Comparison of Nora (A Doll's House) and Mrs.Alving (Ghosts).
Nora and Mrs. Alving are two main characters in Ibsen's plays. They are similar in some ways, but obviously they are both uniquely diverse. They play many of the same roles in their plays, and are probably the most similar two characters between "Ghosts" and "A Doll's House."
Nora is a unique character, a kind not usually seen in most plays. She swings her mood often; she is either very happy or very depressed, comfortable or desperate, wise or naíve. At the beginning of the play, Nora still plays a child in many ways, listening at doors and eating forbidden sweets behind her husband's back. She has gone straight from her father's house to her husband's, bringing along her nursemaid which tells us that she hasn't really grown up. She also doesn't have much of an own opinion. She has always accepted her father's and her husband's opinions. She's aware that Torvald would have no use for a wife who was equal to him. But like many children, Nora knows how to manipulate Torvald by pouting or by performing for him. In the end, it is the truth about her marriage that awakens Nora. Although she may suspect that Torvald is a weak, petty man, she believes that he is strong, that he'll protect her from the consequences of her actions. Then, at the moment of truth, he abandons her completely. She is shocked into reality and sees how fake their relationship has been. She realizes that her father and her husband have seen her as a doll, a toy to be played with, a figure without opinion or will of her own. She also realizes that she is treating her children the same way. Her whole life has been based on illusion rather than reality.
Mrs. Alving married her late husband, Captain Alving, at her family' proposal, but she had a horrible marriage. She ran away to Pastor Manders, who she was attracted to, but he made her return to her husband. After enduring her husband's depravity for a while, she sent away Oswald at the age of seven, with the hope that he would never discover his
Nora is a unique character, a kind not usually seen in most plays. She swings her mood often; she is either very happy or very depressed, comfortable or desperate, wise or naíve. At the beginning of the play, Nora still plays a child in many ways, listening at doors and eating forbidden sweets behind her husband's back. She has gone straight from her father's house to her husband's, bringing along her nursemaid which tells us that she hasn't really grown up. She also doesn't have much of an own opinion. She has always accepted her father's and her husband's opinions. She's aware that Torvald would have no use for a wife who was equal to him. But like many children, Nora knows how to manipulate Torvald by pouting or by performing for him. In the end, it is the truth about her marriage that awakens Nora. Although she may suspect that Torvald is a weak, petty man, she believes that he is strong, that he'll protect her from the consequences of her actions. Then, at the moment of truth, he abandons her completely. She is shocked into reality and sees how fake their relationship has been. She realizes that her father and her husband have seen her as a doll, a toy to be played with, a figure without opinion or will of her own. She also realizes that she is treating her children the same way. Her whole life has been based on illusion rather than reality.
Mrs. Alving married her late husband, Captain Alving, at her family' proposal, but she had a horrible marriage. She ran away to Pastor Manders, who she was attracted to, but he made her return to her husband. After enduring her husband's depravity for a while, she sent away Oswald at the age of seven, with the hope that he would never discover his