Henrik Ibsen, in the Norwegian play A Doll’s House, fearlessly questions and attacks the cherished and well-established beliefs and traditions that are characteristic of the chronological and place setting of the play, by unravelling the illusion of the contentment of a bourgeois family. Nora, the protagonist of the play, took a major step in her life when she decided to forsake her seemingly content and happily married life in search of her individuality and identity to lead an autonomous and emancipated lifestyle and break free of the controlling reigns of her domineering husband, Helmer. Nora’s unanticipated insurgence after being struck by disillusionment and awakening of reality upheaved the social American structure and as it shocked
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We see her struggle with the traditional roles of a wife and mother and her own need for finding her identity and individuality. In the eighteenth century, women were regarded merely as a wife or mother and absolutely stripped of uniqueness and individuality. The cardinal role of a woman was to love, take care of, and remain filial to her responsibilities and sacrifice if needed for the betterment of her family, particularly her husband. The suppression and restrictions imposed on women by society is what stifled Nora and led to her insurgence to fight for her rights and status. Nora’s pity towards Mrs Linde as she says, ‘Poor Christine, you are a widow’ (Ibsen.p.15) and her question directed at Miss Linde, ‘No children?’ (Ibsen.p.15) highlights how Mrs Linde was considered to be devoid of a crucial element in her life and exemplifies the importance of a husband in a woman’s life, how a woman is supposed to bear children and is incomplete without them. Her individuality and personality seems to be intertwined with that of her husband’s. As Helmer tells Nora, ‘Before all else, you are a wife and a mother’ (Ibsen.p.108) we understand that a woman’s identity was shaped by her relationship with her husband and children but, Nora realises her right to equality and doesn’t ‘believe that any longer’. She believes that before all, she is ‘a reasonable human being’. Nora’s voice becomes that of Ibsen’s as her line cogently communicates the playwright’s claim that the play was not a ‘feminist’ play, but rather a ‘humanist’ play. Ibsen seeks to raise awareness of social issues to bring justice to people irrespective of gender. Nora’s emotions of feeling disrespected and belittled are evident and it seems as though she realises that her gender should not be a criterion for her intellect or
We see her struggle with the traditional roles of a wife and mother and her own need for finding her identity and individuality. In the eighteenth century, women were regarded merely as a wife or mother and absolutely stripped of uniqueness and individuality. The cardinal role of a woman was to love, take care of, and remain filial to her responsibilities and sacrifice if needed for the betterment of her family, particularly her husband. The suppression and restrictions imposed on women by society is what stifled Nora and led to her insurgence to fight for her rights and status. Nora’s pity towards Mrs Linde as she says, ‘Poor Christine, you are a widow’ (Ibsen.p.15) and her question directed at Miss Linde, ‘No children?’ (Ibsen.p.15) highlights how Mrs Linde was considered to be devoid of a crucial element in her life and exemplifies the importance of a husband in a woman’s life, how a woman is supposed to bear children and is incomplete without them. Her individuality and personality seems to be intertwined with that of her husband’s. As Helmer tells Nora, ‘Before all else, you are a wife and a mother’ (Ibsen.p.108) we understand that a woman’s identity was shaped by her relationship with her husband and children but, Nora realises her right to equality and doesn’t ‘believe that any longer’. She believes that before all, she is ‘a reasonable human being’. Nora’s voice becomes that of Ibsen’s as her line cogently communicates the playwright’s claim that the play was not a ‘feminist’ play, but rather a ‘humanist’ play. Ibsen seeks to raise awareness of social issues to bring justice to people irrespective of gender. Nora’s emotions of feeling disrespected and belittled are evident and it seems as though she realises that her gender should not be a criterion for her intellect or