For this reason, Torvald considers her to unfit to mother a child. "I shall not allow you to bring up the children; I dare not trust them to you."
Nora is indoctrinated with the idea that she is like an infectious disease that her family will contract proving how impressionable she, like any other woman is. Family was considered to be absolutely everything in Ibsen’s and Ibsen uses characterization to enhance this themes as he shows Ms. Linde to be the ideal woman who succumbs to societal norms and Nora to eventually break out of her gender role.
A number of men pigeonholed every woman to be a frivolous spendthrift that knows not the value of money. "That is like a woman! […] You know what I think about that. No debt, no borrowing." It is ironic that Nora should defy Torvald and complements the theme of gender roles in 19th century society. Torvald associates women with ‘naive, credulous’ money-borrowers.
To put things in perspective, Ibsen took a woman; a fragile, tender female who was apparently only beneficial for domestic chores and left her in a tight situation to fend for herself and her actions. He made people question the current social norm and created an exceptional scenario where a woman like Nora could excel. Nora’s power struggle is evident, having been under the force field of a man more than once. “Surely you can understand that being with Torvald is a little like being with papa.”. This analogy suggests that as a woman, she’s always had someone to answer to. Like every woman in Nora’s time, the social norm was that they had to be taken care of and put under the surveillance of a man. The same idea is employed when Nora has no access to a lot of household objects such as the letterbox. Had Nora have been a man, she would have been granted the countenance to open up anything anywhere, be it a letterbox or the oven. However, considering her fragility and feminity, she is deemed unsuitable for the great task of checking the mail, something that requires the immense skill only her husband acquires.
It took Nora a compromising situation to lead her to the solution that eventually gave her empowerment.
Consider the title “A Dolls House”, Ibsen’s clever use of symbolism portrayed Nora to be the porcelain doll that needed to break out of society’s mold as well as her cage or as we know it, Helmer’s household. A porcelain doll is an object of perfection, it has no physical flaws and is purely controlled and made to function as per the needs of its owner. Similarly, a cage is a restricting object that is opened and closed when and if the owner wants it to be.
Helmer is also familiar with social norms that dictate how to be a man. He often belittles his wife to little forest animals and songbirds; sugarcoated aliases. "Is it my little squirrel bustling about?" he frequently says, using diction that would state he is superior to “little” Nora. In the end, he considers her to be the loose brained, uneducated woman society thinks she is and justifies to readers why most men, inclusive of him agree that a woman needs to handle supper as opposed to bonds and shares. Mrs. Linde righteously states “Someone to work for and live for — a home to bring comfort into.”
However brutal it may seem to women in today’s world, In Ibsen’s time, it was protocol for a man to put himself first. "No man would sacrifice his honour for the one he loves.” Women knew it was a way of life. Nora, Ms. Linde and every other childbearing female was expected to surpass their personal desires for the more holistic ones, such as their families.
Matrimony trumped a degree, the only thing pertinent to a successful woman was the status of her husband’s social value and the only category that needed to be satisfied for a man to be happy was societies opinion of his wife.
Helmer considered it disgraceful that his wife should even merely think of leaving their home. He is a man of morale and principle and in the beginning of the book, Ibsen uses foreshadowing to unravel the way Helmer would react to Nora’s scandalous wrongdoing when he tells her how he detests borrowing and debt. Being the typical 19th century man he is, this idea is reinforced when he accuses Nora of not understanding the world she lives in.
Torvald, a symbol of society, could not comprehend Nora’s plight for experience and highlighting another pertinent theme of family values. There is a sense of hypocrisy as Torvald turns his back on his wife but she must always remain loyal to him and their children. “Do I have to tell you that? Isn’t you most sacred duty to your husband and children?”. The correlation between the variable ‘woman’ and ‘independent’ was non-existent, self-actualization was merely a concept because it didn’t need to be a reality. "I have other duties just as sacred. […] Duties to myself.” After being accused of not knowing her primary duty, motherhood, the thought that Nora believed to have other aspirations other than putting together a flavorsome supper and making sure her floors are clean was completely scandalous.
This would hold no truth in today’s Norway as more women refute the idea of being like Ms. Linde and decide to be more like women such as Nora. There needs to be a sense of fulfillment and it’s what Nora strived for; a respectful social standing and a mental outlook that could compare to that of a man. Nora fought her own internal uprising to assure herself of the rights that should be God given. Another symbol used to portray this is the Tarantella that Nora viciously performs is a representation of her own fight for freedom. “Nora, darling, you're dancing as if your life depended on it!”. It is ironic that Torvald encourages her to perform this sensual and liberating dance and later realizes that much like the fierceness she performed with, she obtained the fierce courage to leave.
In conclusion, women in the time of Henrik Ibsen were caged; they were confined to the four walls of their well kept home, with no money in hand. Made to believe they weren’t fit to get an education, made to believe there was no need for one as long as they had a man in their lives. She made slow and steady progress on her road to empowerment and this comes from the fact that she was aware of her potential. After realizing her husband is nothing more than a hypocrite and realizing that by herself has been able to pay back almost all of what she owes, she embarks on the journey to fulfillment and empowerment.
In contrast to Ms. Linde and to the shock and horror of her “morally aware” husband Torvald, paid no attention to society, paid no attention his ideologies and instead, followed the road less travelled, eventually leaving a trail for more women to follow.
by
tanikadsouza (student)
