The Doll House

A detailed Summary of The Doll House

When The Doll House was written in 1879, the world was still completely in the clutches of many horrific gender stereotypes. Women in particular were confined to very narrow roles, and were thought to be incapable of anything outside the scope of those roles.

The Helmer household was founded upon these stereotypes, and as we eventually see, could not stand without them.

Women were raised to believe that their place was in the home. Their primary functions were to cook, clean, bear children, maintain a nice home, and adorn themselves accordingly. In Nora's case, her main function is to keep up the facade of a "beautiful, happy home."

On the other hand, men were raised to finance the whole charade. Husbands went to work every day, dealt with all of the harsh realities of the world, and brought home a paycheck. Helmer comes home every day to the comfort and entertainment provided by Nora, and that is the only way he knows that a marriage can be.

Nora, however, knows that she is capable of more. When she was informed that her husband's life was in danger, she took a great financial burden upon herself. Although this was an act

During the time period in which The Doll House was written, women were almost forced to be docile and compliant. Nora was never taught the skills to be any other way.

If Helmer had never found out about the loan Nora took out, Nora would probably not have ever had a reason to leave. She wouldn't have had a reason to question the integrity of the life she was leading.

During the last conversation that Nora and Helmer have, Nora finally realizes that she hasn't been happy in Helmer's home. She says that she has been content with her life there, but not truly happy. It takes her eight years to finally realize that something isn't quite right with her marriage. After all, by society's standards, she has a good life. She has beautiful children, an adoring husband, a nice home, and some spending money in her pocket. This is the life that women should want, and the life that women were told they should aspire to.

of love, Nora can't tell Helmer that she did it. Helmer is a firm believer that women have no understanding of financial matters, and would have been made to feel like less of a man if he knew that his life was indebted to

Some common words found in the essay are:
Doll House, Nora Nora, Helmer Nora, Nora Helmer's, Helmer Helmer, Helmer Krogstad, husband's life, doll house written, doll house, spending money, nora nora, life women, nice home, helmer nora, house written,

Approximate Word count = 774
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Arts

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The Doll House

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