A Character Sketch of Nora Heroine of The Doll House - Essay Example

A Character Sketch of Nora- Heroine of “The Doll House” Nora is the main protagonist in The Doll House, a masterpiece written by the Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen. Nora is married to a struggling young lawyer, Thorvald Helmer, by whom she has three lovely children. The couple belongs to the middle class as shown by their home, described as being comfortably and tastefully but not expensively furnished. The play narrates how an apparently helpless but cherished wife matures in a few days and awakes to the realization that she alone is responsible for her life and well-being. She then breaks free of the barriers to her freedom; namely, her husband, her deceased father, the ill-obtained funding from Krogstad to become an independent person. Nora and Thorvald’s marriage at the start seems to be ideal with the latter’s reference to Nora as “my own dear Nora, my sweet wife, my darling, my little songbird, my lark” –all these whenever he was in a cheerful mood. Whenever he was dissatisfied with her, he called her “little featherbrain, willful woman, Madam Obstinacy”. At times when he felt needed, he addressed her as his “scared dove, his little helpless thing, his bewildered helpless darling, his dear little creature.” During the dramatic situation when he discovered her “crime”, he flung her such invectives as “wretched woman, a hypocrite, a liar, a criminal, an unprincipled woman”. He always had an “appropriate” name for her as the occasion required. When Thorvald married Nora, she became both wife and child to him. This was unavoidable since their world was male-dominated and Thorvald was true to type. He played his role well for he ruled over his wife who was his “doll”. She was a plaything to display as his possession to the world and nothing more He was proud of owning her youth, her beauty, her dancing, but not of her usefulness to the family or to himself and most certainly not her intellect. He was therefore shocked at discovering that without his knowledge or permission, she managed a family responsibility, although with little success. When Nora was young, she was also her father’s “doll”. Perhaps that is understandable for she was just a child then. She says this of her father; “While I was at home with father, he used to tell me all his opinions, and I held the same opinions. If I had others, I said nothing about them, he wouldn’t have liked it. He used to call me his doll-child, and played with me as I played with my dolls.” During Nora’s leavetaking, she tells Thorvald, “You have never understood me. I have had great injustice done me, first by my father and then by you. You have never loved me; You only thought it amusing to be in love with me.” She accused him that in the course of their marriage, Thorvald arranged everything according to his taste and she got the same taste or she pretended to. Looking back, she seems to have been living like a beggar, from hand to mouth. She lived by performing tricks for him and that it was his fault that her life had come to nothing. When Thorvald asked her if she had not been happy, she replied thus: “No, not happy, only merry. And you have always been kind to me. But our house has been nothing but a play room. Here I have been your doll wife, just as at home I used to be Papa’s doll-child. And the children, in their turn, have been my dolls. I thought it fun when you played with me, just as the children did when I played with them. That has been our marriage, Thorvald.” Doll house has come to symbolize the kind of marriage Nora and Thorvald had. As a wife, Nora was faithful and true, although she was not above telling a fib or two at times. When she was at the end of the rope and needing funds, she was about to turn to Dr. Rank for help. When he suddenly declared his love for her, she changed her mind. What could be more ethical and moral than her decision? When a woman is accused of a crime such as forgery –signing her husband’s name, she expects him to stand by her. In Nora’s case, Thorvald let her down. She told him , “I firmly believed that you would come forward, take everything upon yourself and say, “I am the guilty one.’” Thorvald reveals his true nature when he says, ”No man sacrifices his honor even for one he loves.” Nora tells him that millions of women have done that. Then Nora confesses later that he no longer thought or talked like the man she could share his life with. From the point of view of the reader, Nora is right when she maintains that she cannot believe the laws can be right if it appears that a woman has no right to spare her dying father, or to save her husband’s life. The only alternative left was to decide on her own, instead of baring the problem before the critically ill Thorvald who might only take a turn for the worse. The reader sides with Nora when she states that aside from her duties as wife and mother, she has other duties equally sacred, such as duties towards oneself. This reader believes, as Nora does, that before all else, one is a human being. If I found myself in Nora’s situation, I would not feel guilty about leaving the house and the children. The servants know the children’s needs and everything else in the house, better than their mistress. Besides, it was Thorvald who initiated the idea of he and Nora living under the same roof but under different circumstances, not as man and wife. Somehow, the readers do not feel so woebegone about the separation, for the story ends on a note of hope. Both Nora and Thorvald know that if both of them change for the better, they still might return to each other, though it would take a miracle. In Doll’s House, Ibsen is questioning the roles of both husband and wife and what happens when one of them dominates the marriage relationship in a manner that is demeaning to the other. Thorvald’s domineering treatment of his wife is, to me, more immoral than even such a crime of forgery since it violates the rights of a human being and destroys the human spirit. Lastly, Ibsen, the great playwright that he is, delivers the message that we must never underestimate women or take them for granted. Women are not dolls and are not to be toyed or trifled with. Both spouses must always love, respect and trust each other. Marriage is a sacred commitment. Couples must know each other well, before entering into this sacrament. In that way they may avoid making a “doll-house” out of their marriage. Read More