A Doll’s House by Henrik Isben Essay -- English Literature Essays

A Doll’s House by Henrik Isben A Doll’s House by Henrik Isben is about a young woman and her life. The main characters name is Nora Helmer. She is married to a bank manager named Trovald. In the early years of their marriage just after their first child Trovald becomes ill. Doctors say that he will not live unless he goes abroad immediately. Nora takes it upon herself and borrows two hundred and fifty pounds from a money leader named Krogstad. She was dishonest with Trovald and said her father gave it to her. It was illegal because she forged her dying fathers signature on the document. Nora Helmer in a A Doll’s House is a women ahead of her time. In order to protect her children from a false life, she inflicts tragedy upon herself by leaving every thing she has by walking away. She puts herself in this tragic situation by not being honest. Nora lies to herself and the ones she cares about. Before she leaves her life is not her own person she is carrying on life as a role. Making others happy, instea d of herself. As the play goes on, Nora seems to transform from her delicate little character into something much more. At the end of act one, Krogstad goes to Nora for the recollection of the money she had borrowed from him. "You don’t mean that you will tell my husband that I owe you money?" (21). Since Nora was wrong in doing so socially, she could not tell Torvald or anyone else about her problem. Not only would that affect their social standard but also Torvald's ego, which inevitably would happen anyway. After Krogstad threatens to expose Nora for forging her father's signature, she realizes that no matter what she does Torvald was going to know the truth. The flaw within this patriarchal framework becomes apparent when Nora discovers that she has no legitimate name of her own. She can use neither her married name nor her maiden name to borrow money. She finds that she cannot appropriate her father's name. In other words, as a married woman she has neither authority nor identity. Pani c begins to set in and she begins to feel helpless because she has no power to do anything about the situation. In act two Nora continues to act as she is supposed to, as a perfect housewife. She confides in her friend Mrs. Linde about her problem with Krogstad for the first time, which shows that she is starting to break free from Torvald and think for herself. Knowing th... ... all my very own" (62) ? By walking out she takes a position equal to her husband and brakes society's expectations. When we learn that the representation for Nora was intelligent and ambitious everything falls in to place. There is no need to wonder about motivation or changes of character sudden disclosure. The story A Doll’s House is believable. It stands for every marriage where equality never took place. Many women knew their social status and lived as they were meant to, but for the few that realized there was more to the world then the sheltered life they were living, broke free. Nora was one of the women who knew her place and acted accordingly until she saw that her name had no real value. She was not looked at as an individual, but she was seen as her father's daughter or her husband's wife. The turning point for her decision to break free from this world and start her own life is very believable. She comes to see that her marriage isn't real. Nora no longer loves her husband and knows that he does not truly love her as well. She knows that there is so much more to discover in the world to understand, and until she does she will not allow another man to control her life.