Henrik Ibsens A Doll’s House :: A Dolls House Essays

Henrik Ibsens A Dolls HouseIn A Dolls House, Henrik Ibsen reveals how society and authority hinders the development of individuality. By examining how Noras father treat her, the air Noras husband talked to her, a charrs well-disposed expectations, and the social status of women, Ibsen sets forth the image of a stiffed wo adult male, trapped in an unhappy marriage. Noras father treated her as if she was just a little play doll. He belittled her and treated Nora like a baby. Referencing to her father, Nora illustrates this by saying, . . . He called me his little doll, and he played with me just the way I played with my dolls. Then I came to live in your menage . . . I was passed from Papas hands to yours,(Act III 1120). The way Torvald, Noras husband, talked to her showed how he degraded and belittled Nora. He talked to Nora as if she was inferior to him. He implied that he was a better person due to his social status. In Act III of A Dolls House, Torvald shows his vulgar and i nstrumental manner towards Nora by saying, Oh, you think and talk like a witless child,(Act III 1123). A womans social expectations were to stay at home, and conceive the offspring. It was thought that women had to depend on men for everything. What ever the woman wanted to do, had to be approved by the male spouse. Oh, I deal Id inherited more of Papas qualities, exemplifies Noras urge to become more powerful (Act I 1074). At that time, womens status in society was a step below those of men.Women could non vote, open their own bank account, or have a oversight position. In some extreme cases of the womens low status, they were told to marry the man whom their parents told them to marry. Torvald depicts how men were thought to be higher than women are by claiming, . . . tho no man can be expected to sacrifice his honor, even for the person he loves,(Act III 1123).