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. Others may think that she is much more than just a doll and instead more like an evil puppet master pulling the strings of the other characters in the …show more content…
This may not have been Ibsen’s intent when he first wrote A Doll’s House but it is nonetheless how it’s interpreted today. The catalyst for the change to her character was the blackmail letter that was placed in her letterbox in the previous act. Nora, having failed in her attempt to convince her husband to keep Krogstad in his position at the bank is confronted by Krogstad in her home while Torvald is gone. During the exchange Krogstad goes over the changed he envisions for his future at the bank. He believes that within a year with Torvalds help he will be manager of the bank. Nora of course exclaims that he will never see that happen. Krogstad, assuming that she plans to do something drastic asks her if she means suicide. She affirms his question and proclaims “I have courage enough for it now” (Act II; 704). Krogstad who had contemplated suicide before when his reputation was dragged through the mud due to his crime of forging, is not impressed. He responds morbidly, “Under the ice perhaps? Down into the cold, coal black water? And then in the Spring, to float up to the surface, all horrible and unrecognizable, with your hair falling out” (Act II; 704)? It is after this passage that Nora goes through the first of her changes. She replies “You can’t frighten me” (Act II; 704). This passage is important to the evolution of Nora’s character because it marks the first turning point of her defiance in the face of being the perfect “doll
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. Others may think that she is much more than just a doll and instead more like an evil puppet master pulling the strings of the other characters in the …show more content…
This may not have been Ibsen’s intent when he first wrote A Doll’s House but it is nonetheless how it’s interpreted today. The catalyst for the change to her character was the blackmail letter that was placed in her letterbox in the previous act. Nora, having failed in her attempt to convince her husband to keep Krogstad in his position at the bank is confronted by Krogstad in her home while Torvald is gone. During the exchange Krogstad goes over the changed he envisions for his future at the bank. He believes that within a year with Torvalds help he will be manager of the bank. Nora of course exclaims that he will never see that happen. Krogstad, assuming that she plans to do something drastic asks her if she means suicide. She affirms his question and proclaims “I have courage enough for it now” (Act II; 704). Krogstad who had contemplated suicide before when his reputation was dragged through the mud due to his crime of forging, is not impressed. He responds morbidly, “Under the ice perhaps? Down into the cold, coal black water? And then in the Spring, to float up to the surface, all horrible and unrecognizable, with your hair falling out” (Act II; 704)? It is after this passage that Nora goes through the first of her changes. She replies “You can’t frighten me” (Act II; 704). This passage is important to the evolution of Nora’s character because it marks the first turning point of her defiance in the face of being the perfect “doll