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Double Standards Of Women In A Doll's House By Henrik Ibsen

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In the play A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, Ibsen addresses the overlooked yet realistic double-standards of society with an emphasis on women’s hardships sacrifices for their families. He addresses these problems through the three main female characters: Nora Helmer, Kristine Linde, and Anne-Marie, the Helmer’s nanny. Through these characters, Ibsen advocates for change in the social traditions of women in society. Throughout the play, there are many instances where these three women discuss the sacrifices they have made, especially for their families. For example, Kristine’s used to be the sole caretaker of her bedridden mother and two younger brothers and she felt an obligation to this role since they are her family. When it came to her own life, however, …show more content…

Previously they had been fighting about Nora borrowing money from Krogstad for their trip to Italy, a trip that they took to heal Torvald from being sick, but ultimately turned out to be root of their fighting that ended their marriage. Nora knew she sacrificed a part of her marriage by lying to Torvald about where the money came from but she did it to help save it. A selfish yet selfless act that turned out to do more harm than good. She didn’t necessarily want to lie about the money but she did so in order to help save her husband and family- a sacrifice she felt like she needed to make. Torvald, of course, doesn’t understand why she made such a sacrifice: T: “But no man sacrifices his honor, even for one he loves” N: “Millions of women have done so.” This line shows that Ibsen understands that women are forced to make sacrifices for their families all while keeping quiet, simply because society has imposed a role on them that is thought of as a tradition by society. This, again, is an example of Ibsen criticizing society for the mindset they have about women and how they are traditionally supposed to

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