A DOLL S HOUSE

In the play “A DOLL’S HOUSE”, we are presented with a very idealistic version of life in the late 1800’s, and along with that, the very confined roles both men and women were placed into. “A DOLL’S HOUSE” lends proof to the fact that women do not always enjoy the freedom to say, do and choose a lifestyle that they find fulfilling. The story that the play presents sheds a very domineering light on males as heads of households, and in society in general, and portrays women as dependent and subservient.
In the opening scene of “A DOLL’S HOUSE”, the main character Nora very tellingly hides, and later lies to her husband about eating a sugary treat (Ibsen). Although Nora’s husband Torvald grills with questions such as “Hasn’t Miss Sweet Tooth
Further still throughout the play, we are faced with more evidence to support the fact that women were not seen as equals in marriage, but as someone to be either proud of or shamed by according to their looks, actions, and ability to keep a home running smoothly. Nora herself is very aware of her place as a thing to be admired when she remarks to her friend Mrs. Linde, “someday…when I am no longer as nice-looking as I am now…when Torvald is no longer as devoted to me as he is now; when my dancing and dressing-up and reciting have palled on him;” (Ibsen). Another very telling exchange between Torvald and Nora takes place during the preparation for a ball in which Nora is to dance. While trying to discourage her husband from getting the mail, and finding a letter from the man who was going to reveal her crime, Nora plays to Torvalds dominant tendency insisting that she cannot do it correctly without his help. Although their conversation is in reference to her dance and practicing, it seems to shed some light on the type of relationship they have. Nora exclaims “I can’t dance tomorrow if I don’t practice with you…criticize me, and correct