Honor In A Doll's House By Henrik Ibsen

In Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll House, a motif which surfaces is that of the contrast between love and honor. As seen through the characterization of Torvald, honor is how he demonstrates his love for Nora. However, times have changed and if he were taken out of his historical setting and brought forward to a more modern day, it could be argued as to whether or not Torvald truly loved Nora at all. With women being more independent in the home, would Torvald’s lack of respect and faith in his wife deem him selfish? By observing the characterization and diction of Torvald towards his wife and how he views her in her capacity in the home will help to determine whether love or selfish honor directs his actions and demonstrations concerning Nora. In act one of the play, Torvald’s character is condescending towards his wife. He “can’t be disturbed” by all of her “rummaging” and “twittering” (851). That is, until he finds out that she has gone out shopping and has been out “throwing money around” (851). It is evident that Torvald is very protective when it comes to the money. He is willing to give Nora an allowance to go out …show more content…
In the last act, there is the final appearance of Torvald’s true self. After Nora does her Tarantella, he can’t wait to “look at his richest treasure” (896). But then, after a discussion and a letter, love is no longer on his mind, but that she has “wrecked all of his happiness” (900). And then, not long after that, he finds out that he “is saved” and is back to telling her that he “has saved her” and that everything is fine (902). If he truly loved her, he would have still gotten angry, but he would have tried to find common ground instead of taking the protector role again. The fact that he was willing to forgive her after he found out that his honor was still intact gives a sense that he was indeed very selfish. In the modern world he would be considered selfish and