english
"A Doll's House" is classified under
the "second phase" of Henrik
Ibsen's
career. It was during this period which
he made the transition
from mythical and
historical dramas to plays dealing with social problems.
It was the first
in a series investigating the tensions of family life.
Written during
the Victorian era, the controversial play featuring a female
protagonist
seeking individuality stirred up more controversy than any of
his other
works. In contrast to many dramas of
Scandinavia in that time
which depicted
the role of women as the comforter, helper, and supporter of
man, "A
Doll's House" introduced woman as having her own purposes and
goals. The heroine, Nora Helmer, progresses during
the course of the play
eventually to
realize that she must discontinue the role of a doll and seek
out her
individuality.
David Thomas describes the initial image of
Nora as that of a doll
wife who revels in the thought of luxuries that can
now be afforded, who
is become with
flirtation, and engages in childlike acts of disobedience
(259). This inferior role from which Nora progressed
is extremely
important. Ibsen in his "A Doll's House"
depicts the role of women as
subordinate in
order to emphasize the need to reform their role in society.
Definite characteristics of the women's
subordinate role in a
relationship are
emphasized through Nora's contradicting actions. Her
infatuation with
luxuries such as expensive Christmas gifts contradicts her
resourcefulness
in scrounging and buying cheap clothing; her defiance of
Torvald by eating
forbidden Macaroons contradicts the submission of her
opinions,
including the decision of which dance outfit to wear, to her
husband; and Nora's
flirtatious nature contradicts her devotion to her
husband. These occurrences emphasize the facets of a relationship in
which women play
a dependent role: finance, power, and
love. Ibsen
attracts our
attention to these examples to highlight the overall
subordinate role
that a woman plays compared to that of her husband. The
two sides of Nora
contrast each other greatly and accentuate the fact that
she is lacking in
independence of will.
The mere fact that Nora's well-intentioned
action is considered
illegal reflects
woman's subordinate position in society; but it is her
actions that
provide the insight to this position. It
can be suggested
that women have
the power to choose which rules to follow at home, but not
in the business
world, thus again indicating her subordinateness. Nora
does not at first
realize that the rules outside the household apply to
her. This is evident in Nora's meeting with
Krogstad regarding her
borrowed
money. In her opinion it was no crime
for a woman to do
everything
possible to save her husband's life. She
also believes that her
act will be
overlooked because of her desperate situation.
She fails to
see that the law
does not take into account the motivation behind her
forgery. Marianne Sturman submits that this meeting
with Krogstad was her
first
confrontation with the reality of a "lawful society" and she deals
with it by
attempting to distract herself with her Christmas decorations
(16). Thus her first encounter with rules outside
of her "doll's house"
results in the
realization of her naivety and inexperience with the real
world due to her
subordinate role in society.
The character of Nora is not only important in
describing to role
of women, but
also in emphasizing the impact of this role on a woman.
Nora's child-like
manner, evident through her minor acts of disobedience
and lack of
responsibility compiled with her lack of sophistication further
emphasize the
subordinate role of woman. By the end of
the play this is
evident as she eventually
sees herself as an ignorant person, and unfit
mother, and
essentially her husband's wife. Edmond
Gosse highlights the
point that
"Her insipidity, her dollishness, come from the incessant
repression of her
family life (721)." Nora has been
spoonfed everything
she has needed in
life. Never having to think has caused
her to become
dependent on
others. This dependency has given way to
subordinateness, one
that has grown
into a social standing. Not only a
position in society, but
a state of mind
is created. When circumstances suddenly
place Nora in a
responsible
position, and demand from her a moral judgment, she has none to
give. She cannot possibly comprehend the severity
of her decision to
borrow money
illegally. Their supposed inferiority
has created a class of
ignorant women
who cannot take action let alone accept the consequences of
their actions.
"A Doll's House" is also a prediction
of change from this
subordinate
roll. According to Ibsen in his play,
women will eventually
progress and
understand her position. Bernard Shaw
notes that when Nora's
husband
inadvertently deems her unfit in her role as a mother, she begins
to realize that
her actions consisting of playing with her children happily
or dressing them
nicely does not necessarily make her a suitable parent
(226). She needs to be more to her children than an
empty figurehead.
From this point,
when Torvald is making a speech about the effects of a
deceitful mother,
until the final scene, Nora progressively confronts the
realities of the
real world and realizes her subordinate position.
Although she is
progressively understanding this position, she still clings
to the hope that
her husband will come to her protection and defend her
from the outside
world once her crime is out in the open.
After she
reveals the
"dastardly deed" to her husband, he becomes understandably
agitated; in his
frustration he shares the outside world with her, the
ignorance of the
serious business world, and destroys her innocence and
self-esteem. This disillusion marks the final destructive
blow to her
doll's
house. Their ideal home including their
marriage and parenting has
been a
fabrication for the sake of society.
Nora's decision to leave this
false life behind
and discover for herself what is real is directly
symbolic of
woman's ultimate realization. Although
she becomes aware of
her supposed
subordinateness, it is not because of this that she has the
desire to take
action. Nora is utterly confused, as
suggested by Harold
Clurman,
"She is groping sadly in a maze of confused feeling toward a way
of life and a
destiny of which she is most uncertain (256)." The one thing
she is aware of
is her ignorance, and her desire to go out into the world
is not to
"prove herself" but to discover and educate herself. She must
strive to find
her individuality.
That the perception of woman is inaccurate is
also supported by the
role of
Torvald. Woman is believed to be
subordinate to the domineering
husband. Instead of being the strong supporter and
protector of his
family, Nora's
husband is a mean and cowardly man.
Worried about his
reputation he
cares little about his wife's feelings and fails to notice
many of her
needs. The popular impression of man is
discarded in favor of
a more realistic
view, thus illustrating society's distorted views.
Ibsen, through this controversial play, has an
impact upon
society's view of
the subordinate position of women. By
describing this
role of woman,
discussing its effects, and predicting a change in
contemporary
views, he stressed the importance of woman's realization of
this believed
inferiority. Woman should no longer be
seen as the shadow of
man, but a person
in herself, with her own triumphs and tragedies. The
exploration of
Nora reveals that she is dependant upon her husband and
displays no
independent standing. Her progression of
understanding
suggests woman's
future ability to comprehend their plight.
Her state of
shocked awareness
at the end of the play is representative of the awakening
of society to the
changing view of the role of woman.
"A Doll's House"
magnificently
illustrates the need for and a prediction of this change.
--rhmmmm, that's
a paddlin'
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