Dolls House

In Henrik Ibsen’s, A Doll’s House, the character of Nora Helmer goes through the dramatic transformation from a kind a loving mother to an empowered woman. Her transformation is the personification of feminism during the nineteenth century. Torvald, her husband, represents society in the way he treats his wife. Nora rebels against this treatment and comes to realize that she is her own person, not a mother, not a wife, but a woman. In Act I Nora is still nothing more than a child, careless in her action and not thinking ahead to the possible consequences. She enters the scene, just returning from her Christmas shopping, planning to have a big holiday party. Her husband, Torvald, tells her that their budget this year won’t permit them to have the usual big holiday party they usually have. He speaks to her in a very condescending way, representing the way society viewed women at the time. Her treats her like a child, telling her that she doesn’t know better and calling her pet names like “songbird” and saying that she is “scatterbrained”. Society at this time viewed woman in the exact same way. Creatures meant to be taken care of because they “did not know better”. Torvald’s condescending manner ser

Later, it is shown how desperate Nora has become when she asks Dr. At this point in the play Nora has almost completed her change into the empowered woman. Krogstad"tms last visit with Nora finally does push her over the edge of insanity. After he reads the letter, however, he starts with his verbal onslaught. Before Torvald reads the letter, he refers to Nora as his "songbird", "young beauty", and "my darling wife". He recognizes the feminine influence that women who are married to men of power have, and tries to utilize it. Act II is where the changes in Nora can be seen much more clearly. Krogstad comes to Nora seeking a favor. Nora has just seriously undermined her husband, something a woman must never do, for a man is always right, and women have no place to argue because they don"tmt know anything. Nora keeps on pertering him, finally questioning his authority on the subject. He sees her as just an opportunity to reach Torvald, and not good for anything else. He asks Nora to try to persuade Torvald to let him keep his job. This act really shows Nora"tms desperation. Rank for the rest of the money so that she can pay back Krogstad and get herself out of the mess she"tms gotten herself into.