Irony In A Doll's House

Improved Essays
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen is an illustration about an issue of women’s rights in Norway society during1878, during which women were expected to be undoubtedly obedient to their fathers, and husbands as well. The play is known as Ibsen’s strong desire about human being. It also a challenge to traditional rules about women’s rights. Women were normally sacrificed their lives for other people’s feeling, or devoted themselves for their husbands’ happiness. A good example about sacrificial role held by women is Nora’s friend, Mrs Linde. In order to support her helplessness mother and two brothers, she had chosen to abandon her true love, and married an old rich man. Especially, Nora Helmer, a main character in A Doll’s House, exemplifies a …show more content…
As the play progress, fear and panic become Nora’s primary responses to her surroundings. Her worries indicate Nora is more immature than her appearance in early. Ibsen is successful in triggering readers’ curiosity when he slowly unfolds Nora’s secrets through conversations between Nora and her friend, Mrs Linde, and source of her secret loan, Mr Krogstad as well. Nora shares Mrs Linde about a secret loan that she took in order to save Tovarld’s life. She considers telling her husband when “Yes-some day, perhaps, after many years, when I am no longer as nice-looking as I am now. Don’t laugh at me! I mean, of course, a time will come when Torvald is not as devoted to me, not quite so happy when I dance for him, and dress for him, and play with him” (Ibsen 172.) This shows that Nora has a sense of a true nature of her marriage. She knows that the foundation of marriage is built on an attraction of her beauty to him, and that he loves her because she looks good to him. Her day is filled with constant acts of subterfuge—some minor, like sneaking macaroons, and some of the utmost importance, like paying back a loan that saved her husband’s life. This reveals that Nora is not as naïve as she pretends to be, instead she is an insightful, intelligent woman. There is a new woman emerging in her thought. Moreover, Nora always …show more content…
Ibsen is very brave in his challenging of societal norms. The play points out not only about human being; in addition, it also rings a bell about women’s rights. Characters in A Doll’s House were confined by society. They were caged themselves to society. Social norms are programmed them into their significant roles and they seem daren’t to stand up against and form their own opinions. Although modern women are more independent, and evenly equal in rights as men, society is still considered male-dominated. This seems true in 18th century and now, 21st century. Differently, modern husband learns to treat his wife with dignity and volunteers in sacrifice his reputation for his

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Henrik Isben’s controversial play, ‘A doll House’, is centered on a concept that has, for so long, plagued the female community, overt oppression. The main character Nora Helman, lives with her husband and children in a typical household of the era. Ibsen reveals with frankness the lack of independence and freedom accessible to most women during that time. In the play, Ibsen uses discourse and dramatic situations to demonstrate the insufficient social selections available to Nora, as well as how social roles serve to limit the personal and emotional advancement of women. A Doll’s House is a commentary on the patriarchal society in which it was written.…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nora In A Doll's House

    • 1022 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Every little girl dreams of having a big doll house and dolls to play with, but one will never dream of being the doll of the house. In the short play A Doll’s House Hendrik Ibsen portrays women as their husband’s playmates. The question is whether or not he gives women the role of a playmate tittle by introducing the main character Nora. Nora the mother and wife of the short story is portrayed as a doll because of the way she acts. She does everything her husband says and do not have a mind of her own.…

    • 1022 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1879, Henrik Ibsen wrote his three-act play, The Dollhouse. One of the major themes is the oppression of women in the late 1800’s. Women's suffrage was a giant issue during the time the play premiered. Women's suffrage was a time that lasted from the mid-1800’s through the 1920’s, when women were fighting for the right to vote. During this time, The cult of domesticity came out and told women that they should stay home and take care of her children and husbands.…

    • 121 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    It outlines a story of subjugation between the sexes in a way that for many is still relevant. Although Nora utilized manipulations of and played into societal expectations, her strength of character allowed her to escape from her ascribed status in search of a new life. Everywoman facing similar struggles should be so fortunate as to show the fortitude Nora did. Critics throughout the century have described Nora as narcissistic, selfish and dismissed the wealth of knowledge this story offers. However, the best way to understand the story is to “remove the "woman problem" from A Doll House; let us give Nora Helmer the same rights as Torvald Helmer, and let him consider her his equal.…

    • 1243 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This is where Nora comes to an understanding. She can live the life with Torvald and how he treats her. She couldn't be herself when she is with her husband. She says, “When I look back on it now… I lived by doing tricks for you, Torvald. But that's the way you wanted it”…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen is a dramatic play that’s set during the Victorian Era in Norway. The play tells the story of the Helmers, Nora and Torvald, whose relationship demonstrates the societal problems of their era as well as exemplifies the stereotypical gender roles of their time. A Doll’s House exhibits themes on gender inequality and presents ideas that show how society dealt with gender inequality during the Victorian era. Most people were unaware of these social ills due to their traditional upbringing. Torvald’s conservative views of the female 's role in society make him ignorant to the wrongs of Norweigan society.…

    • 1335 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Happiness is the ultimate goal in life for many people. It is a sign of success and prosperity which are qualities that society pressures everyone to achieve. But how does one obtain authentic well-being in confining situations? In his play, A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen demonstrates that if an individual lives in restrictive circumstances that force them to conform to a superior’s desires, they must mature and pursue genuine happiness in order to gain freedom and discover their identity. Nora, the protagonist, is a young woman who secretly breaks the law to save her husband’s life even though he treats her like a child.…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are “two kinds of moral laws, …one in man and a completely different one in a woman. They do not understand each other ….” Said dramatist Henrik Ibsen. This dilemma holds completely true for Nora Helmer and Torvald Helmer in the literary work “A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen. The play “A doll House” by Henrik Ibsen explored the gender role in the nineteenth century, an abnormal relationship between Nora and Torvald, and brought a social structure which opens an eye of the viewer and made them think about it.…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Many individuals would agree that men and women are not treated as equals. Over the existence of the human race women have been seen as the weakest link, and men have always been expected to be the family’s provider. The setting of A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen takes place during Christmas time in a Victorian middle class household belonging to Torvald and Nora Helmer, their three children, their nurse Anne-Marie, and their maid Helene. In the beginning of the play Nora is asking Torvald for money for Christmas shopping and goes on to talk about how Torvald will be making so much more money with his new position at the bank. Towards the end of the play Nora’s untruth over the forgery of her late father’s signatures on important documents comes…

    • 2668 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In Henrik Ibsen “A Doll’s House”, Nora Helmer, the beautiful wife of Torvald, is a representation of women’s freedom. She loves to spend money, dress elegantly, and cares for her children. However, Nora’s most important concern is charming her husband and being a perfect wife. She is a private individual and she covers her feelings from her husband even when there is no advantage in doing so. Even though Nora is deceptive and thoughtful, she is not aware of her true value until the last enactment of the play.…

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Therefore, I assert that Ibsen’s goal in writing “A Doll’s House” is to accentuate that people are not always what they…

    • 1045 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    An Examination of Nora Helmer’s Character in A Doll’s House In Ibsen’s famous play A Doll’s House, there is one character that stands out in particular that portrays the victim, the villain and the hero. This character is the protagonist Nora Helmer. This character is unique in that she encompasses all three roles and leaves the audience unable to come to a consensus about her motives in the play. Some of the audience may think Nora is victim of a dysfunctional household where her own father treated her like a doll and handed her to her husband Torvald to be her new owner when they got married.…

    • 1995 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    A Doll's House Norm

    • 1995 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Henrik Ibsen explores the roles that society places upon men and women when it comes to marriage. In the past, the man has held the power and the final say on decisions, while the women generally follow along without providing much input--primarily because their husbands discourage their input. This was perceived as the “norm” preceding 1879, the year Ibsen wrote the play, A Doll’s house. Ibsen introduces the play inside the well-furnished living room of the Helmer household. Nora, the wife of Torvald Helmer, was not raised by her father as an equal which explains why she acts the way she does.…

    • 1995 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nora Helmer is a very complicated character despite the fact that at the beginning of this play it seems like quite the opposite. At the beginning of act one, Nora is whimsical and gleeful and very much like a child. She is very much living in a fantasy world or a doll’s house as the title of the play suggests. Nora has been taught since birth to be similar to a doll. Her father treated her as such in the past and so does her husband at the time the play takes place.…

    • 1148 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Literary Devices in “A Doll’s House” “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen is a modern drama set in a house in the suburbs of Norway during the upper eighteen hundreds. The story centers around a housewife name Nora Helmer and the difficulties Nora experiences living a life acceptable in the eyes of society. People associated with Nora that have an impactful effect on the story include: Torvald Helmer, Nora’s husband and a banker; Mrs. Kristine Linde, Nora’s longtime friend who just moved into town; Dr. Rank, Torvald’s best friend who is an ill site to look upon; Krogstad, a lawyer who worked at the bank; and finally Nora’s three children. The story begins with Nora, who in order to help her family, especially Torvold, borrows money without telling…

    • 1368 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays