ipl-logo

A Doll's House Symbolism Analysis

1329 Words6 Pages

What does it mean to be in complete control of your life, without fearing disapproval from your own husband? Nora Helmer sure would not know what that feels like. In the literary work credited to Henrik Ibsen, A Doll’s House, a clear distinction between the gender roles of Torvald and Nora Helmer was established through symbols. Through Ibsen’s use of symbols such as macaroons, pet names, and the Tarantella, such symbols help convey and compare the roles of men and women within the nineteenth century. Not only were the gender roles distincted through their character, but they exemplified the actual feminine and masculine roles of typical nineteenth century society. Nora is portrayed as powerless and confines herself through patriarchal expectations, …show more content…

I can 't dance to-morrow if I don 't rehearse with you first! Let me rehearse at once. We have time before dinner. Oh, do sit down and play for me, Torvald dear; direct me and put me right, as you used to do (Ibsen 30 & 31). Nora was able to prevent Torvald from seeing the letters for a bit of time by using the tarantella to her benefit. This reinforces the idea Torvald values Nora for her intangible and superficial qualities such as her beauty more than anything. Another symbol that is seen throughout the novel is the macaroons playing the role of the “forbidden fruit.” It seemed as though the macaroons symbolize a main theme in the play which was temptation and deceit. In act 1, Torvald was questioning Nora about her eating the macaroons highlighting the parent a child aspect of their relationship. “Torvald: Hasn 't she even nibbled a macaroon or two? NORA. No, Torvald, indeed, indeed!”(Ibsen 3). This quote displays how Nora was literally pleading to Torvald that she wasn’t eating the forbidden fruit (the macarons) because she feared getting into a sort of trouble with Torvald, further intensifying the parent and child aspect. Taking the play’s title into perspective: “A Doll’s House” literally, and perfectly describes Nora’s life which is basically a doll’s house. Nora is living under Torvald’s roof and everything she does is decided and controlled by him. Nora acts how Torvald has primed her to, she stays out of his business, and as a reader of the book, it seems as though he sees her solely for her physical appearance, and their attraction is only physical, which could have contributed to the fall of their

Show More
Related
666 Words | 3 Pages

Nora is a married woman and has children to take care of. She really has little freedom because of the way Torvald treats her. She is not even I feel as if deep down she knows she is not free and wants something more in her life then to be a entertaining puppet for Torvald. She realizes at the end of the story that Torvald is not good to her because of the way he acted when she told him about forging the signature. When Torvald called her a criminal and other harsh words she realized that she had no true love from Torvald and wanted to be free from him.

Read More
510 Words | 3 Pages

In ACT 1 she waits for Torvalds approval until she can do anything. It may not seem like this while reading the story but Torvald controls everything about how Nora lives her life, even to the slightest thing, what she eats. He tells Nora that it is forbidden to eat the macarons because they will “spoil her teeth”. However, all he cares about is his reputation and how his family looks to the naked eye. This act shows how unequal their relationship is when it comes to the amount of power Nora and Torvald

Read More
1418 Words | 6 Pages

After eight years of marriage, what allows Nora to see that she must break free from the “Doll’s House”? “A Doll’s House” is a play written by Henrik Ibsen, set in late nineteenth century where women were expected to uphold social norms of being a submissive wife and a caring mother. In the beginning of the play, Nora is initially portrayed as a naive and obedient “doll” trapped inside of a “Doll’s House”, but towards the end of the play, Nora is able to come to the realisation that she was never happy during her eight years of marriage with Torvald, leading to her leaving Torvald and breaking free from the “Doll’s House”. This essay will explore the different factors which allows Nora to see why she must break free.

Read More
1136 Words | 5 Pages

Nora’s defiance may have resulted in criticism from society, but Ibsen importantly commented on the terrible treatment of woman in relationships and the world. Ibsen created A Doll’s House in a time where women were treated unjustly and poorly. While the play might seem slightly irrelevant now, it still has a place in the world today. Women can borrow money and leave their husbands; however, society still puts tremendous pressure on women to fulfill sacred vows. The expectation to assure her husband’s happiness and to prioritize everyone else before herself is still an issue that many woman face today.

Read More
767 Words | 4 Pages

Nora has spent all her life doing what her husband had told her. She has three kids that are looked after by the nursery, Anne-Marie. She didn’t want to spend more times with her kids, her opinion that they may grow and learn by themselves. Not only that, her attitude is more like a child in the house, because she could ask for

Read More
1162 Words | 5 Pages

Influence of the Victorian Era In Hendrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, readers get a glimpse in one family’s life as the strict, demanding rules of the husband are merely influenced by society in the Victorian Era. In the late 1800s’, society viewed men as the head of the household. Strict rules were enforced however there are many different aspects in the story proving that Nora caused many of the problems as well. Even when Torvald becomes verbally abusive, Nora’s actions seem to be influenced by her genuine love and care for him.

Read More
864 Words | 4 Pages

A Doll House In Ibsen’s play, A Doll House, Nora is the unhappy wife finding a hard time to gain affection and love from her husband. Throughout the play, it is revealed that she has taken illegal loans in order to pay for a trip to Italy that would improve the health of her husband, and has been working in secret to pay it off. Her life seems to be wrapped around supporting her husband and seeking his approval, as well as raising their children in a happy home, all in return for the reward of her husband giving her the love and attention she seeks and satisfaction with her efforts at being the perfect wife. At the end of the play, her efforts to save her husband’s life, and to secretly secure finances for the family, and to be the perfect wife and mother are shattered when her husband (Torvald) discovers her secrets and instead of appreciating her efforts, becomes angry and reacts cruelly towards her.

Read More
385 Words | 2 Pages

During the 19th century, women were considered to be inferior to men. In a male dominated society, women were not permitted to do certain things due to the perception of females. People thought women should stick to their societal roles and should not have the same rights as her husband. The playwright Henrik Ibsen was enraged by this mentality and decided to write a Doll’s House, which depicted how women were treated in a typical 1870’s household, but added an unconventional twist. Recently, East Stroudsburg University’s theatre department put on a production of A Doll’s House by Ibsen.

Read More
1396 Words | 6 Pages

Initially, Nora appears to be a dependent, naïve girl, yet as the play unfolds, we see her as strong, independent woman, willing to make sacrifices for those who she cares about as well as herself. Henrik Ibsen uses symbolism in order to portray Nora’s sovereignty from the strict social guidelines of morality and appearances in 19th century Norway. The Helmer household is portrayed as the ideal and typical family in 19th century Norway. The Helmer’s home represents the standard middle class home, which is described in the stage directions as a “comfortable and tastefully, but not expensively furnished home.”

Read More
614 Words | 3 Pages

A Doll’s House: Character Comparison and Contrast Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House contains a cast of deeply complex characters that emulate the 1800’s societal norms that they belong to. Two characters that compare and contrast each other throughout the play are Nora Helmer and Kristine Linde. Nora and Kristine are similar because they both display a sense of independence. Their personalities differ as Nora presents herself as inexperienced, while Kristine is more grounded in reality.

Read More
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.

Read More
759 Words | 4 Pages

In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, the three-act play, set in 19th century Norway, explores the progress of Nora’s marriage as she attempts to hide her debt and forgery from her husband. Ibsen conveyed social commentary on gender roles and societal expectations, a topic still in controversy, through the use of symbolism, irony, and dramatic elements. In A Doll’s House, Ibsen presents the problems associated with the position of women in a man’s world of business as his central focus, even if other social or individual problems become more prominent as the play progresses.

Read More
1567 Words | 7 Pages

In 1880s, women in America were trapped by their family because of the culture that they were living in. They loved their family and husband, but meanwhile, they had hard time suffering in same patterns that women in United States always had. With their limited rights, women hoped liberation from their family because they were entirely complaisant to their husband. Therefore, women were in conflicting directions by two compelling forces, their responsibility and pressure. In A Doll’s House, Ibsen uses metaphors of a doll’s house and irony conversation between Nora and Torvald to emphasize reality versus appearance in order to convey that the Victorian Era women were discriminated because of gender and forced to make irrational decision by inequity society.

Read More
1384 Words | 6 Pages

Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is a play set in 19th century Norway, when women’s rights were restricted and social appearance was more important than equality and true identity. In A Doll’s House, Nora represents 19th century women entrapped by society to fulfill wifely and motherly obligations, unable to articulate or express their own feelings and desires. Ibsen uses Nora’s characterization, developed through her interactions with others as well as her personal deliberations and independent actions, language and structure in order to portray Nora’s movement from dependence to independence, gaining sovereignty from the control of her selfish husband, deceitful marriage and the strict social guidelines of morality in 19th century Norway. Initially, Nora appears to be a dependent, naïve, and childlike character; yet, as the play unfolds, she appears to be a strong, independent woman who is willing to make sacrifices for those she cares about as well as herself.

Read More
958 Words | 4 Pages

Ibsen’s play A Doll 's House, written in 1879, examines the importance of social class and the expectations that follow. A Doll’s House tells the story of married couple, Torvald and Nora Helmer who strive to fulfill social expectation. However, the ending is known to be a shock for some, as roles reverse and Nora comes to realize that she has been mistreated like a doll throughout the whole marriage. Throughout A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen, doll 's and the dolls house are symbolic of how Nora is a submissive wife controlled and dominated by Torvald, and both are repressed by societal standards.

Read More

More about A Doll's House Symbolism Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document