A Dolls House- Act 1 and Act 2

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A Doll’s House- Act 1 and Act 2

  1.          In the play, “Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, portrays the protagonist, Nora as a very child-like character who understands a man’s world better than she will let on.  She is treated very similarly to a doll; she is played with and treated like a child. Her husband Torvald Helmer does not believe that Nora understands the world of money and business. Nora doesn’t let on that she does, and she plays along to this façade of being someone with no knowledge on the outside world. It is evident that she is aware of the world of business when she says “” In business, you know things called quarterly payment and …. I couldn’t save much out of the housekeeping money” (Ibsen, 161). From this quote, it is evident that Nora is very much aware of the borrowing system in the business world. She understands the system of borrowing money, and paying it back in quarterly payments. By her knowing this information, it is clear that Nora is not just the puppet of Torvald, but an intelligent woman who is informed of the world’s events. Furthermore, Nora proves that she knows about the world of men by saying, “Last winter I was lucky enough to get a lot of copying to do, so I locked myself in and st writing-often till after midnight. Oh, I was so tired sometimes…so tired. Still, it was really tremendous fun sitting there working and earning money. It was almost like being a man” (Ibsen, 162).  By Nora using the words, “it was almost like being a man,” she demonstrates the difference of society’s perception of what men and women are supposed to do. By saying that she was similar to a man, she is implying that she had taken part of a man’s world, thus proving that she does understand a man’s world better than she will let on. She also demonstrates that she had worked for money, which is unheard of for a woman. If she had worked, she had done a man’s job. In society, the man’s job is to go to work, while the woman’s job is to stay at home and care for the children and make the house look pretty. By her working, and by her use of words, it is evident that Nora is a hardworking woman who knows the struggles of working hard for money. Lastly, when Nora tells Mrs. Linde that she was the one who had come up with the money to save her husband’s life; Mrs. Linde refuses to believe her due to the fact that women can’t borrow money without their husband’s consent. In retaliation, Nora had said, “Ah, yes she can-when it’s a wife with a little flair for business-a wife who knows how to set about it…” (Ibsen, 160). She implies that she has a “little flair for business”, which proves that she knows more about the man’s world. She also suggests that she knew how to set about it, proving that she’s intelligent. This proves that Nora is not an ordinary woman, but a woman who can understand business matters very well, thus proving that she understands the world of a man very well. Although she understands this world, she never shows that she does. She plays along with her husband; he believes she has no knowledge on this subject matter. Nora suggests that they can borrow money, and when Torvald warned that the people they borrowed from will come looking for them,  Nora said “ Them? Who bothers about them? They’re just strangers” (Ibsen, 149).  In reply to this, Torvald had said, “Nora, Nora! Just like a woman” (Ibsen, 149)! This demonstrates Nora’s acting skills as a typical woman. She doesn’t let on that she is aware of the matters in a man’s world. She explains the importance of her playing this role of the innocent, helpless wife when she tells Kristina, “Besides, Torvald has his pride-most men have- he’d be terribly hurt and humiliated if he thought he owed anything to me. It’d spoil everything between us, and our lovely happy home would never be the same again” (Ibsen, 161). From this, it is evident that Nora only puts up with this act just to please her husband. She does not show her true, intelligent colours to her husband, but acts as the damsel in distress wife that he wishes her to be. In conclusion, Nora merely pretends to be a doll-like character in front of her husband. In reality, she is a very intelligent, well-informed woman who has a lot of knowledge on the business world, but never shows that she does to her husband.
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2.         In this play, “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, there are two female characters that have experienced the world very differently. Mrs. Linde and Nora were childhood friends who have recently met again. They reflected on each other’s’ lives, and it is clear that Mrs. Linde had been through more hardships than Nora. This is because she had married her husband for money, to support her family, but once her husband had passed away, she had to support herself. Because of her accomplishment, she has a slight haughtiness to her personality. When Nora says, “You’re proud because you worked ...

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