The Complexity of A Doll's House. By Olivia Sanders
The complexity of A Doll’s House
A Doll’s House
is a story with such deep complexity. Researching A Doll’s House provides so
much on how Ibsen’s story has the underlying truth, being feminism, in that
time era. Although this topic is often written about and expounded on, there
remains many layers that are overlooked. These layers need to be recognized due
to the genius way Ibsen wrote his story. While looking into the story it is
essential to have an open mind. In Joan Templeton’s article she brings up the
importance of "the need for a broad view of the play and a condemnation of
a static approach," (Templeton). Suggesting that if you approach this
story with one theme in mind, you will miss the essential points Ibsen
intentionally incorporated into his story.
Narrowing
it down into three essential layers. The first important layer is fatherhood
and its vital role in raising children. Secondly feminism. The last layer being
trust and friendship and its importance. Upon searching many articles, you
could say this play is chiefly about feminism in the era it was written. However,
these other themes are also important. There are more important layers than
just feminism.
Fathers play an essential role to the
development of any child. Having a direct impact on their well-being. However,
many characters in A Doll’s House suffer from poor father figures and we see
how this negatively impacts them. Nora
describes her relationship with her father in the play. He coerced her to like
what he liked. She was to have the same opinion. If it wasn’t she would hide it
to keep from disappointing him. So often with women we see that because they’ve
learned how to act from their fathers whether they were present or not.
Observing the father mother relationship. Parents must realize their example of
affection and trust influences the child’s future relationships. In A Doll’s
House Nora states “I mean, then I went from Papa’s hands into yours. You arranged
everything to your own taste, and so I got the same taste as you – or I
pretended to” (Nor Pg. 838). Nora reflected her relationship with her father
with her relationship with Torvald.
As a child it instilled in Nora that
in order to be loved, she must be who the man in her life wants her to be. In
the end of the book she sees this trait that had been embedded in her. She felt
as though she was a doll. She felt a need for self-search because she did not
know who she was due to the fact that her whole life she had someone who told
her what to do, how to act, how to be, just like a child playing with a doll.
Though Nora wasn’t the only character in this story whose life was strongly
influenced by her father. The article Ibsen’s A Doll’s House by Paul Rosefeldt
he points out
“Mrs. Linde, Nora's friend, is the
victim of an absent father. Although it is not obvious, her father's absence
lies at the bottom of her plight. To support her sick mother and her brothers,
Mrs. Linde married a man she did not love. The absence of her father forced her
to seek a new father figure in a rich husband, but he too fails in this role,
becoming bankrupt and an invalid. By depicting the father as absent or
polluted, Ibsen defames the patriarchal figure” (Rosefeldt).
One point important to note is that
both of these women sought men who filled the void of their fathers. Nora in a
man who treated her like her father did.
While her dear friend Mrs. Linde sought a man to fill the void of her
absent father.
These traits that a father instills
in his child. Children look to their fathers from the time of birth, seeking
his approval and learning from him. Learning traits from the father good or
bad. In the play Helmer points out Helmer states that she is exactly the way
her father was. After he discovers that Nora has committed forgery, Helmer
realizes "All your father's flimsy values have come out in
you"(Rosefeldt.) These values being learned and not necessarily realizing
they are a part of the child until certain circumstances bring up behaviors
similar to their father. Nora realizes this towards the end of the story when
she leaves her family and children in order to find who she truly is.
A factor that attributes to a Fathers
Influence on the women of the story of A Doll’s House is the role of feminism
in the time era. According the dictionary the definition of feminism is “the
advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.” In the
late 1800’s women were working towards equal rights. Writing this play was a
way for Ibsen to not necessarily reform society but to awake society. "Ibsen wrote his plays to let in the light.”
(Templeton) Referring to the way women were treated in this era. For example Nora
and Mrs.Linde were both women who both relied heavily on the men in their
lives. However Mrs.Linde who had seen more of the world was grateful when she
finally had a family to take care of. Nora on the other hand realized she was
being played with and manipulated like a doll. She wasn’t allowed to speak her
mind or make her own decisions.
A very good example of Feminism in the play is
the scene where Nora was trying appease her husband before he read the note of
her forging her fathers signature. By asking what dance she should do for the
party and what dress to wear. She did this to please him, and to make him feel serenity
before she revealed the letter. She did this all while Torvald was calling her
his squirrel and other dainty birds and animal names. He thought of her of
nothing more than a fragile item not capable of handling herself. In the play Nora states “In eight whole years
longer even right from our first acquaintance, we’ve never exchanged a serious
word on any serious thing. Helmer: “You mean I should constantly go and involve
you in problem you couldn’t possibly help me with?” Nora: “I’m not talking of
problems. I’m saying that we’ve never sat down seriously together and tried to
get to the bottom of anything. Helmer: But dearest, what good would that ever
do you?” (Nor pg. 838)
When Helmer asks what good that would
do Nora it proves that he thought of her having no power. By asking what good
would that do you? He implies that she is too weak, or doesn’t have the power
to handle any problems on her own. In fact Nora herself brings up the point
“You never loved me. You’ve thought it fun to be in love with me, that’s all.”
(Nor pg. 838) In this moment Nora Realizes that she is nothing more than just a
toy to Torvald. She felt like because he didn’t trust her, he didn’t truly love
her. She felt like nothing more than just a toy. Sitting there and being
manipulated to do whatever Torvald felt like she should do.
Another example in the story would be
Nora having to hide the macaroons from her husband. Torvald treated her much
like a child, incapable of making her own choices. Because Nora allowed him to
treat her like this, she became heavily reliant on him. She allowed the men in
her life to dictate her personality. She allowed them to choose for her what
she believed in.
“Yes, it’s true now, Torvald. When I lived at home with Papa,
he told me all his opinion, so I had the same ones too; or if they were
different I hid them, since he wouldn’t have cared for that. He used to call me
his doll- child, and he played with me the way I played with my dolls. Then I
came into your house-“(Nor pg.838). Poor Nora and all the demeaning nicknames.
Because of Feminism Ibsen showed in this story how it stripped Nora from having
any thoughts of her own. Or sharing her own opinions. She was to be who she was
expected to be and that was final.
Ibsen was inspired to write this
story based off of his friend. Norwegian journalist Laura Peter. Her husband
was afraid of debt so Laura borrowed money and worked secretly and frantically
to pay off the debt. It was deemed unladylike to work during these times but she
did this to pay for a trip to save her husband’s life from tuberculosis. She
soon couldn’t keep up with paying the debt and forged a check. When her husband
found out he divorced her claiming she was an unfit mother and placed her in a
mental institution.
This is who he modeled Nora after
writing A Doll’s house to pose this issue to society. To make them aware of the
impact that was made on women for not having equal rights. "Ibsen's Nora is not just a woman arguing
for female liberation; she is woman arguing for female liberation; she is much
more. She embodies the comedy as well as the tragedy of modern life" (vii)
(Templeton). Ibsen uses the characters in this play to make the people aware of
how women were being treated.
A man’s biggest fear during the late 1800’s
was a women bringing shame to his family and tainting his reputation. For
example when Torvald first read the letter he because extremely upset with
Nora. To the point of wanting to disown her. Until Krogstad decided to not
publicize Nora’s secret. When he learned this he turned soft towards Nora
again. That moment was when she decided to leave him. Knowing that she was no
more than an item to Torvald. Recognizing she didn’t know who she was because
she was being who these men influenced her to be.
Due to a huge secret from Dr.Rank we
find out in the play that he had been secretly in love with Nora all along. Whether
it was Nora pretending to not know, or truly not knowing. She spent a lot of
time with Rank offering him forbidden macaroons. In this story we could assume
that Nora felt comfortable around Dr.Rank and showed affection back to him. Nora
felt like she could be herself around him. After all he did know all of Nora’s
secrets. Nora being with Doctor Rank knew she could be open with him and be
herself. She never thought more of him than just a friend. Although he had
mixed emotions “That’s precisely what threw me off. You’re a mystery to me. So
many times I’ve felt you’d almost rather be with me than with Helmer.” (Nor pg.
818) We can only assume he got that
signal because Nora trusted him as a friend. She knew her secret would be safe
with him. Dr. Rank seeing that deep trust, mixed it with love.
I think of Doctor Rank as Ibsen giving men an
example of how he thought the relationship between man and woman should be. To be
able to see each other in equal light. Encouraging and giving advice, lieu of
controlling one another. Instead to accept one another and to realize flaws as
a part of human nature. As with Dr.Rank and Nora’s Friendship the theme of
friendship overall plays a huge roll throughout a Dolls house.
Mrs.Linde who was a dear friend of
Nora fell in love with the so called antagonist of the play Krogstad. But he
knew her from an earlier time “Just now come into town? Nora: yes today.
Krogstad: She’s a good friend of yours? Nora: Yes, she is. But I don’t see- Krogstad:
“I also knew her once.” (Nor Pg. 800)
Mrs.Linde Nora’s friend from their
childhood has seen the raw toughness of this world. She handled each challenge
she was faced with like an Ox. After her father’s death she set out to work and
support her family. When things turned for the worst for her she left the love
of her life to marry a man who owned a business and some money to his name.
Once her brothers were grown and her husband passed away she
set out to find a world of her own. Leading her to her old friend Nora Helmer’s
front door. Hoping for a job at the bank Nora’s husband owned. Little did she
know she would run into Krogstad.
Mrs.Linde was ready to take care of
children and to have a life of her own. It just so happened that Krogstad had
children and no wife. Linde claimed that they were meant to be. Which at first
glance goes against the theme of feminism.
Digging deeper we find that this was
Mrs.Lindes choice. She alone chose to be a mother no man influenced her choice.
In the end Nora and Mrs.Linde swap lives. Nora never being left alone chose set
out to find herself. Mrs.Linde enduring the hardship of life knew who she was
and found what she wanted. This also relates to feminism due to the fact that
it is important to have equality. Being able to make your own decisions in life
influence who you become. The path taken defines you.
Friendship is built on a few things,
one important one being trust. In A Doll’s house I think it really emphasizes
the point of picking the right people to trust. Dr. Rank was by far the most
dependable for Nora in this story. We all know he had a secret desire to win
her love and whisk her away though. But when we look at the friendship between
Nora and Mrs.Linde we see that Mrs.Linde knows Nora well. “Mrs. Linde:
“(Looking hard at her laying her sewing aside, and rising slowly.) Nora you’re
hiding something from me. Nora: You can see it in my face? Mrs. Linde:
Something has happened to you yesterday morning Nora, what is it?” (Nor Pg.811)
Friends know when something is wrong just by looking at each other. Mrs. Linde
throughout the story is trying to help Nora get out of this mess she created
for herself. She goes to talk to Krogstad who she loves and tries to convince
him to take the letter back.
“(Looks at her searchingly.) Is that
the meaning of it, then? You’ll save your friend at any price. Tell me straight
out is that it?” (Nor pg. 828)
Although in the end she made the
decision to let the note be read and allow the secret to be aired I think that
deep down she knew that this would be the best case scenario for Nora. We can
assume that Mrs. Linde understood the importance of trust in a relationship
because she had seen the world. And she saw that Nora and Torvald had no trust
in one another. We can thank Mrs.Linde a true friend for giving Nora her life
back. A chance to discover who Nora is. It is a friend’s job to make sure your
pal is happy. That is exactly what Mrs. Linde did for Nora.
We have looked into the complexity of
Ibsen’s delicately written story. The largest theme being the center of it all
is feminism. The outer layers are equally as important holding it together.
Fatherhood and friendship. Ibsen wrote not to necessarily change society but
more for his sake to express the grief that society caused him. Ibsen wrote “Everything
that I have written is intimately connected with what I have lived through,
even if I have not lived it myself. Every new work has served me as
emancipation and catharsis; for none of us can escape the responsibility and
the guilt of the society to which we belong. (Hundrearsutgave 402; my trans)”
(Templeton)
Works Cited
Templeton, Joan. “The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and
Ibsen.” Pmla, vol. 104,
no. 1, 1989,
p. 28.,
Rosefeldt, Paul. "Ibsen's A Doll's House." The
Explicator 61.2 (2003): 84-5. ProQuest. Web. 19
Mar.
2018..
Gelber, Michael Werth, and Joan Templeton. “Ibsen and
Feminism.” PMLA, vol. 104, no. 3,
1989, pp. 360–362. JSTOR,
Stephanie Pocock B. Teacups and Butter: The Importance of
Eating in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and The Wild Duck. [serial online].
2014;(4):451. Available from: ProjectMUSE, Ipswich, MA. Accessed March 20,
2018.
“The Importance of Fathers in the Healthy Development of
Children.” The Importance of Fathers in the Healthy Development of Children -
Child Welfare Information Gateway,
“Feminism in A Doll's House.” Khurpi,
khurpi.com/feminism-in-a-dolls-house/.
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