The detriment
that society can cause to its inhabitants
Society's role and how it defines each
individual has always played a big role in how we as people are supposed to
conduct ourselves. Back in the late
1800's and early 1900's, the roles of men and women were defined
specifically. Men were expected to be
the "bread-winners", the person that supported the wife and the
children with no help from the outside world.
The male role was defined as the superior and dominant gender in society
that looked down on females. The
female's role in life was to be the child-bearer, or the person who took care
of the house and raised the children.
That time period was the start of the women's rights movement where
women were not willing to accept second billing to the male gender. They wanted equal opportunities and equal
treatment. The main problem at that time
was the frame of mind that the male gender was in. They were taught to take no help from people
and to be self-reliant and self-dependent.
In the play A Doll House,
society's restraints and expectations on men and women created problems for
many of the characters.
At the beginning of the story, Nora reveals to
Mrs. Linde that she has committed an illegal act and has broke the law. Nora's husband was very sick and the only way
for him to get better was for him to go to Italy. There was no way that they could afford the
trip on their income. To pay for the
trip, she borrowed money from one of the bank employees, Krogstad. Then to pay him back, she worked odd jobs and
bought the most inexpensive clothing, and used the money she saved towards
paying Krogstad back. Nora has committed
a serious crime by forging the signature of her grandfather. She did not want to go to him because she did
not feel right going to see him in that condition.
Her intentions, however, for not telling
anybody deal with living to her role that society has laid out for woman. Nora was not scared because she committed a
crime, but she had helped a person of the "superior gender". What would Tolvald think if he found out that
Nora had paid for the trip and planned out this whole scheme? Tolvald would have been devastated by the
news if he found out that Nora paid for the trip herself. Nora says,
"For heaven's sake no! Are you serious? He
is so strict on that subject.
Besides-
Torvald, with all his masculine pride- how me.
That would
just
ruin our relationship. Our beautiful,
happy home would never be
the
same." (1194)
The last part of
that quote is very interesting, because the "happy home" is a
farce. Nora is telling a lie and has
created a very deceitful relationship between her and Torvald. The only reason that Nora is telling the lie
is to prevent a catastrophe that the truth will cause. The catastrophe would
result because of society's restraints and expectations placed on the
characters.
One of the big events of the story was whether
Tolvald would consider not firing Krogstad.
Tolvald had two reasons or motives not to hire Krogstad. First of all, Nora was trying convince Torvald to keep Krogstad
on the job, so that Krogstad would not reveal the truth about where Nora got
the money. Torvald said that Krogstad
was a crooked individual who does not have any respect towards him,
"But I hear that he is quite efficient on
the job. But he was a crony
of mine
back in my teens- one of those rash friendships that croup up
again and again to embarrass you later in
life. Well, I might as well
say it straight out: we're on a first-name
basis. And that tactless fool
makes no effort at all to hide it in front of
others. Quite the contrary-
he thinks that entitles him to take a familiar
air around me, and so every
other second he comes booming out with his
"Yes, Torvald!" and "Sure
Thing, Torvald!" I tell you, it's been
excruciating for me. He's out to
make my place in the bank unbearable."
(1212)
Torvald was all
about power, and made up an excuse about not wanting to hire Krogstad because he forged signatures and was a
crooked individual. The real reason that
Krogstad was not going to be rehired was because he did want anybody else to be
placed on the same pedistal as him. He
thought he was so superior that Krogstad threatened his position as a superior
being. Society's expectations of the
male being the independent, above all beings, was the main contributor to why
Krgostad was never rehired or was allowed to retain his job.
Another reason why Torvald was unwilling to
keep Krogstad at the bank was because of the threat to his manhood. Torvald did not want a woman to dictate what
decisions were made, because he was concerned with what the community would say
if they found out. Torvald says,
"And just pleading for him you make it
impossibvle for me to
keep him
on. It's alrady known at the bank that
I'm firing Krogstad.
What if it's rumored around now that the new
bank manager was
vetoed by his wife." (1212)
Torvald all along
was saying that he was a man of honor and did not want people who were crooked. He was not about to let a woman tell him what
to do, and risk the dominance had a that
time over woman. Men were expected to
live on their own and receive no help from others, especially women. He fell into the trap of what society
expected and tried fulfilling those qualities.
Another person who fell into the trap of
society's expectations was Nora. Nora,
though could not accept that role and left before she was totally
consumed. She had helped out the family
in so many ways. Obviously she took care
of the family and cleaned the house, but she contributed in so many other
ways. She saved the family because
Torvald, the bread winner, was on his way to mental and physical ruin. He was working so many hours and was heading
for burnout. She, through incredible
fortitude, saved enough money to save Torvald, but that was still not good
enough. Torvald could not accept the
fact that Nora, a woman, was a factor in his recovery. Torvald wanted to recover on his own, with no
assistance. Nora realized that no matter
what, she was going to be a "doll" and that if she did not do
anything she was going be controlled by her husband forever. Society's rules at that time, stated that the
female's role was to raise the children and clean the house. They were to let the male bring in the money
and take care of the family in tough situations. She wanted a personality of her own, "I
must learn to be competent, Torvald."(1237) Nora could not accept the role
Society had allocated her and so she left that identity in pursuit of a new
one.
Society's restraints and expectations placed
upon the characters in the play led to many problems for the characters. The characters could not live up to what was
expected of them. Back in the late
1800's, early 1900's, females were considered the inferior gender and
experienced many problems. The men,
however, had to live up to a certain standard which they felt difficult to
attain. When society determines how
people should act, then they can never express their true identity, and
problems are inevitable.
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