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A Doll's House Controversy

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In the 1870’s, writing a story with and ending as bold as A Doll House causes much controversy. Henrik Ibsen wrote this play with a highly controversial ending. The ending of the play has a wife leaving her husband and children. For this time period, this was very wrong. But even in today’s times, this is still wrong. Nora Helmer was wrong to leave at the end of the play. She was wrong because she left her husband, she left her children, and gave Torvald no chance to save their marriage. Nora Helmer made a bad decision to leave her husband. She left a husband who truly loved her. In her eyes, she did not think Torvald loved her, but simply used her as a doll. She believes he uses her for his own pleasure. Nora exclaims to Helmer, “When I
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862 Words | 4 Pages

His wife Nora helps him realise when she declare she is "leaving now" her decison to leave was sparked by neglect she expreiened from Helmer. Disregarding any indapendance and respect for her, depriving her basic human treatent. This is approved when Helmer says: `First and foremost you are a wife and mother. ´ Nora resonds with the obvious "First and foremost I´m a human being" but the fact she needed to state it empathises Helmer does not recognize her demands for equality and respect. Helmer initally believes Nora has no other purose other thana service to him and his chilren.

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1409 Words | 6 Pages

Most critics around the world believe the play led to increase awareness on the need for women’s rights in all continents, on the other hand some critics opine that the play depicted women as inferior creatures and dolls who have no personality of their own. Nora Helmer the main character strives to achieve the perfect concepts of life set by the society and her husband. Nora is trapped in her home where her Torvald has built a wonderful life for his ‘doll wife’. Nora’s transformation comes when she discovers the role in doll house imposed on her by the society and her husband and she is desperate to free herself in order to discover her identity.

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1418 Words | 6 Pages

Torvald tells her that Nora has a duty as a mother and a wife but Nora tells him that “she is an individual”, showing that she is finally putting herself on par with Torvald, and no longer allowing Torvald to control her, but instead she is trying to gain independence and liberation from social norms in order to break free from the “Doll’s House.” She tells him that she must leave him, because “for eight years [she’d] been living with a stranger”, emphasising how there was never any proper communication and mutual understanding between them, and hence no proper marriage, as she didn’t actually know what his true character was like up until that night, as she was convinced all along that Torvald would be the man to take everything upon

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1136 Words | 5 Pages

Nora on the surface seems to be the epitome of a 19th-century wife, but the audience quickly realizes that she defies gender expectations with the forged loan and eventually with her separation from Helmer. Helmer not only fits perfectly into his masculine role but blindly

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719 Words | 3 Pages

It becomes increasingly obvious that nora caanot be honest or sincere in conversation with Torvald- he refues to see her as an intelligent, independant woman and she remains frustrated and inhibited. Helmer objectifies Nora: she is there to complement and enhance him and his standing in the community. He tries to mould her into the perfect wife-submissive, unthinking and obedient.

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900 Words | 4 Pages

(Ibsen Act 3; Page 179). Torvald will not even let Nora be around her own children anymore. Instead of just hearing Nora out and listening to what she has to say, he immediately crosses her out. All Torvald cares about is Nora's actions and not her reasoning for these actions, so much so that he dismisses her, to save his own image. Torvald repeatedly shows that he only cares about appearances and is willing to do anything to deceive others, as long as it means keeping a good

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1044 Words | 5 Pages

One of the greatest things about history is that you can look back on it and see all the changes and events that has brought us here where we are today. One change in history that is still evolving even today would be the role of women. In the play, A Doll’s House, the protagonists known as Nora, and her friend Mrs. Linde, lead a role on how women were treated and expected to behave during the era the play was created. The ideal image of a woman in the past would not fit with the ideal image of a woman in today’s modern society (at least in some countries). Even though A Doll’s House dates back to the year 1879, it is still relevant in the society we live in today.

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888 Words | 4 Pages

This decision forced her to change her role and become financially responsible to take care of her husband and pay back her loan. Nora was able to deviate from social constructs to gain the freedom to engage in finance. This experience in saving to pay back her loan influenced her decision in attempting to live independently. Compared with Torvald, who complies with his gender role by providing for the family and assuming authority as the head of the family. However, he uses his gender role to marginalize Nora to the level of a child or doll.

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269 Words | 2 Pages

Nora’s parting words to Torvald show to the audience her unwillingness to adhere

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950 Words | 4 Pages

After learning of Nora’s crime, Torvald sees her unfit to be a wife and mother, as she has ruined the one-sided happiness of their relationship, and he emphatically reveals his long held view that “all that matters is… the appearance” (Ibsen 1263). His selfishness prevents him from understanding that it was Nora’s sacrifice that saved his life, and thus Ibsen reveals a sad truth, about following love blindly, concluding that the profound devotion in perhaps ultimately unfounded. Initially Nora’s denial leads to eight years of being treated like a doll by Torvald; however, by finally questioning her devotion, and thereby realizing the truth about their marriage, Nora essentially sets herself free, as she states: “I’ve stopped believing in miracles” (Ibsen

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794 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the play, Nora plays the role of a typical women in the 1800s, staying by her husband’s side, taking care of the children, and doing all the household chores. She does, however, go behind Torvald’s back when she takes out the loan. When she realizes that she deserves more than how she’s been treated and what she’s been putting up with she walks out and says, I have got to educate myself” (Ibsen 915). Nora walks out the door and expresses a way of feminism telling Helmer that she no longer knows how to be his wife and no longer knows who she is. Walking out on your husband was very uncommon for women to do during the Victorian time period as they do today.

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1024 Words | 5 Pages

A Doll House Analysis The movie A Doll’s House offers a close representation to Henrik Ibsen’s play. Although the script respects the play in most instances, it slightly varies, and certain scenes differ in the interpretation of this dramatic work. A comparison is necessary to reveal the choices that were done in the adaptation process and the manner they were tackled (Labrecque 52). The director of the movie proposes a different point of view when Nora meets Krogstad a second time.

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1464 Words | 6 Pages

As the play comes to a close, Nora exits the room by slamming the door on Torvald, showing her standing up to the patriarchy that exists in the family and in nineteenth-century Denmark. Male dominance is the key attribute to nineteenth-century marriages because women were never thought to have ways of power through the eyes of the man. When Nora slammed the door on Torvald, she was not making a stand for herself; she was making a stand for feminist equalization in

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828 Words | 4 Pages

First, Nora is treated like a child by her husband Torvald. Torvald had nicknames for Nora like squirrel or skylark that was often accompanied by demenors like sweet or little. At the end of the play, Nora tells her husband that he treated her like a weak, fragile doll just like her father. Nora’s feelings about Torvald’s attitude is evident in the quote from Nora and Torvald’s conversation ”I was your little songbird just as before- your doll whom henceforth you would take particular care to protect from the world because she was so weak and fragile. ”(Pg.

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958 Words | 4 Pages

Torvald exhibits patriarchy in his relationship with Nora as he calls her pet names and controls her eating. Nora’s demeanor is ditzy, carefree

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