A Dolls House4

A detailed Summary of A Dolls House4

A Doll's House, written by Henrik Ibsen, is a play that focuses on the way that women are seen, especially in the context of marriage and motherhood. Torvald, particularly, has a very clear and narrow definition of a woman's role. He believes that it is the sacred duty of a woman to be a good wife and mother. Moreover, he tells Nora that women are responsible for the morality of their children. "In essence, he sees women as both childlike, helpless beings detached from reality and influential moral forces responsible for the purity of the world through their influence in the home (Luce 360)." The perception of manliness is also discussed, though in a much more subtle way. Nora's description of

Torvald suggests that she is partially aware of the lies inherent in the male role as much as that of the female. Torvald's conception of manliness is based on the value of total independence. He abhors the idea of financial or moral independence on anyone. Katherine Rogers even goes to question if he is out of touch with reality.

Nora Helmer is the main character of the play. She has never lived alone, going immediately from the care of her father to that of her husband. She is inexperienced in the ways of the world as a

Nora is seen as Torvald's doll. The most evident example of this is in the preparation for the ball and the sacred dance. Nora's ball dress symbolizes the character she plays in her marriage to Torvald. She is wearing it for him because it is his wish that she wear it. The dance she is doing is also for Torvald. This dance is called the Tarantella. It is folk dance from southern Italy that accelerates from its already quick tempo and alternates between major and minor keys. In its constant fluctuation, it is like Nora's character. It serves as Nora's last chance to be Torvald's doll, to dance and amuse him. The tarantella is also known as a dance that is supposed to rid the dancer of the bite of the tarantula. "Applied to the play, its use suggests that Nora is trying to rid herself of the deadly poison of an outside force. Rather than alleviating the bite, though, the music and her life only continue to accelerate and spin out of control (Lavrin 48)."

Torvald is no help in making Nora not feel subordinate. He is very degrading upon her for he feels that in no way should she have her independence. It is her job to take care of his children and make sure that the public thinks everything is perfect. A prime example of this is when Nora pleads to Torvald to allow Krogstad to keep a position at the bank. She knows that her reputation relies on this. But Torvald is very upfront about his dismissal; he feels that he would hate to appear to have been influenced by his wife. "Do you suppose that I am going to make myself ridiculous before my whole staff, to let people think I am a man to be swayed by all sorts of outside influence (Ibsen 35)." "You see I am man enough to take everything upon myself (Ibsen 35)."

One major controversy that Nora faces is what she has done to save her husband's life. While Torvald was deathly ill in Italy, Nora was willing to do anything to save her husband's life, after all that is what a good wife would do. And so, Nora borrow

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Approximate Word count = 1344
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English