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The reality of this truth is that is Nora does not know herself, her husband cannot possible know who she is. Nora experiences the pain of a blind love that has finally seen the truth. In a moment of enlightenment, she tells her husband, "You don't understand me, and I have never understood you either -- before tonight" (194).
For years, Nora lived safely behind the lie that she called a marriage but after Torvald found out about the loan, the happy marriage was gone and both partners saw the lies of one another. Nora's difficulty with love is different in that she makes a positive discovery in addition to the terrible truth she has learned. In short, not all is in vain. Nora can walk away a more informed, educated, and independent woman as a result of what she went through with Torvald. She can also look forward to the future. In this case, love leads to heartache and disappointment because Torvald was nothing that Nora believed he was and she must leave him and her family to discover who she is.
In Death of a Salesman, Linda experiences the pain of love through her husband's suicide. In this tale, the consequences of love are probably the most painful in that a life is lost. Linda spends her entire life married to a dreamer and believing in him. While Willy cheated on his wife and he was a pathetic husband; however, she still loved him, bore his children, and had faith in him. At his funeral, she claims that attention must be paid to this man's life and she appears to be the only one willing to pay him any attention. Willy never seemed to get anything right or perhaps he just got things barely wrong. His suicide...
He could have spent more time with Linda and perhaps they could have embarked on a new life together. This thought causes Linda incredible agony because they we so close to being free. Not only did Willy take away Linda's best years, he also took away her later years by forcing her to live them in the shadow of his death. In this case, love leads to pain and heartbreak because Linda must live on after Willy's suicide.
Love is complicated and we always want to believe that, in the end, love wins. While we can say that it conquers all, we know that the road to love is seldom without hurdles and other obstacles. "The Lady with the Pet Dog," "Death of a Salesman," and "A Doll's House" are stories that show us the darker side of love. In "The Lady with the Pet Dog," love shows it difficult side when Gurov and Anna must end the relationships they are in to be together. In "A Doll's House," Nora must leave her husband and family in order to discover who she is. In "Death of a Salesman," Linda must face the prospect of living the rest of her life alone knowing that her husband killed himself and not know why. These are examples of how love can cause pain, difficulty, and angst. While we want to believe that love is always good, sometimes we must go through some complications to find it.
Works Cited
Chekhov, Anton. "The Lady with the Pet Dog." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction R.V. Cassill, ed. New York W.W. Norton and Company. 1981.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. Three Plays by Ibsen. New York: Dell Publishing Company, Inc. 1963.
Works Cited
Chekhov, Anton. "The Lady with the Pet Dog." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction R.V. Cassill, ed. New York W.W. Norton and Company. 1981.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. Three Plays by Ibsen. New York: Dell Publishing Company, Inc. 1963.
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