Noras Decision in A Dolls House free essay sample

A Dolls House in the late 1800s when womens rights was a very controversial subject and the male dominated society was not yet ready to acknowledge women as equal counterparts. The antagonist of the play,Nora abandoned her husband and children without so much as a second thought. The literal sound of it may make one think it was selfish of her but if one reads between the lines one realizes that her decision was the outcome of years of built up frustration because of being under appreciated and oppressed. Noras decision,though rash was completely Justified and I would agree with her. The play starts with Nora instructing to her maid to hide the Christmas tree away before the kids come and her husband enters and fondly calls her names like squirrel and sky-lark. The first few paragraphs show how Noras role in her own house was scarcely more than taking care of her children and pleasing her husband like he were her lord. We will write a custom essay sample on Noras Decision in A Dolls House or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The names Trovald calls Nora though cute are actually quite demeaning,in fact throught the play he disrespects her lovingly but consistently. ould go to the extent of saying that Trovalds attitude toward Nora was such that one may think she was nothing more than a possession,a prize or maybe even a glorified domestic pet for her husband. Nora in Trovalds life was as a slave would be,bearing and taking care of his children in return for food and shelter. Trovald also teases Nora about her buying the Christmas ornaments and shows her little respect by saying to her things like Dont disturb me. (pg 1681) and also in Act 3 when he says. Have a good long sleep; you know you are safe and sound under my wing. He also doesnt consider her as an equal in the household matters. He bars her from taking any responsibility in the household beyond dealing with the children. She is treated, by him, like a child herself. Moreover,Torvald also expects that Nora will agree with him on all matters of importance. His opinions are to be her opinions as if Nora was nothing but a mere extension of his great self Just like Eve was no more than Adams rib,his extension. All in all, he doesnt treat Nora as his equal and this is one of the reasons she is right in leaving. There is no reason why Nora should she stay in a house where she is regarded as a pretty object of amusement instead of her rightful designation as co- family head. ln Act 2 of the play, Nora distracts Torvald from reading his mail by dancing the Tarantella. She gets her way by promising to dance and sing and fill Torvalds life with happiness. Does the situation not sound a lot like what a concubine would do to get her way with her king or what a dog would do to get its way with its master? Nora is portrayed to be a selfless and devoted wife,mother and daughter. She is he epitome of the idealistic woman in the eyes of a male dominated society. She is shown to have been her fathers doll-child living all her childhood life in her fathers doll house and later as a doll-wife in her husbands doll house,ln a way she has been treated like a doll or an inanimate object all her life. She fulfilled the duties of an idealistic girl and woman all throught her life,to the extent that she began suppressing her individuality and self respect to fulfill her duties. This made it easier to tultill ner duties but in the meanwhile,witnout ner knowledge,suppressed ner ndividuality and self awareness. She even started fearing and accepting the fact that she was no more than a commodity passed down from her father to her husband. All this while she consoled herself by thinking that her husband loved her with all his heart and that he would give anything up for her as was she. But Nora came in for a rude shock when she realized that her individuality had no existence in her husbands eyes. When Trovald reads Krogstads letter his foremost reaction is of horror at losing his reputation,Now you have ruined my entire appiness, Jeopardized my whole future. lts terrible to think of. [pg 1727] This shows how Trovald with his sweet words was a cheap hypocrite and he cared for his reputation more than for his own wife who gave so much to him. That moment sparked in Nora a sense of individuality that we all have as members of the modern society. She must have been overcome by pain as her tower of falsified consolation that her husband loved her as deeply as she did came down crashing upon her. Her decision of leaving her house behind was first instigated out of her love for her usband but later reaffirmed by the realization that her husband didnt lover her more than his reputation and prestige. Once Nora realizes that she has been treated as a child by both her husband and her father, she knows that she has been treating her own children in the same fashion. She plays with them, calls them angels, loves them, but nonetheless treats them like dolls. In Act 3, Nora says to Torvald: l have been your doll-wife, Just as at home I was papas doll-child; and here the children have been my dolls. I thought it reat fun when you played with me, Just as they thought it great fun when I played with them. [pg 1730] She then declares to Torvald that this playtime shall end and lessons shall begin clarifying to Trovald that her reason to leave was to break away from the shackles that bounded her to the Doll-house The scandal of borrowing money when Torvald was sick started this whole wonderful, but awful situation. In the very beginning (Act 1), Torvald scolds Nora for mentioning borrowing money to buy Christmas gifts. His statement foreshadows the plays end: Nora, you know what I think about that. No debt, no borrowing. There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt. And right Torvald is. Nora realizes this in the end of Act 3 and decides to leave. She can not stay in the house once her husband finds out about her scandal. Nora was right in leaving because she was convinced that she and her husband could not live in peace once the scandal was out in the open. Even if Torvald forgave her completely, Nora knew that she was not capable of being societys image of a perfect mother and wife. She foremost wanted o learn how to be independent. She wanted live out on her own instead of in her dolls house. The way Trovald spoke to and treated his wife would enrage any feminist of our time to demand his conviction. His wrong attitude could be compared to the latest controversy over the singer-composer Robin Thickes song Blurred Lines. ln fact, Trovalds behavior was ten-fold as offensive as Mr. Robin Thickes. There is no valid reason in the realm of the reality we know to treat a woman,or any human being for that matter in the manner that Trovald treated his own wife. All Nora wanted at that moment was to recover from her great fall off the horse of falsified consoling that sne nad crea ed. t She wanted to give up ner talse sense ot security and individuality and her susceptibility to dominance of any kind and wanted to make herself fit to think for herself,work for herself and foremost fulfill her duty towards herself. God has created all humans in his image and hence we are all equal. Nora leaving a house which denied her this basic right of being treated as an equal human is completely Justified in the eyes of God and worldly law. Noras Decision in A Dolls House free essay sample Ibsen wrote the play A Dolls House in the late 1800s when womens rights was a very controversial subject and the male dominated society was not yet ready to acknowledge women as equal counterparts. The antagonist of the play,Nora abandoned her husband and children without so much as a second thought. The literal sound of it may make one think it was selfish of her but if one reads between the lines one realizes that her decision was the outcome of years of built up frustration because of being under appreciated and oppressed. Noras decision,though rash was completely justified and I would agree with her. The play starts with Nora instructing to her maid to hide the Christmas tree away before the kids come and her husband enters and fondly calls her names like squirrel and sky-lark. The first few paragraphs show how Noras role in her own house was scarcely more than taking care of her children and pleasing her husband like he were her lord. We will write a custom essay sample on Noras Decision in A Dolls House or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The names Trovald calls Nora though cute are actually quite demeaning,in fact throught the play he disrespects her lovingly but consistently. I could go to the extent of saying that Trovalds attitude toward Nora was such that one may think she was nothing more than a possession,a prize or maybe even a glorified domestic pet for her husband. Nora in Trovalds life was as a slave would be,bearing and taking care of his children in return for food and shelter. Trovald also teases Nora about her buying the Christmas ornaments and shows her little respect by saying to her things like Dont disturb me. (pg 1681) and also in Act 3 when he says. Have a good long sleep; you know you are safe and sound under my wing. He also doesnt consider her as an equal in the household matters. He bars her from taking any responsibility in the household beyond dealing with the children. She is treated, by him, like a child herself. Moreover,Torvald also expects that Nora will agree with him on all matters of importance. His opinions are to be her opinions as if Nora was nothing but a mere extension of his great self just like Eve was no more than Adams rib,his extension. All in all, he doesnt treat Nora as his equal and this is one of the reasons she is right in leaving. There is no reason why Nora should she stay in a house where she is regarded as a pretty object of amusement instead of her rightful designation as co-family head. In Act 2 of the play, Nora distracts Torvald from reading his mail by dancing the Tarantella. She gets her way by promising to dance and sing and fill Torvalds life with happiness. Does the situation not sound a lot like what a concubine would do to get her way with her king or what a dog would do to get its way with its master? Nora is portrayed to be a selfless and devoted wife,mother and daughter. She is the epitome of the idealistic woman in the eyes of a male dominated society. She is shown to have been her fathers doll-child living all her childhood life in her fathers doll house and later as a doll-wife in her husbands doll house,In a way she has been treated like a doll or an inanimate object all her life. She fulfilled the duties of an idealistic girl and woman all throught her life,to the extent that she began suppressing her individuality and self respect to fulfill her duties. This made it easier to fulfill her duties but in the meanwhile,without her knowledge,suppressed her individuality and self awareness. She even started fearing and accepting the fact that she was no more than a commodity passed down from her father to her husband. All this while she consoled herself by thinking that her husband loved her with all his heart and that he would give anything up for her as was she. But Nora came in for a rude shock when she realized that her individuality had no existence in her husbands eyes. When Trovald reads Krogstads letter his foremost reaction is of horror at losing his reputation,Now you have ruined my entire happiness, jeopardized my whole future. Its terrible to think of. [pg 1727] This shows how Trovald with his sweet words was a cheap hypocrite and he cared for his reputation more than for his own wife who gave so much to him. That moment sparked in Nora a sense of individuality that we all have as members of the modern society. She must have been overcome by pain as her tower of falsified consolation that her husband loved her as deeply as she did came down crashing upon her. Her decision of leaving her house behind was first instigated out of her love for her husband but later reaffirmed by the realization that her husband didnt lover her more than his reputation and prestige. Once Nora realizes that she has been treated as a child by both her husband and her father, she knows that she has been treating her own children in the same fashion. She plays with them, calls them angels, loves them, but nonetheless treats them like dolls. In Act 3, Nora says to Torvald: I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I was papas doll-child; and here the children have been my dolls. I thought it great fun when you played with me, just as they thought it great fun when I played with them. [pg 1730] She then declares to Torvald that this playtime shall end and lessons shall begin clarifying to Trovald that her reason to leave was to break away from the shackles that bounded her to the Doll-house The scandal of borrowing money when Torvald was sick started this whole wonderful, but awful situation. In the very beginning (Act 1), Torvald scolds Nora for mentioning borrowing money to buy Christmas gifts. His statement foreshadows the plays end: Nora, you know what I think about that. No debt, no borrowing. There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt. And right Torvald is. Nora realizes this in the end of Act 3 and decides to leave. She can not stay in the house once her husband finds out about her scandal. Nora was right in leaving because she was convinced that she and her husband could not live in peace once the scandal was out in the open. Even if Torvald forgave her completely, Nora knew that she was not capable of being societys image of a perfect mother and wife. She foremost wanted to learn how to be independent. She wanted live out on her own instead of in her dolls house. The way Trovald spoke to and treated his wife would enrage any feminist of our time to demand his conviction. His wrong attitude could be compared to the latest controversy over the singer-composer Robin Thickes song Blurred Lines. In fact,Trovalds behavior was ten-fold as offensive as Mr. Robin Thickes. There is no valid reason in the realm of the reality we know to treat a woman,or any human being for that matter in the manner that Trovald treated his own wife. All Nora wanted at that moment was to recover from her great fall off the horse of falsified consoling that she had created. She wanted to give up her false sense of security and individuality and her susceptibility to dominance of any kind and wanted to make herself fit to think for herself,work for herself and foremost fulfill her duty towards herself. God has created all humans in his image and hence we are all equal. Nora leaving a house which denied her this basic right of being treated as an equal human is completely justified in the eyes of God and worldly law.