Henrik Ibsen displays role pla... free essay sample

Henrik Ibsen displays role play in A Dolls House. The main character, Nora, pretends to be the person society wants her to be. Ibsen challenges the stereotypes of the characters role in a community where everyone is expected to have a society pleasant marriage. In A Dolls House, Ibsen shows how Noras persona changes from an obedient trophy wife to an independent, self-actualized woman. When Nora is first introduced, her first impressions lead the readers to believe she is this compliant wife who seems to love money. In the first act, Nora only seems to want Torvalds money. When Torvald asks what she wants for Christmas, she is quick to answer money. The way Torvald answers to her is comical because he addresses her as if she was a child or a pet. For instance, come, my little skylark mustnt droop her wings. What is this? Is my little squirrel out of temper? (Ibsen 4). This shows that Nora is more of a possession to Torvald than an equal wife in the marriage. Ibsen introduces Nora as a feeble-minded, submissive loving wife but this is only her role that she plays in the household. Later on in the play, the readers learn the true intention of why Nora is always asking for money. When Torvald was sick, Nora took a loan out of the bank without her husbands consent to save his life. Now, Nora is working a side job and paying back the loan with every money she receives without anyone knowing. Nora forging her husbands signature to take out the loan is quite impactful. It shows Nora is the opposite of what the readers assumed about her. Nora does not seem to be this gold digger type of woman but someone who knows how to own up and take control of a situation. The intensity of the play increases as Krogstad is introduced in the play. To explain, Noras old friend, Mrs. Linde, comes into the play hoping to get a job. This leads to Torvald making a decision on firing Krogstad and replacing him with Mrs. Linde. The only reason Torvald is quick to think of firing Krogstad is because he was caught with the crime he and Nora committed. The society treats criminals below than the normal people and Krogstads bad reputation leads him to be the first choice to be replaced by Mrs. Linde. Krogstad fears if he loses this job, his life will go downhill as he will not be able to provide for his children anymore. Krogstad acts instantly in a way everyone would if they were in his place. For example, I have warned youWhen Helmer has had my letter I shall expect a message from him (Ibsen 45). Krogstad felt as if he had no choice but to blackmail Nora until he gets his job back. Krogstad blackmailing Nora increases the plot of the play but it also shows how different Noras characteristics are than what readers first assumed. Readers can infer that she is selfless because she is literally going through all of this because of her husband. She cares about her husband and the family reputation so much that she is paying the debt in every possible way she can to get this burden off of her life. It is very impressive for a woman living in the nineteenth century with kids and little income to hide such a secret and paying the debt off all by herself. Noras actions shows she has always been different from what everyone thought of her and that she is a brave, selfless woman.As the play continues, Mrs. Linde has an big impact on the play. In this play, Mrs. Linde represents a model woman who is independent and hard working. Her decision to stop Krogstad from taking the letter back leads to the final altercation between Nora and Torvald. Readers can argue if Mrs. Linde is right or wrong for making this decision. For example, she could have stopped Krogstad because she envied Noras luxurious life and wanted to see her finally struggle in life. On the other hand, Mrs. Linde decided to let Torvald know the truth to show Nora that he cares about reputation more than her. Around the end of the play, Noras effort to consistently keep Torvald away from reading the letter is admirable. It shows how much she cares for her husband even though the whole debt situation was because of him. Nora tries everything to stop Torvald from reading the letter. For instance, Ibsen displays a tarantella dance in the play which translates to tarantulla dance. The significance of this dance is that when a person gets bit by a tarantulla, their body starts to tremble so they have to keep moving in order not to be affected badly by the poison. Ibsen uses this dance to show how Nora tries to dance in the play to get rid of her problems at the moment. Unfortunately, she cannot stop the poison that was doomed to affect her which is the revelation of the letter.Finally, when Torvald opens the letter, he gets very frustrated with Nora for what she has done. He does not stop for one second to think that she did all of this for him. At this point, Nora finally realizes the life she is living is not benefiting her. She realizes Torvald never really loved her as a husband should to his wife. For example, you have never understood me.. .you have never loved me, you have only thought it was pleasant to be in love with me ( Ibsen 66). This shows that Nora could never be her true self in their relationship. Even if she did act like her true self, Torvald would never accept it because his ideal marriage is based off of the societys expectations. Noras final decision is to leave everything behind including her children to discover herself. All these years living under Torvald and societys norms, she feels the need to explore her true inner self. For instance, I was your little skylark, your doll. ..it was then it dawned upon me that for eight years I had been living here with a strange man and borne him three children. I cant bear to think of it (Ibsen 70). Clearly, Nora regrets everything she has done with Torvald once she realizes he was never the man for her. Nora does not hesitate to leave Torvald and their children behind.At the end of the play, Nora is seen as this determined independent woman. Ibsen uses Nora to show women are capable and should be treated equally in the society. In the beginning, the readers believed Nora is this ideal wife who seems to love and support her family. Then, once the readers learn about her second life, she is appreciated more. In this second life, Nora shows woman are capable to do men work and handle a lot of pressure. Ibsen displays Noras secret life to show the readers women can be their own person and more than capable of living their own life. Noras secret life is the reason why she did not hesitate before she left her old life behind to discover herself.