What’s up with Rank?
In A Doll House, Ibsen included very detailed and refined characters, including Dr. Rank, who is crucial to explaining many parts of the story. Not only does Dr. Rank’s lifeline mimic the state of Torvald and Nora’s marriage, but he also represents the kind of friendship Nora had always longed for, bringing a deeper understanding to the play itself. . Throughout A Doll House, Dr. Rank’s physical condition parallels the condition of the Helmer’s marriage. At the beginning of the play, Torvald and Nora appear to be a happily married couple that nothing cold break apart. Rank is the same. Unknown to the audience, Rank has a serious medical condition that could end up turning fatal. You would never know this by the way he acts. When first exposed, Rank appears lively and jovial, …show more content…
Throughout the play, Nora treats Rank as she would treat an old friend, always taking time to talk to or be with him. Eventually, she builds up the confidence to ask him for the money to help pay off her loan as a “great proof of your friendship” (83). However, she never gets the chance to do so. Just she is about to come out about the loan, Rank tells her that he would “gladly give up his life for [her]” (83). Though many would see this as a reassurance, Nora interprets it a different way. After confessing his love, Nora refuses to ask Rank for anything because she saw his love as a betrayal of their friendship, claiming, “Now there’s nothing you can do for me” (84). This is because she did not want anyone to do anything for her because they loved her, but because they cared for and respected her, as a true friend would. By having feelings for her, Rank lost any chance he had of even being friends with her. Rank not only represents a man that had unspoken feelings for her, but also as a failed example of the kind of friend Nora always
In A Doll House, Ibsen included very detailed and refined characters, including Dr. Rank, who is crucial to explaining many parts of the story. Not only does Dr. Rank’s lifeline mimic the state of Torvald and Nora’s marriage, but he also represents the kind of friendship Nora had always longed for, bringing a deeper understanding to the play itself. . Throughout A Doll House, Dr. Rank’s physical condition parallels the condition of the Helmer’s marriage. At the beginning of the play, Torvald and Nora appear to be a happily married couple that nothing cold break apart. Rank is the same. Unknown to the audience, Rank has a serious medical condition that could end up turning fatal. You would never know this by the way he acts. When first exposed, Rank appears lively and jovial, …show more content…
Throughout the play, Nora treats Rank as she would treat an old friend, always taking time to talk to or be with him. Eventually, she builds up the confidence to ask him for the money to help pay off her loan as a “great proof of your friendship” (83). However, she never gets the chance to do so. Just she is about to come out about the loan, Rank tells her that he would “gladly give up his life for [her]” (83). Though many would see this as a reassurance, Nora interprets it a different way. After confessing his love, Nora refuses to ask Rank for anything because she saw his love as a betrayal of their friendship, claiming, “Now there’s nothing you can do for me” (84). This is because she did not want anyone to do anything for her because they loved her, but because they cared for and respected her, as a true friend would. By having feelings for her, Rank lost any chance he had of even being friends with her. Rank not only represents a man that had unspoken feelings for her, but also as a failed example of the kind of friend Nora always