Essay about A Doll`s House

A Doll’s House, a play written by Henrick Ibsen, is centered on a woman who is married to a man who has trapped her in their home in his own little ways.

The woman seemed to be a lifeless doll living in a doll house, doing only what is told to do. In the end, all the primness made her completely lifeless which made her thirst for life and freedom.

One theme that has been dominant all throughout the play was the role of women and the sacrifice that they go through in different times and situations. There have been a lot of scenes in the play where this theme has been evident. Here are some:

In the play A Doll’s House, the theme of having women sacrifice a lot in their roles as wives is evident especially when Nora was not given the opportunity to work outside their house. She portrayed the usual role of a mother; someone who stays at home and takes care of her kids and waits for her husband to come home after work.

“It is no use lying to one’s self.” (Dr. Rank, Act II).

Nora personifies the sacrifice that women, specifically wives and mothers do for the sake of the ones they love. Such sacrifices could go very far, even up to the extent of changing their identities and their whole lives just to please their families.

Such as what Nora said in Act III, “I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald. That’s how I’ve survived. You wanted it like that. You and Papa have done me a great wrong. It’s because of you I’ve made nothing of my life.” (Nora, Act III)

A lot of women would be much willing to give up the things that make them happy just to make the people around them happy. Take for example the case of Kristine Linde who chose to leave her true love to marry a rich man because she needed to support her mother and two brothers. There are a lot of cases like this nowadays; marrying for money has become a trend indeed.

Nora’s nanny is also a clear example of the said theme, as she had no choice but to leave her child to work for someone else, just to feed the child. This has become the case for a lot of women who work very hard to support their family, even up to the extent of going abroad and taking jobs such as being nannies or as housekeepers.

The character of Nora, although very intriguing, seemed to embody the different faces of women all over the world. She was a wife of a lawyer who stayed home and took care of their children while her husband, Torvald Helmer, went to work.

 In the beginning, it looked like Nora did not care much if she was being teased by her husband. She was being called names pertaining to her not being able to resist buying things and spending money. This made Nora seem like a person who didn’t care a lot about what is going on around her, and was someone who was not smart enough to defend herself.

However, during the course of the play, it was seen that Nora was a determined and ambitious woman. Her husband obviously did not want her to do anything else except to stay home and do her “motherly chores”. But that did not stop Nora as she was determined to work, even behind her husband’s back, just to pay off her debt.

Nora proved to be courageous as well, as she was willing to break the law just to ensure her husband’s well-being and of course, his health. She did things that seemed to be too hard and impossible for a housewife to do. But Nora did not let the circumstances she was in, stop her from doing what she wants and can.

Nora was obviously smart too, as it was said that she understood the different business matters that her husband deals with everyday. This shows that her brain is more than capable enough to process such complex details and that it can contain more than just the basics of motherhood.

She has proven to be caring and unselfish as well as she pretended to be someone she is not, just to make the people around her, especially her husband, her father and her family, happy.

“Nora–can I never be anything more than a stranger to you?” (Torvald Helmer, Act III).

The play ended with Nora leaving her husband. Although all of the traits mentioned above are all positive, it is possible that because Nora seemed so prim and proper, it led her to become rebellious. She wanted freedom from it all: her husband, her duties and her pretending. And this is the reason why she was not to be stopped when Helmer tried to. There was nothing that her ex husband could do, as he slowly became a stranger to her.

My definition of today’s world in relation with the play is still very similar with how Ibsen defines his world back in the day. Ibsen’s A Doll’s House continues to be relevant in today’s world because the roles of women portrayed in the play are still being performed by the women of today.

The usual roles of housewives and the way they are treated are still relevant today as it is still happening. Despite the rise in number of women and mothers becoming professionals, there are still more housewives that are treated the same way as they have been pictured in A Doll’s House- someone who doesn’t have enough knowledge to face the outside world as they are secluded in their own homes.

Also, there are now a lot of women who would do anything just to help their families financially, even up to the extent of giving up their own happiness and love.

Works Cited

“It is no use lying to one’s self.” (Dr. Rank, Act II).

“I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald. That’s how I’ve survived. You wanted it like that. You and Papa have done me a great wrong. It’s because of you I’ve made nothing of my life.” (Nora, Act III)

“Nora–can I never be anything more than a stranger to you?” (Torvald Helmer, Act III).