A doll's house: themes of identity and social constraint

¶ … Doll's House" Analysis

Whether the relationship between Nora and Torvald is good or bad really depends on the viewpoint of the reader. From a more traditional perspective, the marriage would be deemed proper as Torvald ruled over his wife as many men feel is the correct way to go about marriage. From a modern perspective, Torvald would be deemed domineering and condescending. In the same sense, Torvald does feel that he does what is best to care for his wife and uphold his role as her husband. For example, in Act I, Nora asks her husband for some money and he suggests that she is a wasteful with it while at the same time indicating that she spends it all "on the housekeeping and any number of unnecessary things" (Ibsen 3). He goes on to mention that, "One would hardly believe how expensive such little persons are" (Ibsen 3). Although he does not mean to be condescending, referring to her as a "spendthrift" and a "little person" is representative of his view of her, as a less capable human being than himself.

Another example of his condescending attitude toward her also takes place in Act I, when he asks her if she has been "breaking rules in town today" (Ibsen 3). Nora attempts to convince her husband that she has not been breaking any rules, and has not been at the confectioner's or been eating macaroons, although she has been. He eventually gives up, as she insists that she has not been breaking any rules. As the ruler of the home in the traditional sense, Nora is eventually let off the hook as Torvald surely believes that Nora would never dream of going against his rules by indulging in sweets.

It is important to note that Nora makes many references to being attractive throughout the text, but namely in the first act. When discussing where she was able to procure the money for the trip to Italy with Mrs. Linde, Nora indicates that she will be more willing to tell the truth when her husband isn't as interested in her when she is older and less attractive. "When Torvald is no longer as devoted to me as he is now," she says. She says she will be more willing to tell him the truth "when my dancing and dressing-up and reciting have palled on him; then it may be a good thing to have something in reserve." She then goes on to correct herself and say, "that time will never come" (Ibsen 9). Whether she means the time when she will stop doing those things or the time her hsuband will lose interest in her is unclear. This statement is demonstrative of the fact that their marriage is based largely upon looks, at least in Nora's eyes. Looks alone are not the foundation of the "happy home" (Ibsen 9) that Nora thinks she shared with her husband.

2. While I can see why critics would feel that Christine's relationship with Krogstad negates Nora's idea of her new found freedom, I do not agree with this. As the old saying goes, "different strokes for different folks." What one person finds that makes them happy is not always the same as what other people find to make them happy. This is made evident in the fact that although she knows how Nora feels about her marriage and her new freedom, Christine still decides to push forward with her relationship. From the very beginning of the play, Nora makes indications that she is unhappy with her situation and unhappy with her marriage to Torvald. In the context of this play, leaving may not be the sensible thing to do but in the modern world a woman who is that unhappy with her life is encouraged to separate from her husband. There are several passages that make me feel that this was the best thing for her, at least in her eyes. Most of them come from the first act. While Torvald does not set out to be intentionally cruel to his wife, some things that he does and says to her are bothersome to me and cause me to be in support of her decision, regardless of what Christine was doing with her life.

For example, Torvald often refers to his wife as a "squirrel," indicating that she spends a great deal of money. She has to hide the macaroons that she purchases and wipe the evidence from her mouth when she asks him to come see what she has bought. At first, Torvald replies, "Don't disturb me," (Ibsen 1) and closes the office door. He then returns with a pen in his hand, questioning her. "Bought, did you say? All these things? Has my little spendthrift been wasting money again?"

In addition, Torvald makes statements like, "That is like a woman," (Ibsen 2). His attitude toward women and toward his wife in general is rather traditional and formal, and Nora does not appear to be that way. Breaking free of him seemed to her to be the best thing to do under the circumstances. In the end, Nora chooses to leave her husband and her life behind, which is only a fitting balance for the reunion of Mrs. Linde with her husband.

3. Manipulation is a central theme throughout the play. One of the more obvious instances of manipulation is that of Torvald toward his wife. He manipulates her in a traditional sense, as he plays the traditional role of a husband at that time. Referring to her as his "squirrel" and "lark" and withholding money are just small indicators of his manipulation. He also sets rules and rules over her life in a sense, as indicated by his disapproval of her eating macaroons, spending money on herself, and other things.

The relationship between Nora and Krogstad is also based on manipulation. He knows that she forged her father's signature, and knows the real source of the money she borrowed for their trip to Italy. When his standing in the community is jeopardized due to acts of forgery, Krogstad resorts to desperate measures and blackmails Nora into persuading her husband into keeping him on at the bank. He manipulates her by playing on the issue of his sons, saying that, "For their sake I must win back as much respect as I can in the town" (Ibsen 22). He needs to keep his job at the bank that Nora's manipulative husband works at. In essence, he is using manipulation to make Nora manipulate her manipulative husband.

Nora's relationship with Dr. Ranker is another example of the manipulation of the characters in this story. Dr. Ranker is hopelessly in love with Nora, which gives her some power over him. She useds this to her advantage, flirting with him in order to get on his side and be written into his will. "The lovely Mrs. Nora Helmer is to have all I possess paid over to her at once in cash" (14). The text does indicate that she is not responsible with money, but is always after it, encouraging her husband to take out loans, suggesting that "We can just borrow it until then," (1) and then later suggesting that if something were to happen to her husband, she wouldn't even want to know who the money was owed to lest the debt become her responsibility.