A Doll's House Women

In ‘A Doll’s House” Ibsen seems to oppose to the statement that women are often strong in the home but weak beyond it and instead presents women in an opposing way. This is shown through the stereotypes of women being broken in multiple cases as Nora manages to handle this big secret from everyone, including her husband which leads to her being strong and independent. However, the statement may have some truth to it as Nora doesn’t exactly depend only on herself and does seem to be a bit unstable without Torvald. Ibsen himself believed in gender equality; him and his wife were equal in their home, which is shown in the way women are presented in ‘A Doll’s House’.

On one hand, women are presented to be weak in the home. This is presented in

She manages her situation very well without the help from Torvald. Nora also learns a lot of business while working to save Torvald, shown in the quote “I may tell you that there is something in business called quarterly interest, and another thing called payment in instalments, and it is always so dreadfully difficult to manage them.” This highlights how she is independent, strong and knows how business works. The quote “When anyone is as attractive as I am” said by Nora, highlights that by being a beautiful woman, Nora has power over others as it suggests that she can use it to get what she wants. Also, Mrs. Linde leaves her husband to care for her mother and brothers by working almost non stop without any help which demonstrations how she is more capable outside the home. Moreover, the Christmas tree present throughout the play acts as a symbol of Nora and how she is not where she belongs; she is dressed up to bring joy and entertainment but in reality, underneath she is broken and ‘dying’, just how Christmas trees are taken out of their natural habitat and used for decoration. Also, the play ends with Nora leaving her family because she realises that she is stronger alone and independent, this is shown when Nora tells Torvald “I must stand quite alone, if I am to understand myself and everything about me. It is for that reason that I cannot remain with you any longer.”. Nora now knows that she was never an equal to Torvald and so is better off living for herself and not having her life revolve around other men who wouldn’t do the same for her. This represents how women are presented to be stronger when not held back by others around them. However, women are also presented to be weak beyond the home. This is shown by Nora keeping the secret from Torvald leads to her