A doll house
A Doll's House In reading Ibsen's A Doll's House today, one may find it hard to imagine how daring it seemed at the time it was written one hundred years ago. Its theme, the emancipation of a woman, makes it seem almost contemporary. In Act I, there are many clues that hint at the kind of marriage Nora and Torvald have. It seems that Nora is a doll controlled by Torvald. She relies on him for everything, from movements to thoughts, much like a puppet who is dependent on its puppet master for all of its actions. The most obvious example of Torvald's physical control over Nora is his reteaching her the tarantella. Nora pretends that she needs Torvald to teach her every move in order to relearn the dance. The reader knows this is an act, and it shows her submissiveness to Torvald. After he teaches her the dance, he proclaims "When I saw you turn and sway in the tarantella-my blood was pounding till I couldn't stand it"(1009), showing how he is more interested in Nora physically than emotionally. When Nora responds by saying "Go away, Torvald! Leave me alone. I don't want all this"(1009), Torvald asks "Aren't I your husband?"(1009). By
Although many people have accepted women as being equal, there are still people in modern America who are doing their best to suppress the feminist revolution. When Torvald does not immediately offer to help Nora after Krogstad threatens to expose her, Nora realizes that there is a problem. On the rare occasion when Torvald gives Nora some money, he is concerned that she will waste it on candy and pastry; in modern times, this would be comparable to Macauly Culkin being given money, then buying things that "would rot his mind and his body" in the movie Home Alone. Torvald also does not trust Nora with money, which exemplifies Torvald's treating Nora as a child. Both of these mindsets are expressed in A Doll's House. People ranging from conservative radio-show hosts who complain about "flaming femi-nazis," to women who use their "feminine charm" to accomplish what they want are what is holding the female gender back. In today's society, many women are in a situation similar to Nora's. Torvald is an example of today's stereotypical man, who is only interested in his appearance and the amount of control he has over a person, and does not care about the feelings of others. Nora, on the other hand, is a typical example of the woman who plays to a man's desires. Many of Ibsen's works are problem plays in which he leaves the conclusion up to the reader. Both male superiority figures not only denied her the right to think and act the way she wished, but limited her happiness. This revelation is what prompts Nora to walk out on Torvald. If everyone in the modern world were to view males and females as completely equal, and if neither men nor women used the power that society gives them based on their sex, then, and only then, could true equality exist in our world. When Torvald tries to reconcile with Nora, she explains to him how she had been treated like a child all her life; her father had treated her much the same way Torvald does. Females were confined in every way imaginable.
Common topics in this essay:
Torvald Torvald,
Torvald Nora,
House Torvald,
Doll's House,
Nora Krogstad,
Torvald Aren't,
Home Nora's,
Macauly Culkin,
doll's house,
Torvald Leave,
slams door,
nora money,
nora's duties,
torvald nora,
|
Acceptance Essays
