A Doll's House
Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll's House, a dramatic play, in 1879.The play takes place in a Norwegian town. The Helmers are a middle-class family. Torvald and Nora have been married for eight years and have three children. Nora and Torvald appear to have everything they need, but in reality their marriage is meaningless. Nora is like a child. She eats sweets behind her husband's back because he prohibits her to eat them.
Instead of meaningful discussions, Torvald uses degrading pet names and meaningless talk to relate to Nora. While the Helmer household may have the appearance of being sociably acceptable, the marriage of Torvald and Nora was falling apart because of the lack of identity, love, and communication. Nora Helmer was a delicate character and she relied on Torvald for her identity. This dependence that she had kept her from having her own personality. Yet when it is discovered that Nora only plays the part of the good typical housewife who stays at home to please her husband, it is then understandable that she is living not for herself but to please others. From early childhood Nora has always held the opinions of either her father or Torvald, hoping to please them. This mentality makes her act infantile, showing that she has no ambitions of her own. Because she had been pampered all of her life, first by her father and now by Torvald, Nora would only have to make a cute animal sound to get what she wanted from Torvald. Through their everyday conversation, Nora and Torvald reveal that they have a relationship full of meaningless talk and games. "Is that my little squirrel bustling about?" (2), Torvald questions Nora. "Yes!" (2) She answers, running up to Torvald like a puppy. Because of her whimsical attitude, Torvald had assumed that Nora was always happy and carefree, so what reason would there be for meaningful conversation? Their relationship consisted of nothing truly real. Everything was fun and games and for show. Torvald scolded Nora like he would
Instead of meaningful discussions, Torvald uses degrading pet names and meaningless talk to relate to Nora. While the Helmer household may have the appearance of being sociably acceptable, the marriage of Torvald and Nora was falling apart because of the lack of identity, love, and communication. Nora Helmer was a delicate character and she relied on Torvald for her identity. This dependence that she had kept her from having her own personality. Yet when it is discovered that Nora only plays the part of the good typical housewife who stays at home to please her husband, it is then understandable that she is living not for herself but to please others. From early childhood Nora has always held the opinions of either her father or Torvald, hoping to please them. This mentality makes her act infantile, showing that she has no ambitions of her own. Because she had been pampered all of her life, first by her father and now by Torvald, Nora would only have to make a cute animal sound to get what she wanted from Torvald. Through their everyday conversation, Nora and Torvald reveal that they have a relationship full of meaningless talk and games. "Is that my little squirrel bustling about?" (2), Torvald questions Nora. "Yes!" (2) She answers, running up to Torvald like a puppy. Because of her whimsical attitude, Torvald had assumed that Nora was always happy and carefree, so what reason would there be for meaningful conversation? Their relationship consisted of nothing truly real. Everything was fun and games and for show. Torvald scolded Nora like he would