AP Literature and Composition
Miranda Schaffer
Mrs Rutan
2 December 2014
Miranda Schaffer
Mrs Rutan
2 December 2014
wo"Man" of the house
Power. Strength. Money. Honor.
What do all these adjectives have in common? They are all common descriptors of men.
It is no doubt that throughout history men have been perceived as the “strong” gender; this perception manifests itself within our culture in more ways than one. Luckily, many former unequal practices toward women have been abolished in the western region of the world; however, an unfair stigma still exists toward the strength of genders worldwide. Not only are men depicted as physically stronger, but also mentally. For centuries women have been told that they are far too emotional to govern, work, serve in the military, or even run a successful business or household. This is the “men’s work,” the only people who are mentally equipped and capable of handling real problems. This is why women are so eager to marry, isn't it? To have a man who will provide for her and take care of her? Henrik Ibsen expresses the fallacy of this idea in his famous play, “A Doll’s House”. Under the guise of this misogynistic stereotype, Ibsen reveals that women can be just as strong as men, if not even stronger.
The top of the show opens up to a “pleasant, tastefully, but not expensively furnished living room” on Christmas eve (Ibsen, 1092). Inside features a perfect little wife, Nora, along with a well-dressed husband, Torvald. Everything seems to be in functional order, looking a bit like (you guessed it), a doll house.
At first impression, Nora and Torvald Helmer look to completely fulfill their societal roles. Torvald comes home from work while his “squirrel is bustling about” (Ibsen, 1093) just having come home from a shopping trip. Torvald appears on the surface to be the man of the house. He provides for the family, reasons with his fickle wife Nora, provides her with spending money, makes decisions for her, and even calls her his little “songbird” (Ibsen, 1094) to fully demonstrate the supposed authority and superiority he has over her. Nora seems to mindlessly dance along, thankful for the money and security he provides.
As we dig deeper into this plastic household, we soon discover that things are not as they seem to be. When Mrs. Linde enters, the doll house begins to heat up; the perfect form of the plastic dolls immediately begin to melt and disfigure. We soon discover that stupid little Nora is much smarter than she lets on. It seems Nora had taken matters into her own hands a few years ago, and in an effort to finance a treatment for Torvald, Nora took out a loan in her father’s name by forging his signature. Her understanding of business details such as “quarterly interest” and “installments on the principal” (Ibsen, 1103) shows, for the first time in the play, that she is intelligent. In this moment we also are introduced to Torvald’s first major weakness as a character; had Nora not taken action, “Torvald would have died” (Ibsen, 1101).
Is the mighty Super Torvald a mere mortal after all?
Ibsen uses Torvald’s literal physical ailment, his unexplained illness, to foreshadow his mental weakness later in the play.
Ibsen uses Torvald’s literal physical ailment, his unexplained illness, to foreshadow his mental weakness later in the play.
Nora shows more and more signs of strength throughout the progression of the play. Her breaking the law to save her husband’s health indicates her high level of moral development as well as courage. On top of breaking written law, Nora also breaks the unwritten law when signing the proclamation for her father, society’s law.
Mrs Linde claims, “A wife can’t borrow money without her husband’s consent,” and yet, Nora has somehow managed to do so. Nora can see that capable women should not refrain from taking necessary action, even if this behavior is not yet accepted by society. She also engages in years of secret labor to pay off her debt which portrays her fierce ambition and determination to accept her responsibilities, no matter how arduous the consequences may be. “Daddy didn’t give us a penny. I raised that money” (Ibsen, 1101) she states; through this experience, Nora also learns how to budget money and be financially independent. It becomes more apparent throughout that Nora is only fulfilling her role as a ditzy housewife because that is the role the world and her husband expect of her, though in the privacy of her own mind, she is logical and understanding of her situation.
Another example of Nora’s intelligence is displayed by Ibsen through her interactions with Dr Rank. We see that all it takes is the right circumstances, and Nora immediately sheds her child-like air that is displayed around Torvald and becomes an adult. While speaking to Dr Rank, Ibsen cleverly changes Nora’s tone and diction. Previously in the play, when speaking to Torvald, her speech pattern is very fluttery, rambly and whiny. She responds to most things he says to her with “Oh, that’s wonderful!” and even refers to herself as names that have been given to her by Torvald, like a “lark” and a “wastrel” (Ibsen, 1096). On the contrary, when Nora speaks to Dr. Rank she is succinct and even somewhat witty at times. By the end of their interaction in Act II, the audience begins to see Nora in a different light.
As the audience watches Nora grow stronger, character traits and actions of Torvald degenerate into subtle, yet noticeable weakness. Though Torvald claims he must omit Krogstad from the bank due to his rigid commitment to the moral code, it is expressed in a conversation between he and Nora that this is really not the case. Torvald describes Krogstad as “a good worker” but he must be omitted from the bank because “Every chance he gets he comes out with his damn ‘Torvald, Torvald!’” and Torvald finds this “most awkward” in a professional setting such as the bank (Ibsen, 1122). Being called by his first name at work embarrasses Helmer, and so he informs the bank that his first action as manager will be to fire Krogstad because of his past history of "forging signatures" (Ibsen, 1114), but in reality, he is firing Krogstad because he accidentally insulted Torvald and his authority. Even after the reasoning and prompting of his wife, Nora, to keep Krogstad as an employee, Helmer can simply not bring himself to take back his decision, for he fears of being “the laughing stock” of the bank (Ibsen, 1123), showing his immense cowardice and child-like and petty fear of disrespect.
Ibsen does a wonderful of changing how each character is perceived by the audience throughout the show. By the end, the annoying Nora has grown stronger and into her own ideas, while Torvald is shown to be weaker and less admirable; the “man of the house” is not as strong as he seems. The show closes with perhaps Nora’s largest showcase of strength of all, leaving Torvald. She gives up her comfortable lifestyle, social acceptance, and even children for a shot at living the way she has always longed to.
“You are not to feel obligated to me for anything, and I have no obligations to you. There has to be freedom on both sides” (Ibsen, 1153)
With this, Nora sets out to find something real in this world, tired of the inflexible mold and artificial perfection of the doll house that has been built for her, and leaves forever by bidding a simple “goodbye” to Torvald (Ibsen, 1154).
Margaret Thatcher. Mary Barra. Valentina Tereshkova.
What do all these women have in common?
They are successful.
They are celebrated.
They are remembered.
They are powerful.
What do all these women have in common?
They are successful.
They are celebrated.
They are remembered.
They are powerful.
A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen serves as a true reminder of the great feats of strength and accomplishment that can be achieved by women. What Nora did in the grand scheme of the world was small, but, by having her contrast with the character of Torvald we see how her small acts of strength changed her life. Our society is still under the impression that women are too weak to take care of themselves, and for a plethora of important duties. Perhaps, just perhaps, the women of our time can change the remaining primitive minds who think this way. As Nora learned after years of living in a doll’s house, each small act of strength takes you one more step up the ladder, and if we climb high enough, we’ll soon have to shatter the glass ceiling to allow more room to grow.
Sources Cited
Arp, Thomas R., Greg Johnson, and Laurence Perrine. A Doll House. Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. N. pag. Print.
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N.d. Reuters. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. <blogs.reuters.com>.
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N.d. YouTube. Web. 19 Dec. 2014. <www.youtube.com>.