A Doll's House
A Doll's HouseIn reading Ibsen's A Doll's House today, one may find it hard to imagine how daring it seemed at the time it was written one
hundred years ago. Its theme, the emancipation of a woman, makes it
seem almost contemporary.
In Act I, there are many clues that hint at the kind of marriage
Nora and Torvald have. It seems that Nora is a doll controlled by
Torvald. She relies on him for everything, from movements to thoughts,
much like a puppet who is dependent on its puppet master for all of
its actions. The most obvious example of Torvald's physical control
over Nora is his reteaching her the tarantella. Nora pretends that she
needs Torvald to teach her every move in order to relearn the dance.
The reader knows this is an act, and it shows her submissiveness to
Torvald. After he teaches her the dance, he proclaims "When I saw you
turn and sway in the tarantella-my blood was pounding till I couldn't
stand it"(1009), showing how he is more interested in Nora physically
than emotionally. When Nora responds by saying "Go away, Torvald!
Leave me alone. I don't want all this"(1009), Torvald asks "Aren't I
your husband?"(1009). By saying this, he is implying that one of
Nora's duties as his wife is to physically pleasure him at his
command. Torvald also does not trust Nora with money, which
exemplifies Torvald's treating Nora as a child. On the rare occasion
when Torvald gives Nora some money, he is concerned that she will
waste it on candy and pastry; in modern times, this would be
comparable to Macauly Culkin being given money, then buying things
that "would rot his mind and his body" in the movie Home Alone. Nora's
duties, in general, are restricted to caring for the children, doing
housework, and working on her needlepoint. A problem with her
responsibilities is that her most important obligation is to please
Torvald, making her role similar to that of a slave. Many of Ibsen's
works are problem plays in which he leaves the conclusion up to the
reader. The problem in A Doll's House lies not only with Torvald, but
with the entire Victorian society. Females were confined in every way
imaginable. When Torvald does not...
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