Professor William Isaacson
English 102 MA1
4 May 2013
A Doll’s House This play is based on a marriage between two people. A relationship built not on trust and equality but on lies and deception. The play brings to life a woman’s role in society and the inequality between the sexes. The play introduces us to some shady characters. The first is Nora Helme the wife of Torvald Helmer. On the ouside she portrays herself to be a loving wife, devoted mother and a carefree spirit. Although she has been content in being a sheltered, protected and cared for housewife; Nora has never learned to openly challenge her surroundings. Nora has a secret that she is hiding from her husband. This secret will inevitably force Nora to confront her realities of the world and her marriage. A marriage based on deception and lies. The author uses Nora’s debt as the initial start of the Helmer’s deceptive marital relationship. Nora, unbeknown to her husband, borrows money from an acquaintance of theirs named Krogstad. Nora’s deception is based on love and not greed or selfishness. Nora feels she has to lie to her husband because of his unfair attitude and stereotypes about gender roles. Due to Nora’s immaturity with business matters, …show more content…
Torvald’s selfish reaction to Krogstad’s letter opens Nora’s eyes to the harsh truth about her relationship with Torvald. Torvald once confessed to Nora that he fantasized about risking his life to save hers. Given the opportunity however, Torvald shows no intention of sacrificing anything for Nora; thinking only of himself and appearances. Nora’s concept of a wonderful life and the moment when she and Torvald would achieve a perfect marriage would never be obtained. Nora has learned that these can only be obtained when a couple is deeply committed to respect each other’s personal