Free Essays on A Doll House

The Patriarchal Marriage Of Nora And Helmer! From the beginning of time until about the 1970’s women were expected to be seen and not heard. In A Doll House, Nora and Helmer’s marriage reflected this typed of thinking. Nora and Helmer’s relationship was built on the idea of the man goes to work and makes all the household decisions and the woman takes care of the children and the house. They were part of a patriarchal society, were according to Webster’s New World Dictionary is a form of social organization in which the father or the eldest male is recognized as the head of the family or tribe. Also it means government, rule, or domination by men as far as the family or tribe. Women had to secretly do things without their husband’s permission. I think that this made the women feel important, or that they could do things by themselves. If the truth ever came out it could ruin the relationship between husband and wife, it make s the man feel less of a man when his wife doesn’t come to him for everything. Women were considered to be possessions of their husbands, Helmer sees Nora as his possession or maybe even a child. He always makes sure to say â€Å"my† when calling her â€Å" Is that my little lark twittering out there?†(997). Just to ask her if see was home he says it in a way to make sure that she understands that she belongs to him. He even goes on to say â€Å"Can’t I look at my richest treasure? At all that beauty that’s mine, mine alone- completely and utterly.†(1038). I don’t know if he is just trying to remind Nora that she beings to him and only him or if he is trying to make sure that she is faithful to him. I believe it’s a little bit of both. He’s saying that nobody else can have you because you belong to me. Helmer often chastises Nora when he feels like she is getting beside herself. â€Å"My little songbird must never do that again. A songbird needs a clean beak to warble with. No false notes. T... Free Essays on A Doll House Free Essays on A Doll House The Dedicated Husband Torvald Helmer is the breadwinner and foundation for his household in Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll House. His authoritative personality that holds the family together throughout the beginning of the play is what ends up tearing them apart in the end. His initial actions give the impression that he is a caring and devoted husband, but when trouble occurs it is apparent that this facade is to cover up his self-absorption. Helmer’s breadwinning is so important in fact that he has to find time to see his wife between working not only at the office, but at home as well. An example of this would be when he tells her that he â€Å"Can’t be disturbed,† (1569) when she asks him to see what she’s bought. His work frequently occupies the time he could be spending with his family. Another example of his desire to be successful is when he says, â€Å"Ah, it’s so gratifying to know that one’s gotten a safe, secure job, and with a comfortable salary. It’s a great satisfaction, isn’t it?† (1571) At times his authoritative personality can almost be taken as dictation. Within the first ten lines of the play he is already commenting on â€Å"the little spendthrift†¦throwing money around again† (1569). Torvald always seems to want to control his wife’s spending habits. In addition to the money she spends, he goes so far as to want control over her eating habits. This is evident when it seems as though she is trying to hide her food from him when the play says, â€Å"Nora shuts the door. Drawing a bag of macaroons from her pocket, she eats a couple, then steals over and listens at her husband’s door†¦ Putting the macaroon bag in her pocket and wiping her mouth† (1569). A little later in the play Helmer is talking down to his wife interrogating her, â€Å"But wait; it seems to me you have a very suspicious look today-†¦Surely my sweet tooth hasn’t been running riot in town today, has she? Hasn’t nibb... Free Essays on A Doll House The Patriarchal Marriage Of Nora And Helmer! From the beginning of time until about the 1970’s women were expected to be seen and not heard. In A Doll House, Nora and Helmer’s marriage reflected this typed of thinking. Nora and Helmer’s relationship was built on the idea of the man goes to work and makes all the household decisions and the woman takes care of the children and the house. They were part of a patriarchal society, were according to Webster’s New World Dictionary is a form of social organization in which the father or the eldest male is recognized as the head of the family or tribe. Also it means government, rule, or domination by men as far as the family or tribe. Women had to secretly do things without their husband’s permission. I think that this made the women feel important, or that they could do things by themselves. If the truth ever came out it could ruin the relationship between husband and wife, it make s the man feel less of a man when his wife doesn’t come to him for everything. Women were considered to be possessions of their husbands, Helmer sees Nora as his possession or maybe even a child. He always makes sure to say â€Å"my† when calling her â€Å" Is that my little lark twittering out there?†(997). Just to ask her if see was home he says it in a way to make sure that she understands that she belongs to him. He even goes on to say â€Å"Can’t I look at my richest treasure? At all that beauty that’s mine, mine alone- completely and utterly.†(1038). I don’t know if he is just trying to remind Nora that she beings to him and only him or if he is trying to make sure that she is faithful to him. I believe it’s a little bit of both. He’s saying that nobody else can have you because you belong to me. Helmer often chastises Nora when he feels like she is getting beside herself. â€Å"My little songbird must never do that again. A songbird needs a clean beak to warble with. No false notes. T... Free Essays on A Doll House The function of the past in Ibsen’s play The Doll House is to generate conflict within Nora and between Torvald and her, and thus contribute to her decisive departure at the end. Nora and Torvald’s upbringing and experience cultivate their perception of conventional domestic roles. Moreover, other characters stories of their past reshape Nora’s point of view and give her encouragement to leave. Therefore, the past is significant in this play as it dictates the main conflict. Nora and Torvald are nurtured in a society where male is the dominant figure. Torvald believes that the male should be protective of the female and head the family. At first, Nora has no complains and she just takes it as it is. She enjoys her â€Å"beautiful, happy home† (54). Therefore, Torvald claims himself to â€Å"have [has] strength and courage enough as a man to take on the whole weigh [problems] myself [himself]† (79). This believe of his which seems to the norm of the culture defines Nora as the weak. She is constantly nicknamed by Torvald as â€Å"song bird† or â€Å"poor thing† or â€Å"my little darling† throughout the text. Nora has no problem with Torvald’s masculine pride because she fantasizes that Torvald loves her and she understands him. She said to Rank, â€Å"You know how deeply, how inexpressibly dearly Torvald loves me; he’d never hesitate a second to give up his life for me.†(83) However, she is disappoi nted to Torvald outrageous response to past. That’s why Nora becomes another person and takes control of the situation for once and then come to a decision to exit. Both Mrs. Linde’ and the maid, Anne-Marie’s story of their past has influenced her final departure. Anne-Marie, the nurse, has given her daughter to stranger so that she can work with Nora. Nora’s initial reaction is that she cannot understand how Anne-Marie did it. Nora’s thinks that her children might forget her once she leaves. She asks Anne-Marie whether her ...