First impressions of Nora in A Doll's House
What are our first impressions of Nora in the play?
Nora Helmer is one of the most complex female characters of the 19th Century. Set in the blueprint for the idealistic Victorian home, the play begins with Nora acting out the model life of a housewife. Through her actions and how other people interact with her, the audience can see how from the surface, Nora appears to be the perfect woman.
When Nora first enters stage, she appears in the ideal Victorian home, playing the role of the faultless housewife. The audience first see returning home from a seemingly extravagant Christmas shopping trip, “humming happily”. This shows that Nora is living the Victorian woman stereotype of spending money on caring for the home and family- and “happily” doing so. She is living the Victorian dream of being a domestic goddess; she is the perfect doll in the perfect doll house. She pays the porter and tells them to “keep the change”. This could be an example of the label for women not knowing how to handle money. It also suggests affluence, and that the Helmer’s have enough money to spare. It could also hint at the fact the Nora is not the generic housewife we thought her to be, and that she does actually know what she is doing with her finances. However, the typical women’s stereotype is continued as she “cautiously” approaches her husband’s study but does not enter. She is showing how wives were not meant to interfere in a ‘man’s business’; the thinking was not a burden meant for the women, only for their husbands. “Cautiously” could suggest that Nora is almost nervous around her husband, and that she recognises his superiority. It could also suggest that perhaps she is doing something not approved of by Helmer.
The audience discover that this is in fact true, as Nora hides the packet of macaroons she’d been eating and “wipes her mouth”. She is destroying the evidence that she’d been anything other than the perfect wife she was expected to be. This makes the audience wonder what else Nora could be hiding, whilst also showing us a side to her we hadn’t anticipated. She obviously isn’t as clueless, obedient and compliant as we first assumed and now could be seen to be subtly rebelling against her husband and Victorian ideals. With this minor act of deception, the audience realise that Nora is quite capable of lying.
Nora is initially shown to be quite a childlike character, as she laughs and hums to herself. She shows a lack of responsibility in the way she views money, and says that they can “always borrow” it if needed. We already see that she is over generous with money (when paying the porter) but she shrugs at the idea of incurring debt and says that doesn’t expect to care “whether [she] owed money or not”. She plays into this idea of childlike innocence and naivety with her husband. She behaves playfully yet obediently in his presence, always coaxing favours from him instead of communicating as equals. Helmer gently chides Nora throughout the play, and Nora good-naturedly responds to his criticism as though she were some loyal pet. He offers her pet names such as “my little skylark” and “little squirrel” which she gladly accepts. “Skylark” could be suggesting that Nora is a bird, trapped in a cage. She is trapped in the confines of Victorian rules and appearances. “My” is showing possession over her, showing that she is just an object to him, another addition to his perfect house. The addition of “little” in front of these names could suggest how Helmer sees Nora as a “little” girl, he patronises her and treats her like a child.
In conclusion, our first impression of Nora is one of a perfect, domesticated housewife. However, we soon see that there is a reason Nora plays into her husband’s game. She is capable of using her supposedly pure and simple nature to manipulate her husband into giving her money. And we can see that Nora isn’t the careless woman we first appear to see.
Nora Helmer is one of the most complex female characters of the 19th Century. Set in the blueprint for the idealistic Victorian home, the play begins with Nora acting out the model life of a housewife. Through her actions and how other people interact with her, the audience can see how from the surface, Nora appears to be the perfect woman.
When Nora first enters stage, she appears in the ideal Victorian home, playing the role of the faultless housewife. The audience first see returning home from a seemingly extravagant Christmas shopping trip, “humming happily”. This shows that Nora is living the Victorian woman stereotype of spending money on caring for the home and family- and “happily” doing so. She is living the Victorian dream of being a domestic goddess; she is the perfect doll in the perfect doll house. She pays the porter and tells them to “keep the change”. This could be an example of the label for women not knowing how to handle money. It also suggests affluence, and that the Helmer’s have enough money to spare. It could also hint at the fact the Nora is not the generic housewife we thought her to be, and that she does actually know what she is doing with her finances. However, the typical women’s stereotype is continued as she “cautiously” approaches her husband’s study but does not enter. She is showing how wives were not meant to interfere in a ‘man’s business’; the thinking was not a burden meant for the women, only for their husbands. “Cautiously” could suggest that Nora is almost nervous around her husband, and that she recognises his superiority. It could also suggest that perhaps she is doing something not approved of by Helmer.
The audience discover that this is in fact true, as Nora hides the packet of macaroons she’d been eating and “wipes her mouth”. She is destroying the evidence that she’d been anything other than the perfect wife she was expected to be. This makes the audience wonder what else Nora could be hiding, whilst also showing us a side to her we hadn’t anticipated. She obviously isn’t as clueless, obedient and compliant as we first assumed and now could be seen to be subtly rebelling against her husband and Victorian ideals. With this minor act of deception, the audience realise that Nora is quite capable of lying.
Nora is initially shown to be quite a childlike character, as she laughs and hums to herself. She shows a lack of responsibility in the way she views money, and says that they can “always borrow” it if needed. We already see that she is over generous with money (when paying the porter) but she shrugs at the idea of incurring debt and says that doesn’t expect to care “whether [she] owed money or not”. She plays into this idea of childlike innocence and naivety with her husband. She behaves playfully yet obediently in his presence, always coaxing favours from him instead of communicating as equals. Helmer gently chides Nora throughout the play, and Nora good-naturedly responds to his criticism as though she were some loyal pet. He offers her pet names such as “my little skylark” and “little squirrel” which she gladly accepts. “Skylark” could be suggesting that Nora is a bird, trapped in a cage. She is trapped in the confines of Victorian rules and appearances. “My” is showing possession over her, showing that she is just an object to him, another addition to his perfect house. The addition of “little” in front of these names could suggest how Helmer sees Nora as a “little” girl, he patronises her and treats her like a child.
In conclusion, our first impression of Nora is one of a perfect, domesticated housewife. However, we soon see that there is a reason Nora plays into her husband’s game. She is capable of using her supposedly pure and simple nature to manipulate her husband into giving her money. And we can see that Nora isn’t the careless woman we first appear to see.