The play Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen was among the first works of literature to seriously take on issues affecting our modern society at a realistic perspective. The play paints characters and situations in the same way that they would be happening in the real life. The major character, Nora, has been portrayed as neither a protagonist nor an antagonist, but as one who has both enviable characteristics as well as numerous flaws; just like any real person’s character traits would be described. Her husband, Torvald has also been depicted as a complex character who cannot be regarded as either good or bad. Therefore, with this perspective, the play takes on social issues that appear complex and difficult as well. Among the social issues that stand out in this play are the gender roles that have been bestowed to the main characters by Henrik Ibsen with the intention of bringing the nineteenth-century gender responsibilities closer to his audience. In this research paper, I will explore on the diversity of these gender roles and how this play reflects the societal beliefs in an array of social issues.
The nature of the relationship between Nora and her husband is revealed during their first interaction. Torvald uses a variety of first person possessive pronouns and diminutive pet names such as, “Now my little lark talks sense”( Kirszner p1179, line130) . He says that, “ at all that beauty that`s mine, mine aloneـــــcompletely and utterly (Kirszner p1179, line 134) Through these quotes, the audience is shown how Torvald views his wife and their relationship at large. He views Nora as more of a possession and a source of amusement than a lover. While it was seemingly normal for a husband to domineer over marriage, it is quite staggering how Torvald dehumanizes and demeans his wife Nora. However, this is not a reason enough to regard Torvald as a bad or overpowering husband since this was how the society that he grew up in viewed women, his actions represents the male-dominated society that existed in the nineteenth century. The society believed that women and men had various specific duties that they had to adhere to and fulfill them without failure.
During the period when Henrik Ibsen was writing this play, Norway was at a time when a husband was considered to be the sole breadwinner while the wife was supposed to stay home, entertain the husband and look after the children. Torvalds believes that there are duties that have been specifically been modeled for women and therefore can only be done by women. He believes that it is only the women who should be responsible for taking care of the children. As soon as the children return home, Torvalds says to Nora ” This place is unbearable now for anyone but mothers” (Kirszner , p1151, line310). Through this speech, he implies that it is the sole responsibility of the woman to raise up the children and spending time with them. This belief that Torvald holds in regard to children makes him to have very little contact, almost none with his children. He does not show his children love and care primarily because of his belief that this should be the main role of his wife. On the other hand, Nora is presented to the audience as a woman who loves and spends a lot of her precious time with her children. She plays hide-and-seek games with her children and always ensures that they are happy and clean. At brief intervals, she asks her nanny to allow her hold her daughter, she lifts her up and calls her a lovely little baby doll. It gives her a lot of self- contentment when she dresses and undresses her children like the little dolls she used to posses when she was young. The stereotypical relationship between parents and their children is one of the areas that Henrik Ibsen sought to portray the gender roles that existed in his time to his audience.
The entire financial burden on the family is placed on the man. It is for this reason that a woman is not allowed to borrow money because of her gender. For her to be allowed to borrow, she must present a signature of her father or her husband. It was unacceptable for a woman to get a loan without the consent of the male guardian. In her article “what did Nora do? Thinking gender with a doll’s house”, Lanas Unni “ states that, ”because she is a woman, she is not permitted by the law to conduct this type of a financial transaction”(Lanas, p157). However, Torvald on the other hand can easily borrow money whenever he wishes, because the society allows him. In addition, Nora’s spending is being regulated and monitored by her husband. She is told not to waste the money she is being given by her husband on macaroons and sweet. This complete dependency on Torvald for finances for all her needs makes her to act childish at times, for instance she slips sweets into her pocket and ends up telling blatant lies about it to Torvald. Torvald complains about his wife’s spending on unnecessary things and her spendthrift nature. Nonetheless, Torvald gives Nora money, and he usually derived a lot of pleasure when she was pleading him for money. These instances when Torvold is instructing Nora on how and where to spend her money gives him authority over her and ultimately makes Nora to be completely dependent on him. This behavior again, is very acceptable and fits in the play’s society’s structure of male authority and feminine dependency.
Torvald makes another gender role clear when he takes Nora to bed but she becomes reluctant to proceed. He gets furious, asks her why she is not ready for him and yet she is his wife . This places a wife’s role as that of ensuring the husband is sexually contented by giving in to his intimate request whenever they wished to be entertained. Nora’s role is minimal; she claims that the nanny knows everything about the house more than she does. Although she regularly does shopping for the children, most of the household work has been delegated to the nanny. In fact, when it comes to the motherly role, the nanny is more responsible in raising the children more than her. The society further deprives her of the motherly aspect of instructing and disciplining her children, they go back to the nanny for instructions and discipline purposes. During the moment of truth, Nora is verbally berated by her husband, Torvald. Torvald was angry at the direness of the situation although Krostag had already forgiven Nora. Nora had forged the signature of her father so that she can secure a loan and assist Torval who was sick at that time. He called her a liar and a hypocrite forgetting that she did whatever she did in order to save his life (Kirszner p1182, line236). Though Nora is not a perfect character, Henrik Ibsen makes his audience sympathize with her as the play progresses because of the things that she is forced to go through at home and situations that can be attributed to Trovald’s view and attitude towards women and marriage.
The play largely reveals the roles of men and women and their stereotypes associated with them at the ending dialogue between Trovald and Nora. Nora had concluded that the only duty that she has in this world was the duty to herself, she decided that it was reasonable to leave her husband and children in pursuit of her own happiness since she felt that she was not being treated as she reasonably desired by her husband. Torvald was quick to try and stop her from leaving. Torvald told her that he would not comprehend why she would even think of abandon her sacred roles. These sacred duties that Torvald mentions are the duties of the then Norwegian woman of looking after the husband and children. Torvald was heavily inflicted by the gender roles that he could not understand why Nora would decide to neglect her sacred marital roles. She leaves to spend the night at Mrs Linde’s place the she proceeds to her father’s home from where she will start to seek for a job that would support her independent life (Kirszner ,p1186, line 299,303. Nora is trapped in a maze that is full of defined gender roles which hinders her independence and makes her live as a subordinate to her husband.
However, the act of Nora leaving her husband and children in search of independence and self fulfillment has always been faced with a lot of criticism from the audience. Though it was a good idea for Nora to decide to go and search for her identity and pursue her personal goals, it should have not been at the expense of her family. The children required the motherly love that would only be provided by her. In addition, she failed to take into account her own capabilities since she was not educated. This was a selfish act since she did not want to forgive her husband and preferred to leave not only her husband, but also her children. Her decision might have been influenced by the thought that she wanted to start her life all over again or perhaps because she at times believed in Torvald’s words that she knew little about the society or even about herself and was therefore feeling as if she is an inadequate mother and wife. Torvald was right when he said that people of whom have been drained all the moral character are a poison to his children. Nora should have considered staying behind especially for the sake of her children. It was also against the nineteenth century Norwegian society’s norms for a woman to start working without her husband’s permission.
Torvald was not contemplating preventing or controlling his wife from leaving the family to go and seek her own fulfillment. Nevertheless, he cherishes his gender role of looking at the best interests of his wife by being a provider and ensuring nothing is bothering her. This was the order of the day for every man of this time. The society was not allowing women to become as independent as Nora desired. In fact the only woman in the play who can be regarded as independent is Mrs. Linde, she was allowed to make financial decisions and work outside her home because she was a widow. She took up numerous jobs so as to be able to look after her ailing mother and siblings. She is portrayed by Henrik Ibsen as a widow who performed many masculine gender roles after the death of her husband. In today’s world the roles of the female and males has changed immensely as compared to the time when Dolls house was set, however, gender inequalities are still rampant as was the case in those days.
In this Victorian era society, women are never perceived as independent entities. They have been grouped in the possessions of their husbands and fathers. Surprisingly, all the property that a woman would acquire before marriage automatically became the property of the husband upon marriage. The society during in those days was based on the notion that all women were born to be accessories for men and therefore do not require individual rights and freedom. Nora explains Torvald that “I have heard that when a wife deserts her husband’s house just as I`m doing , then the law frees him from all responsibility”( Kirszner ,p 1188, line 361). Through this statement, Nora depicts the marriage union as just an illusion that is not a long lasting expressive relationship, but is more of a utilitarian Contract.
In conclusion, Henrik Ibsen through his play Doll House manages to reveal the diverse roles of men and women during his time. These roles were duties that had little to do with respect, love and trust. Men and women had roles that they were expected to play in the society. Though Nora realized that after eight years of marriage, she was never a partner in her marriage and left to go and build on her personal values, most women would never dare go against the set norms of the society. They end up living in misery under the watch of their chauvinistic male counterparts. Therefore, the play is not solely about Nora and Torvald but it is also a composition of the ways of life of the people in the 19th century in Henrik Ibsen’s society. The play teaches us about the need to face reality especially in relationships, since life cannot be lived by oneself only as Nora had thought before. In more than a century after this play was published, it is still applicable to our modern lives and has all along led to intense debates on the state of gender inequalities in our societies in regard to the roles that individuals in our society take on based on their gender. It is worth noting that gender roles especially in marriages have not yet been resolved and therefore, the play should not only be viewed in the emerging feminism in the context of 19th century life but also in the modern contemporary marriage lives.
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