Preview

How Does A Doll's House Change Throughout The Play

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
570 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Does A Doll's House Change Throughout The Play
Henrik Isben’s A Doll’s house seems to revolve around roleplay. The Characters are more concerned of playing someone else than allowing their true self to appear. Nora’s appearance in the audience changes quite often from being childish, and money-loving to being brave.

Towards the beginning of the play Nora Helmer is seen as a childish wife wanting nothing more than her husband’s money. She is constantly begging Torvald for more and more money. However, Torvald treats her like she is his possession making her act more and more like a child than an adult. On page two of the play Torvald says to Nora “My little lark must not drop her wings like that; What? Is my squirrel in the sulks”. This scene portrays how Nora is treated on a daily basis, for when he calls her names such as squirrel and lark he is treating her like she is a doll and a child. In this scene Nora is asking for more money to buy the children more christmas gifts, yet every time she receives money from him she takes a small portion out to pay off her debt of Torvald’s medical treatment.
…show more content…
We believe this is true until we find out she has been secretly paying her debt off, yet the debt she has is so that she could send her husband to medical treatment. After finding out this new information we come to realize that Nora is not as money-loving as we thought. Her borrowing money to pay for Torvald to go to get medical treatment in Italy shows how selfless she is, and that she is capable of wisely saving money for a good reason. On page eight, Mrs. Linde says to Nora “A wife cannot borrow without her husband’s consent” after Nora tells Mrs. Linde about her forging her father’s signature to get Helmer treatment. In this scene we see Nora as a women, but not a child and one that could fend for

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    At the start of the play, Nora is seen as a caring mother and wife; however, this is an affectation of joy and contentment. In reality, her true character is held enslaved by her tyrannical husband. Her demeaning nicknames, “skylark” and “little song bird” truly are a metaphor for her mental and physical imprisonment to the societal roles of being a mother and wife. Nora accepts this captivity, however, evident through her own use of her nicknames throughout the story in order to pry money from her husband and follow all of his commands. At this point, the audience begins to sense superficiality and materialistic behavior from Nora, but this view soon changes as Ibsen reveals his realistic writing style. Deceit is first seen as she consumes macaroons secretively, in spite of her husband’s disapproval. She begins to reassure to Torvald that she, “should not think of going against (his) wishes’,”(Ibsen,1.4) and is dishonest once again when telling him Chritine Linde and Dr. Rank brought her the desserts. This fraudulence continues as she searches for a way to hastily pay a debt which her financially independent husband is unaware of. She hides the truth from her husband in the same manner she participates in a game of “hide-and-seek” with her…

    • 2454 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House, is an examination of human nature and personality. Each of the five main characters displays personality traits that can be considered a character flaw. Nora Helmer is an example of a person who has the flaw of being childish. That flaw is made evident in several ways.…

    • 284 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nora Morally Ambiguous

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the beginning of a Doll House Nora is perceived as a happy, full-hearted character. She responds to her husband teasing lightly and is excited about his new adventures. Nora doesn’t seem to mind her doll-like existence, in which she is coddled, pampered and patronized. But as the play progresses you begin to see her true colors. She demonstrates that she’s not just a “silly girl,” as Torvalds call her that she understands the details of business. When she takes out a loan to preserve Torvalds health. Indicates that she is intelligent and possesses abilities beyond wifehood. Nora’s character becomes questionable when she starts breaking away from all the standards and expectations her husband and society had set up for her, this making her a morally ambiguous character.…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the play, A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen depicts a foolish, fragile, very self-centered young lady that rarely has to do anything for to help herself. Nora is cared for and lavished by her husband now that he has obtained a new position at the bank. She has no concerns but her appearance in society and the role of woman in a man's eye. Nora's husband believed that borrowing was not an option because it would lead to debts. Therefore, he was the one in control of money; this included making money and spending it. However, when Nora's husband turned ill, she realized that she had to develop her own individuality. Nora could no longer pretend to be someone that others would like her to be rather than being her true self.…

    • 2027 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “A Doll’s House” Torvald Helmer and Nora start out to seem as a happy married couple with three young children. In the beginning Nora is seen as woman who cares about her children and her husband but someone who also cares greatly about money. Torvald is seen as a man who is important in the society. Nora was portrayed as a very caring wife when it is revealed that she borrowed money illegally from Krogstad to fund the trip to Italy to try and save her husband life because he was sick. Once Krogstad begins to try and blackmail her Nora tries everything in her power to prevent Torvald from discovering the truth so that his pride and reputation would not be hurt or challenged. When Torvald finally discovers the truth about his wife Nora borrowing the money illegally, he was told that the money was from Nora’s father; he became enraged and insulted her by saying things such as “I won’t let you bring up the children” and “Now you’ve destroyed all my happiness. You’ve ruined my whole future.” (Ibsen). After Torvald discovers that Krogstad returned the contract, which Nora forged with her father’s signature, he is filled with happiness and tries to dismiss all the insults that he said to Nora. Nora snapped inside and decided to leave Torvald, she declared that she was going to “stand completely on my own, if I’m going to understand myself and everything around me.” (Ibsen). After she finished talking finally and explaining herself she left her husband, three children, and everything he had given her behind.…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A doll's House WITT Essay

    • 1439 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The play, A Doll’s House, written by Danish playwright Henrik Ibsen was released amongst great controversy in the late 18th century. This play by Ibsen was considered scandalous for its interpretation of gender roles and the societal norms of 18th century Norway. Central to the arguably feminist agenda of this play is the main character Nora and her relationships with her husband Torvald Helmer, Dr. Rank, her and her husband’s friend and antagonist Krogstad. These relationships are crucial to Nora’s ultimate understanding of herself as they depict the struggle of a woman to develop an independent sense of self in a largely male dominant society. Through a depiction of Nora’s interactions with other main characters in the play, Ibsen takes the reader aboard a difficult journey of self-discovery and feminist awakening.…

    • 1439 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    In “A Dolls House”; Nora, the wife, is unemployed and very childish. Whatever money she possesses and spends is given in the form of an allowance from her husband. She spends heftily and is very irresponsible with the funds she is allowed. This flaw in her financial handling skills is one of the many indicators of Nora’s naievety. This benightedness is even recognized in the play. A few of the people that go to visit Nora point out that she has limited knowledge of the world she lives in. For instance, Mrs. Linde, who says “You are a child, Nora(Ibsen 825)”. This idea of ignorance and emphasis on it reveals that Nora is essentially useless as…

    • 1725 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Doll's House

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In A Dolls’ House the stories’ two main protagonists Nora and Torvald Helmer which is a married couple experiences many things while being married. And in most cases money brought forth the bulk of their problems, which eventually caused the relationship to split apart. However many people looked at the couples’ relationship from the exterior and thought it was legit. Another character in the play, Nora’s close friend Ms. Linde views the Helmers as a married couple who lives comfortable enough to afford things that she usually cannot. Even though the Helmers’ household is taken care of financially, it is in disarray due to lies, and deceit. On the outside it looks fine as Nora could be compared to a doll; looking nice and well kept together. In reality Nora has hid from her husband that she have been repaying a debt for years from when her and her husband took a trip to Italy. The reader also learns that Nora secretly forged the signature of her deceased father. Out of all the things that happened within the story Torvald eventually finds out about what’s been going on and is outraged. He calls Nora a hypocrite and a liar and complains that she has ruined his happiness. He declares that she will not be allowed to raise their children. And as a result the married couple are separated. The symbol “doll house” really help functions in the work of revealing the characters because it shows Nora as a doll who you would think is squeaky clean and flawless, but deep down inside is…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen was first performed in 1879 when European society strictly enforced male supremacy over women. The play consists of a middle class couple, Torvald and Nora Helmer, who seem to have the perfect marriage, three children, and a pending respectable income with the husband’s recent promotion to bank manager. Torvald treats Nora like a doll, manicuring and manipulating her looks and actions. Although his controlling demeanor is concealed by innocent nicknames and monetary allowances, the affects of his domination over his wife are eventually exposed. At the end of the play, Nora leaves in a haze of anguish after her husband fails to defend her when she is accused of legal fraud in a loan she had taken to save Torvald’s life. Some people say that Nora was right to leave and flee the control of her demeaning husband to seek her individuality, but many argue the contrary when considering what she left behind, what she could have demanded and changed at home, and what she would face as an independent woman defending herself in a 19th century, male biased society. Although some may assertively argue that Nora was right to leave her home, others suggest the she was not right to leave considering the abandonment of her children, the responsibility she could have demanded from her husband, and the prejudice against independent women in her society.…

    • 1908 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The plays main character, Nora Helmer depicts women behavior during the nineteenth century. In the beginning of the play Nora seems to portray to the image of most women during her time. She is very submissive and obedient to her husband, Torvald. Nora leads a double life in the play as a sheltered wife of an attorney and an independent risk taker, At first, Nora seems happy and affectionately responds to Torvalds’s teasing. However, this is just an act of Nora Helmer that we all later discovered. During the nineteenth century, women could not conduct business affairs and had no control over family finances (Hartman, 1999). Permission to do so was sought from the husband before doing such acts. Nora, “the little featherbrain”, a nickname given by her Torvald was just the opposite of that (Isben, 1879). She defied most of the rules. She ate macaroons and lied about it to her husband. She secretly forged her father’s signature, borrowed money without her husband’s permission, and boasted about it to her friend, Mrs. Linde (Isben, 1879). She was secretly proud of the sacrifice that she had made for her husband. However, Nora perception of her husband was totally out…

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Doll's House Essay

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Also in A Doll’s House, you will find that things are not always what they seem. One of the main examples of this, is the various sides of Nora that she uncovers throughout the course of the play. She goes from being told, “Nora, you’re just a child” [pg.951 Ibsen] by Mrs. Linde, to an untypical Victorian woman. She appears to be a spendthrift to Torvald, when really she is paying off a debt she owes to…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this moment, Nora originally desires to be the traditional housewife that Torvald deserves. She wishes to be debt free so that the secret of her doing a shameful thing never reaches the ears of Torvald. Nora is completely loyal to her husband and wishes there be nothing that upsets him. She begins to reflect on her life as the play progresses.…

    • 1355 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Henrik Isben’s A Doll’s house seems to revolve around roleplay. The Characters are more concerned of playing someone else than allowing their true self to appear. Nora’s appearance in the audience changes quite often from being childish, and money-loving to being brave. Towards the beginning of the play Nora Helmer is seen as a childish wife wanting nothing more than her husband’s money.…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Like many women of her time, Nora has to forget about her own wants and ideas and put on the role a women must play to please the people around her. Torvald constantly is putting Nora in her place. When Torvald comes home one afternoon he finds Nora sitting surrounded with bags from her trip to town. He reprimands her about her spending habits before comforting her, saying, “Now, now, my little song-bird mustn’t be so crestfallen. Well? Is the squirrel sulking?” (Ibsen 149). Torvald is trying to console his wife while also belittling her by using endearing terms. In reality, his words make Nora feel…

    • 1541 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nora took out a loan for a year-trip to Italy when Torvald was deathly ill. Determined to save her husband, Nora forges her father’s signature to get the funds to keep Torvald alive. Nora struggles with the need to prevent the outburst of the secret versus revealing it to her husband herself. Despite Torvald’s assumptions, Nora Helmer is the opposite of a “little spendthrift” (p.4). Her secret loan has been near paid off by taking responsibility and pinching from her own allowance.…

    • 911 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays