Nora And Torvald's Deception

A detailed Summary of Nora And Torvald's Deception

how does Ibsen present deception in 'A Dolls House?'

Deception is one of the most important themes within 'A Doll´s House´. It brings out the plot, outlines the characters, and shows what Ibsen was trying to show us about women and society. Without deception there would be no play. Two of the most interesting things about it are the decision that the audience must make. 'When is deceiving someone wrong and when is it necessity?´ And the fact that as the audience witnesses the deception they do not realise that they are being deceived themselves.

The character of Nora is the most deceptive within the play, and so it is through her character I have decided to explore Ibsen´s portrayal of deception. Nora lies in one way or another to all of the main characters in the play. The biggest victim of her treachery is her loving husband Torvald. Even from the start we see her lying about the most ridiculous things like how much money she spends and whether she has been eating macaroons. Then later we see her lie about the crimes that she has committed against her dead father, her family, and herself. So why is that we still see her as 'a sweet and innocent child´.

The character of Nora has many guises, w

However it is not Torvald that she should be angry at it is society with whom her qualms lie. And I feel that Ibsen uses Nora to make us despise Torvald when in actual fact he has done nothing wrong to her. He has acted better than most men did towards their wives in those days. But we are so completely deceived by Nora´s many guises that we do not realise that. What we also do not realise is that we are what we think Torvald is. We are society and we are what makes people lie about themselves, their true identities are forced behind a curtain. Everyone who sees this play should see them selves in Nora, Torvald, and Krogstad. The deceitful, the deceived and the oppressor.

Nora only seems to use thing approach with Krogstad until the last scene when it all turns and she uses it for Torvald. When she walks out on him. It is this scene that leads me to conclude that all the other masks she wears are merely a front and this cunning, obnoxious woman is the real Nora. By this point in the play we are so much on Nora´s side that the off handed way in which she treats her husband is not frowned upon because we see her as a tower of strength now and we are happy that her troubles are over.

This child-like act not only gets her what she wants but also helps her cover up her lies. This can be shown when Torvald is questioning her about the macaroons and it is here where we see her seemingly insignificant yet outright lie as she tells her husband 'I could never deceive you´. This is a crucial line in the play because it shows precisely how treacherous this woman is. At this particular point in the play we have not witness her lie about anything significant and so we dismiss it as a little white lie. However the sincerity of the line with which it is spoken is shocking if you take it in context with the rest of the play. But the audience is already in favour of our 'heroine´ because of her sweet playful nature.

hich she uses in front of people to get her own way and protect herself. One of the most obvious and consistent is that of a child. The first we see of this is right at the beginning of the first act as she 'crosses quietly to Torvald´s door´ after 'sneakily eating a few macaroons and hiding them in her pocket´. This is normally portrayed in a very childish manner on stage and normally has Nora 'tiptoeing´ about the stage. Shortly after we see another example of Nora´s regressive qualities after she has been 'told off´ by Torvald for being a 'spendthrift´. We know that he is right for we have just witnessed her pay twice the amount requested for a Christmas tree as a tip for the delivery boy. Nora turns and walks aw

Some common words found in the essay are:
Doll´s House´, Linde Linde, Nora Linde, Nora´ Secondly, Nora´ Nora, Ibsen Nora, Torvald Krogstad, Dr Rank, House' Deception, , husbands life, nora 'still child´, trying women, little girl, lying torvald, 'still child´, protect nora, character nora, eating macaroons, save husbands life, nora´s regressive, nora 'still,

Approximate Word count = 1794
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels