"A doll's house", Feminism and Gender-specific Roles

Gender inequality has always been a big controversy. At home, in school, family, relatives or even within our group of friends or peers. Women in the early ages were merely housewives and homemakers. Opportunities were limited because of the stereotype that mothers’ responsibility is to nurture their children and take care of their husbands. Up until now, these practices and customs are still rampant. Though we may not notice such practices, there are still situations wherein the men or women still follow the trend, norms or choices, people say are considered ethical. “A doll’s house” perfectly demonstrates this inequality. This is a play that portrayed a typical young mother who doesn’t have a real job to support her family’s needs. Rather, she was a doll controlled by her husband because of the fact that he provided for their family’s necessity. “A doll’s house” is an exact example of families in the early times. The play also depicted an unhealthy marriage. Fatherhood and patriarchy was also emphasized.  Women were unable to express themselves before, for their obligation was to do household chores and made sure their needs were met. Torvald, the main character’s husband used his authority and power whenever he talked to his wife. Nora, the main character had committed a crime that she kept for a long period of time. She owed Krogstad, one of her husband’s employees at the bank. a large amount of money. This paper scrutinizes the implication of the themes, characters, symbolisms or metaphors of the story and how the early times were and how it relates to the modern times.

In the olden times, when a woman commits forgery, it is considered a very serious crime. It was illegal for women to obtain a loan without the husband’s permission. This statement proves that women were really dominated by their husbands before.  In order for her to pay her debt, she played these little games with her husband where she flirted all the time and convinced him to give her some amount of money. Nora secretly deposited money to the bank to pay off the debt. Krogstad visited the Helmer’s to discuss about matters concerning his job. Torvald planned to fire Krogstad. Because of the fact that Krogstad knew about Nora’s crime, he blackmailed her to use her influence to encourage Torvald not to fire him. At that point in time, Nora was uneasy and torn in between because she knew that Mrs. Linde, a friend of hers was offered Krogstad’s position because of her.

Femininity and Masculinity were both examined in the story. In the play traditional gender roles were obvious and visible. Men were the ones who worked for the necessities such as food, clothing, paid rent or bought house stuff, basically breadwinners. Women, on the other hand, stayed home, took care of the children and the husband, made sure things were organized at that time. We all see that these stereotypical situations were evident in the story. However, the play also contradicts this connotation. At first, Nora was very submissive to Torvald. At the end of the play, Nora realizes she was but a doll, trying to keep up with the norms and how her husband treated her, how she sacrificed her dignity for the sake of her husband but in the end, Torvald was very delirious. He was thinking of his reputation more than the love and care that Nora has shown despite her fault and crime. Also, Nora abandoned her husband and their children in the Last parts of the story.There are a lot of interpretations and symbolisms that can be depicted from the story. From gender inequality to feminism, anti-feminism and such. Every situation and event in the story has an effect and significance. Every detail of the play could possibly have an obvious meaning or even a deeper interpretation.

“The use of theme in this story has an impact in proving that some traditions and practices concerning feminism and gender roles greatly affect family ties or relationships. Certainly, the play questions the real definition of motherhood. Although Ibsen disavowed feminist causes, he launches an attack on patriarchy by denigrating its prime symbol, the father. Critics and audiences often miss what the play says about fatherhood. In A Doll's House, fatherhood, ordinarily associated with the authority and stability of patriarchy, is associated with abandonment, illness, absence, and corruption.” (Rosefeldt, 2003)

 Ibsen, the author of the play disclaims that there is some kind of feminism in the story, we cannot avoid that readers may interpret fatherhood in the story as abuse of authority, power, selfishness and absence. This caused women in the story to rebel. For instance, Mrs. Linde, Nora’s friend was abandoned by her own father. This situation forced her to marry a man she didn’t love in order for her to help provide for her sick mother and her brothers as well. However, Linde’s husband also failed to support her because of bankruptcy. Rosefeldt claims that Ibsen defames the patriarchal figure. ( Rosefeldt, 2003). Nowadays, masculinity still has an impact in most parts of the world. The traditional idea that men are considered providers who must support the household is clearly shown in the story. Torvald had a high position at the bank where he worked. This is where he got the means to provide for his Family. However, the fact that he was the provider pushed him to exercise his authority and power over his wife Nora and his children.

The metaphors and symbolisms used in the story explain the essence of equality and how it affects the point of view of readers regarding gender-specific roles. In the play “a doll’s house”, there is a number of latent symbolisms concerning rebellion, dishonesty and infidelity. “Ibsen’s use of food onstage thus becomes one of the clearest incarnations of his realistic dramatic technique.” (Boeninger, 2014) Ibsen, the author of a doll house, used a lot of symbolisms, most especially food to illustrate a distinct quality or characteristic of the characters in his play.

“One of the most specific illustrations that we could possibly get from the story was the intake of food in the play. Ibsen’s attention to eating as a non-verbal indicator of personality extends into his plays, where the food that characters choose to consume becomes a part of them both literally and metaphorically, revealing aspects of their personalities that might otherwise remain hidden. In A Doll’s House, Nora’s first major onstage action, after she pays for a delivery of things bought on her Christmas shopping trip and tips the delivery boy, is to consume a few macaroons furtively, taking great delight in her secrecy: ‘NORA shuts the door. She continues to laugh quietly and happily to herself as she takes off her things. She takes a bag of macaroons out of her pocket and eats one or two; then she walks stealthily across and listens at her husband’s door’.” (Boeninger, 2014) This part of the story depicts a sign that Nora wasn’t that mature and that the way she was hiding and nibbling her macaroons show that she was childish and naive. Moreover, the way she disobeyed Torvald of not eating sweets was a hint of her rebellious actions at the later part of the play. There are several signs in the story explaining that Nora possess a lot of characteristics and attitude that were sometimes favorable. Another symbolism that is evident in the story was when Nora asked Mr. Rank, a friend of her husband, if the silk stockings suit her. This is an interpretation that Nora was flirting with him and that he fell for what Nora would require of Dr. Rank. This circumstance shows that women are two things, controlling and innocent or rather indecisive.

Each character portrays a big role in the interpretation of the story. Nora’s character however, portrayed several attitude and meanings. Nora as a woman who was merely a follower or in other terms a slave to her husband. She portrayed a woman in the olden times. She faced a lot of criticisms from Torvald but still felt that she was obliged to follow his orders. Another is Nora as a traitor. Though she was characterized as a housewife who followed her husband’s order, she was also a woman who knew how to flirt in order to get what she wants. She did tricks that played her husband. She wasn’t honest in her dealings though her intention was to pay for her debt. Lastly, Nora as a strong independent woman. At the end of the play, she realized that everything she did was all a game, she wasn’t herself and obeyed orders even if she didn’t want to, and she was basically treated as a doll trapped inside her doll house. This was the force that triggered her to find herself and to fight for what she knows is right. She then had the courage to be a woman who didn’t need a man in order to live. Furthermore, at the last part of the story, Nora Helmer used the pronoun “I” when she said, “I have fought a hard fight this three days” to emphasize that she suffered the hardship alone without her husband’s support. (Rahman, 2014) Torvald Helmer was an egoistic man, he saw himself as the authority inside the house, he was a provider and was superior inside the house. He knew how to make Nora do things, he called her animal names like he owns a doll or a pet. He was a typical father in the olden times. Moreover, Torvald used the word “we” to cover up his guilt of being angry with Nora for saving his life. (Rahman,2014). Mrs. Linde, a friend of Nora’s, portrayed a woman of strength. She married a man whom she didn’t love in order for her family to survive. In the long run, her husband died, and she was left with nothing. Krogstad showed several characteristics too. Krogstad as a corrupt blackmailer, this was caused by his hardship. His poor status led him to blackmail Nora in order for him to have his job back. He also was a hopeless romantic guy who was in love with Mrs. Linde. Because of his love for this woman, he chose to help Nora retrieve the letter which he sent. However, at the end of the story, he wasn’t able to accomplish what Linde wanted to. The characters in the story depicted different ideas about the play but also emphasized women’s ability and also equality.

The themes in the story

symbolisms found in the play “A doll’s house” does not only explore and explain the attributes of the characters in the story but also tells something about the author Himself. Though he refuses that the play depicted or portrayed any form of feminism, the main character exposes another side of her, from a follower to a strongly independent person.