Equal control and respect between men and women during the 1800s was remarkably unheard of as social constructs of the time called for an imbalance of power, putting women and wives at a subordinate level, creating horrible victims of circumstance. Henrik Ibsen’s Doll House was a heavily controversial and pioneering play, especially considering the hidebound attitudes towards women during this time period. The book explores the status of single and married women within society, as well as their victimized realities as "doll wi[ves]” (Ibsen 107). When Nora Helmer, the main character, escapes from her unhappy marriage and doll-like life, she demonstrates a recognition of her confinement and past failures, as well as a desire to improve, both
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She grew from a naive, frivolous trophy wife to a woman who fully understood her oppression within the marriage and sought to break free from the society-made chains a wife was expected to wear. Nora’s desire to and belief she will be “free, absolutely free” after New Years highlights the factors that inhibit her from finding true freedom in the traditional domestic realm she lives in (Ibsen 56). After coming to the understanding she will never find freedom and power in her marriage, she abandons any image of the two-dimensional, ignorant wife that her “[husband]” loved to “[play] with” for one that would fight for her true desires and needs- a powerful and dynamic woman that was willing to do nearly anything for freedom. This growth is extraordinary, especially considering her situation which heavily restricted any independent thought or character development. She also demonstrates a strong desire to continue to grow as an independent woman; just because she has recognized her prison-like situation and fought against it does not mean she is done fighting and learning, she still needs to “discover [herself] and the world out there” (Ibsen 112). She will not limit her understanding and/or learning of the world and herself even though an intolerant society requires it. Despite still demonstrating the self and general knowledge of a child, she has immense growth that only a mature adult can
She grew from a naive, frivolous trophy wife to a woman who fully understood her oppression within the marriage and sought to break free from the society-made chains a wife was expected to wear. Nora’s desire to and belief she will be “free, absolutely free” after New Years highlights the factors that inhibit her from finding true freedom in the traditional domestic realm she lives in (Ibsen 56). After coming to the understanding she will never find freedom and power in her marriage, she abandons any image of the two-dimensional, ignorant wife that her “[husband]” loved to “[play] with” for one that would fight for her true desires and needs- a powerful and dynamic woman that was willing to do nearly anything for freedom. This growth is extraordinary, especially considering her situation which heavily restricted any independent thought or character development. She also demonstrates a strong desire to continue to grow as an independent woman; just because she has recognized her prison-like situation and fought against it does not mean she is done fighting and learning, she still needs to “discover [herself] and the world out there” (Ibsen 112). She will not limit her understanding and/or learning of the world and herself even though an intolerant society requires it. Despite still demonstrating the self and general knowledge of a child, she has immense growth that only a mature adult can