed as he was glad to have her back, but she knew her lack of options was the only reason for her “revelation”.
ReplyDeleteFreud’s psychoanalytic philosophies apply to Nora and her actions. Her “Id”, or innermost desires, desperately cried out for liberation from her oppressive husband. As she spent the night alone, she realized through her “Ego” that logically, she could not provide herself the basic needs for life. Therefore, she surrendered her desires for her basic necessities; an animalistic decision.
Nora left the house and wandered through the cold streets, dimly lit by gas lamp. As she walked she could feel the gaze of others boring holes into her, scarring, already, the soul she had just earned for herself. She felt no one would look her in the eye, she began to breathe and walk faster to escape the gazes, her hands came together at her stomach, making knitting motions.
ReplyDeleteShe stops in the middle of the street, alone. “I have left Torvald,” she thinks calmly, “ I have duties to myself I must fulfill, and I want macaroons!”
Squaring her shoulders she quickly turned down a nearby street, her arms at her side, with a stride that seemed very familiar.
She stepped from the cold, dark night into the warm glow of the station. Her stomach was full of macaroons and she was almost out of money. She approached the ticket window and bought passage on the next train to leave, at midnight. She didn’t check the board to see where she was going, she didn’t care. She would go anywhere.
In this ending Nora is experiencing both realistic anxiety, confronted with a life alone, and m oral anxiety, because she her actions were viewed as unacceptable at the time. This anxiety leads to multiple reactions in her mind, two of them being sublimation and undoing. Nora “undoes” her anxiety by unconsciously performing knitting motions, an action that she often did at home. This familiar motion makes her feel more safe. Also sublimates her fears into a craving for macaroons, this not only lessens her fears, but also provides for her needs by obtaining food. The anxiety Nora experiences is lessened significantly by actions that Freud has explained, and allows us to better understand the deeper level to her thoughts.
Nora hustles quickly out the house in to the dark, cold night. She hears the pounding of her feet on the ground, quickening with each step as the run towards freedom.
ReplyDeleteNora says to herself, “ To live like brother and sister? What a life to live! How could I force myself to go on without any real love and only to live in the same home because we cannot choose it any other way? Surely, I have done the right thing. I cannot be a little lark any more. I must be free.”
Nora begins to run and she feels her neat, tight bun come loose freeing her locks and her soul. The adrenaline rushes through her veins. She keeps running until suddenly she stops at a faintly familiar house...the house of an old friend. A memory thrusts itself into her mind.
Nora ponders, “This is Alek’s house. My true love whom I could never dream of having for fear of contempt. Oh, how I ache for him now. To have a wistful, wild romance! What a dream! Oh, but I must remember that I don’t believe in wonderful things any longer. They are child’s play, and I am no longer a doll. Well maybe so, but it is holiday, and I am free. I shall knock upon his door!”
Approaching the house, Nora extends her arm hesitantly then quickly tap, tap, taps on the door. A handsome, young man swings the door open.
Alek: “Nora! Can it be? How long it has been!”
Nora: “Oh Alek, How you always speak the truth. I do wonder if you have a moment?”
Alek: “Yes, yes. Nora come in (she crosses the threshold into the entryway) I have often wondered what has become of you, as an old friend does, you know.”
Nora: “What has become of any of us? Oh how life can be mysterious and unfair.”
Alek: “Not on a night like this. It is Christmas, and you are here. I believe it must be a simply wonderful thing!”
Nora: “Oh, Alek. I have missed you so. (taking is arm and leading him into the hall with the decoreated tree) Let us talk, and let the night never end.
Alek: “Oh, you are splendid. What a holiday it has been.”
For years, Nora has been complying too much with her ego, and not enough with her id. Her secret and unconscious desires are to escape Torvald, and find true love be it with someone else or finding love within herself. For so long, Nora has been trapped inside a mold. Stifled beyond belief, she does what is satisfactory to her husband and others. Day in and day out, she performs her duties living a mindless, robotic life. She works tirelessly to pay off her debts secretly in order to preserve Torvald’s pride. However, when this begins to take a toll on her life, and make her even more miserable, she breaks away. Submitting herself to her id, Nora plunges into a new beginning. Her meeting with Alek represents the life she could never have, but always longed for. For some reason or another, she knew marrying him would be frowned upon. Now, a rekindling of he fire gives her a new hope for the “wonderful things.” With a new-found confidence, Nora is ready to take on whatever life brings her in the pursuit of love, truth, and happiness.
Wrapping the shawl closer to her body, Nora leaves what she thought was her home and heads down the road as the cold, wind brushes through her free, unbound hair. Unclear of her destination, she continues the journey towards self-discovery. With nothing but an overnight bag, Nora has no other options but to visit Mrs. Linde in hopes of obtaining a place to stay. Walking faster as the wind picks up, her mind wanders from reality, and she begins to question her most radical action. Leaving Torvald and her children surprisingly did not upset her; her anger rooted from the fact that she had not realized her awakening sooner. Trapped within her own household, she realizes that she had been the doll in her marriage, but her mind was now clear. She suddenly stops. Wanting to become completely free she must let go of her past life so Nora decides to avoid Mrs. Linde’s house then continues walking into the unknown. However, unafraid, she approaches an abandoned house not too far from her past life and decides to sleep on the hard, tattered wood that once made a small dining room more graceful. Even though physically uncomfortable, her mind wandered aimlessly as slumber approached. She dreamed of being the lark that Torvald always called her; however, now she was free to fly wherever she chose. The music of the Tarantella lightly playing behind the motion of the birds flight as she soars passionately because of this new-found independence. Carefree and embracing this non-judgmental world, the bird no longer hides its true character and takes the risk to…The sun light beaming in through the broken window awakens Nora from her sleep. Attempting to figure out reality versus slumber, she slowly rises. Refusing to stay in this house for the rest of her life, Nora grabs her overnight bag and decides to continue her journey. Not knowing where life will take her next, she holds her head up high with pride and confidence. Being the happiest she has ever been in her life, a small smirk appears on Nora’s mouth as she realizes her liberation from her family and society’s expectations in the male-dominated world she lives in. As the sun begins to peek its rays above the tree line, Nora walks farther away from her past and moves closer to her brighter future.
ReplyDeleteMany of Freud’s concepts are shown in “A Doll’s House.” Throughout most of the novel, Nora faces denial between reality and the life she pretends to live. She acts pleased and cheerful towards Torvald but truly feels a need for more in life-more independence. She does not experience this difference until after she has an awakening that forces her to open her eyes to a better life where she can be herself. Having her hair undone when leaving the house shows how she has broken through the denial and is closer to understanding her character. Leaving her husband and children and abandoning her role in society demonstrates that she no longer blocks events from awareness. She fully comprehends her actions and even embraces them as she becomes relieved from being tied down for her entire marriage. The sunlight at the end symbolizes Nora’s brightly lit future because of her enlightenment. Also, dreams play an important part in Freud’s psychoanalysis of the human mind. Freud believed that in sleep, individuals are less resistant to their unconscious and that our minds allow unclear incidents to come to awareness. Nora’s dream about being a lark shows her desire since the beginning of the novel to become free. The music playing during this dream symbolizes the struggle Nora internally had to over come in order to speak out against Torvald and leave him for her own personal interests of self-discovery.
I'm going to take the continuation of the plot from the viewpoint of those left behind following Nora's desertion to provide a different aspect: Helmer heard Nora’s footsteps grow quieter and quieter down the hall before he heard his, no their, front door slamming downstairs. It was as though a door had been closed over his heart, clad in iron and with bolts that seemed to be coming loose, making the door more difficult to open and close. Nora’s words echoed in his mind with the a frank and fatigued tone, “Oh, Torvald, I’ve stopped believing in miracles” (1761). His mind attempted to understand her meaning with the same confusion as a bird keeper attempting to understand why the fowls in his aviary sought the sky when a door was left open overnight. Had he not provided for her? Had he not given the best of accommodations, food, and clothing to his precious lark? His mind raced in desperation to think of someway to bridge the gap he had been accused of creating. What would the people at his work say? The Christmas tree adorned with ornaments and gifts seemed so pointless now. It was as though he had been robbed of his manhood. There was no point in his patriarchal roles over the family if there was no wife to care for and dominate. He heard small footsteps on the stairs, and in hope he looked up. His son, Ivar, stood in the doorway with sleepy eyes and tousled hair. “Father can mother play with us now?” At that point in time their eyes met and Helmer saw something disturbing. He saw his own reflection in the pure, innocent eyes of his son. Hauntingly he saw something more than just another doll in his child. And then, Helmer reached for the words to say. How he could explain something he himself did not fully understand. “Mama can’t play right now. Go back to sleep Ivar.” He realized the euphemism he had just uttered, for he knew she was gone and something in the back of his mind told him he was the one who opened her cage. “The greatest miracle-?” (1761)
ReplyDeleteHelmer is left alone following Nora’s departure, confused by the overwhelming culmination of her suppressed emotions and stifled dreams. His superego is based on the societal expectations of generations of a male dominated society. And yet something of his instincts, or id, argues with his brainwashed nature of a false verisimilitude of dominance over Nora. Indeed it took a physical separation to convince him that he was indeed powerless over another human being without being domestically abusive and controlling. Yet the Freudian sublimation, or rationalization within him battles with the idea that he is somewhat at fault for her unhappy state. It is impossible to say whether he accepts his mistake in treating his wife as a possession and something less than a human being, ultimately driving her out of their home, or whether he is the mere result of a society with unequal genders and is therefore less accountable for his actions. Regardless of his chosen path, it is irrevocable that some aspect of his mind, whether accepted or rejected, will echo his share of faults in the relationship. He is left to explain what has occurred to his children and robbed of his nature as the leader of the family. After all, a bird keeper is not a bird keeper without birds. The question is, will his children become his new birds?
It has been so fun to read everyone's alternate endings. They have been so creative and have really brought a whole different light to the storyline. Drawing in Freudian concepts has really brought the wide range of topics we have been studying this trimester together. I hope everyone enjoyed this blog. You all should be proud of your wonderful job!
ReplyDeleteI was really intrigued in reading everyone's alternate endings. Many of them were very intricate and truly grasped me. I hope the application of the Freudian concepts helped everyone to better understand by applying it to something you all created. Everyone was very created and was able to incorporate all different concepts in their own way. Great job everybody!
ReplyDeletehopefully everyone gets their responses posted! so far everyone has done a great job!
ReplyDelete