At the opening of A Doll’s House, Nora appears totally happy. She rejoins warmly to Torvald’s mocking, speaks with enthusiasm about the additional cash his new work will deliver, she takes liking in the presence of her kids and friends. Nora does not appear to mind her doll-like presence, in which she is mollycoddled, spoilt, and patronized.
As the play advances, Nora divulges that she is not just a “mindless girl,” as Torvald refers to her. We see that she is intelligent and she comprehends the business particulars associated to the debt she acquired taking out a loan to reserve Torvald’s well-being. We can see that she owns capacities outside mere wifehood.
Her account of her years of undisclosed labor commenced to recompense off her debt demonstrates her ferocious willpower and determination. Moreover, the circumstance that she was ready to break the decree in order to safeguard Torvald’s fitness displays her courage. She challenges Torvald in minor yet expressive ways—by imbibing macaroons and then double-dealing to him about it, for example. She also curses; seemingly just for the desire she derives from minor revolt in contradiction of societal standards. As the drama develops, and as Nora’s consciousness of the truth about her life propagates, her need for insurgence intensifies, climaxing in her walking out on her spouse and kids to find freedom.
Krogstad is the adversary in A Doll’s House, but he is not unavoidably an antihero, however his readiness to permit Nora’s irritation to endure is cruel, he is not deprived of sympathy for her. Krogstad visits Nora to keep an eye on her, and he disheartens her from committing suicide.
Dr. Rank stands by the belief that a parent is indebted to be truthful and upright, for a parent’s immorality is conceded on to his or her children like a sickness. We see that the society in the form of the doctor terms the actions of Nora, which are noble as sinful. We see all she does is because of her husband’s health.
The play shows how one man can be cruel and tyrannical towards another. In the play we see that Nora’s husband does not have a high regard of her. He teases her, seeing her as a foolish housewife who is not capable of her own decisions. We see from the text even though she is tormented, Nora does not appear to mind her doll-like presence, in which she is mollycoddled, spoilt, and patronized. He also declines to let Nora to interrelate with their kids after he hears of her deceit, for dread that she will crook them. This is not right to a fellow human.
This play talks of the discovery of oneself. Taking the instance of Nora, we see her journey from what was thought was a cheap, dimwitted housewife to a rebellious woman who wants her freedom. She challenges Torvald in minor yet expressive ways—by eating macaroons and then double-dealing to him about it, for example. She also curses; seemingly just for the desire she derives from minor revolt in contradiction of societal standards. As the drama develops, and as Nora’s consciousness of the truth about her life propagates, her need for insurgence intensifies, climaxing in her walking out on her spouse and kids to find freedom. She disregards what the society has to say and sets out on a journey to discover herself.
Like Nora, Krogstad is an individual who has been mistreated by people, and both Nora and Krogstad have done the same offense: faking of signatures. They all did this for their respective couples. Both have couples that do not really appreciate them. In Nora’s part it is the husband who is financially challenged while in Krogstad it’s his wife who even leaves him for a richer man.
Ibsen’s play is still significant today. The issues he addressed like wives leaving their spouses for richer men is still present. Also, many women are in situations like Nora’s but they lack the strength to find their independence. We also see the male chauvinistic nature in many marriages today. This book is therefore still relevant today.
There has been the use of symbols in the play. One of them is New Year’s Day. Nora and Torvald both look presumptuous to New Year’s as the beginning of a new, well-heeled stage in their lives. In the New Year, Torvald will begin his fresh job and he anticipates it with enthusiasm. Nora also gazes onward to Torvald’s new occupation, since she will lastly be able to reimburse her secret debt to Krogstad. Therefore, the New Year arises to mark the commencement of a truthfully new and dissimilar period in both their existence and their traits.
Works Cited
Ibsen, Henrik, and E Haldeman-Julius. A Doll's House. [Waiheke Island]: Floating Press, 2008. Print.
