The social expectations of men in the late nineteenth century was of a more patriarchal thought-line then it is today. The man of the house was expected to be the sole provider. This works best for the families of that time, because they believed that by natural design men alone were capable of managing money wisely and carefully. The first s

Ibsen wrote the characters of Helmer and Nora for a very particular reason. He made them the perfect models of a man and a young wife to point out a flaw that people could recognize. Ibsen points this flaw out to try to encourage thought and perhaps help people move in a direction of curing the problem (Boyesen 216). Ibsen does not offer the audience any solution to the problem. He demands of his audience that they think through the issue he has presented before them and to discover their own views of them. While he does hide his own views in the play itself, he does not force them upon the audience. "Ibsen's office, as he has himself said, is to ask questions (and, as a rule, terribly hard ones), but he does not take it upon himself to answer them (Boyesen 200)." Though he won't answer the questions in any of his plays, he does not hesitate to present the same problem and theme again in a different form. In fact, Ibsen often wrote about an individual fighting against the expectations of society to try to be true to themselves (Meyer 1567). He often presented this theme by switching around the roles so as to differ from the established expectations and roles of men and women. (Williams 174) This is seen in "A Doll's House" by the fact that at the conclusion of the show, Nora walks out of the apartment as the strong hero, while Helmer is left standing there weak and destroyed. Ibsen did not write "A Doll's House" to please the women theatre goers, yet though disliked due to his writing of the character of Nora, he presents a clear lesson for women in inner strength (Boyesen 206). When Nora decides to go against all that society expects of her, and live for herself and what she feels is right, she is "Ibsen's daughter." She corrected the problem by standing against society (Brandes 51). She shows us what Ibsen believed to be the solution. This switching of roles is one way that Ibsen uses to try to give the audience clues as to what is happening. Ibsen also uses visual cues on stage to help the audience grasp the progression of the script. The Christmas tree that Nora is setting up in the first act is in its full glory before intermission, while the illusions of happiness are still in effect. When the curtain rises after intermission and the illusions are starting to crumble, the tree is standing in the background of the set with its candles burnt down, all the decorations removed, and the branches looking ragged and decrepit (Hornby 113). Ibsen masterfully uses all the instruments at his disposal to further get his point across. He uses the set, scenery, characters, and character interactions.

Nora, as a woman, also has many expectations she must try to live up to. By natural design, women are not good with money, with planning, or with complicated thinking. They are certainly the underclass of the sexes. This condition was caused by the f

Some common words found in the essay are:
Helmer Nora, Nora Nora, Doll's House, Ms Linde, Nora Helmer's, Nora Helmer, Linde Boyesen, social expectations, ms linde, doll's house, save husband's life, forged father's name, nora nora, forged father's, father's name, lowenthal 143, husband's life, save husband's, own views,
Approximate Word count = 1946
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)