Analysis of the Character of Nora in A Dolls House Play - Essay Example

Doll’s House In the play “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, Nora Helmer is the central character. In the beginning of the act she is completely happy. Her husband’s teases her as a doll and they are excited about their new job and family situation. She is not bothered by her doll like existence in which she is pampered, patronized and coddled. But as the play progress she feels uncomfortable for being treated as a silly girl. In her attempt to gain status she ends up in debt. As the play ends Nora realizes her selfish motive and desire to take loan to satisfy her status. In the end, due to misery she leaves her husband and children which cannot be justified as she has responsibility towards her family. ( Thesis). Nora in the beginning of the play she depicts childish attitude. She is extravagant in life and eats desserts which are expensive without the knowledge of her husband. When confronted she lies to her husband and with this act we can understand the deceiving nature of Nora. She behaves obedient in front of her husband Torvald but we get an idea o f her double life. She takes a debt without her husband knowledge and saves money to pay it off. She even forged her Father’s signature to receive a loan which is a secret her husband does not know. We can see many aspect of character in Nora. We can see her clever side, desperate side and transformation. When she is lying to her husband and deceive him by indulging in extravagance we can see her clever side. She knows to keep secrets, take risk and struggles. She can conceal facts and is proud of her sacrifices. She brags to her husband about her wise actions and tell her husband to undergo just as many hardships for her sake. As per ( Masters) “Ibsen’s written a magnificently real woman. Shes a three-dimensional, living, breathing, passionate, intelligent, hungry, driven woman”. She has a perception that her husband devotion is quite misplaced. We can see that Nora leaves in the end due to the transformation she has and critics see it as a result of woman fighting for equality and liberty. It can also be understood that Nora left her children with her husband because they would be better off with him. As per (Rustin ) “The first German production notoriously altered the ending so that Nora did not leave home, when leading woman Hedwig Niemann-Raabe refused to act the part as written, an amendment Ibsen later described as "a barbaric outrage". In the century and more since, the play and the role of Nora have taken on iconic status; a symbol throughout the world, for women fighting for liberation and equality". We can see in the story that she has scandalized the name of her husband in an effort to take loan and pay it back. She begins to question on her morality and ponders on her action for its ethics. She is even confused that she was unsuccessful and a bad mother. She thinks of committing suicide in order to eliminate the dishonour s he has brought to her family. She hopes to prevent her husband from being convicted and save him from persecution. Yet there is debate regarding her ability to jump in the icy cold river. She runs to kill herself in from of Travels but her husband stops and in mind she wanted to be saved. So this shows she has no ability to kill herself. But as her husband get to know about her forgery and hideous activities he starts to feel disgusted. Nora then feels her husband is a different from what she had thought. He did not wanted to take blame on himself and Nora felt disappointed. She though he would have been selfless and do anything for her. At this moment she assumes that her marriage had been an illusion. She thought everything had been a false devotion. She leaves the home not thinking of her children and some think that she was utterly selfish. She does not want to forgive her husband. May be she feels she cannot be a good wife and is inadequate as a mother and wife. She leaves the children for their benefit even though it is painful for her. Nora could not understand the realities of life. She wanted to live a luxury life while her husband earned money only enough to live comfortably. She was always under a childish attitude and was pampered by her husband overly. She did not realize the duties of wife and a mother. She received her husband and took loan to spend extravagantly. As per (Wiseman 1-2) “Until her change, Nora is very childlike and whimsical. Her first act on stage is her paying the delivery body. Though his service only costs 50-p., she gives him a hundred”. It was too late when she realized that she was drowned in loan and felt guilty for her misled life. As per (Templeton 28-40) “All female, or no woman at all, Nora loses either way. Frivolous, deceitful, or unwomanly, she qualifies neither as a heroine nor as a spokeswoman for feminism”.In the play we can many shades of Nora .Her as a clever manipulator, a disaster in life and a transformed female who wants to rejuvenate her life. Nora was not successful as a human, wife or mother. She was selfish in the beginning of the play and in the end of it. She could never face the reality of life and was in an illusion. She desired for more than what she deserved and ended up in luxury life and debt. She never thought about her husband or children and ended up in trouble. She spoiled her life and family and seems to be women who understood realities later in life. Nora has not done right by leaving her children as she was thinking only of herself and can see her transformation was only for herself. Work Cited Masters, Tim. "The power of Ibsens women in A Dolls House and Hedda Gabler." http://www.bbc.com. N.p., 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. . Rustin, Susanna. "Why A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen is more relevant than ever." Why A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen is more relevant than ever. The Guardian, 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. . Templeton, Joan. "The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen." PMLA 104.1 (1989): 28-40. Print. Wisemen, Michael C. "Nora as a Doll in Henrik Ibsens "A Dolls House"." Student Pulse 2.3 (2010): 1-2. Print. Read More