A Dolls House

A Doll's House by Henrik Isben is about a young woman and her life. The main characters name is Nora Helmer. She is married to a bank manager named Trovald. In the early years of their marriage just after their first child Trovald becomes ill. Doctors say that he will not live unless he goes abroad immediately. Nora takes it upon herself and borrows two hundred and fifty pounds from a money leader named Krogstad. She was dishonest with Trovald and said her father gave it to her. It was illegal because she forged her dying fathers signature on the document. Nora Helmer in a A Doll's House is a women ahead of her time. In order to protect her children from a false life, she inflicts tragedy upon herself by leaving every thing she has by walking away. She puts herself in this tragic situation by not being honest. Nora lies to herself and the ones she cares about. Before she leaves her life is not her own person she is carrying on life as a role. Making others happy, instead of herself.

As the play goes on, Nora seems to transform from her delicate little character into something much more. At the end of act one, Krogstad goes to Nora for the recollection of the money she had borrowed from him. "You don't mean that you will tell my husband that I owe you money?" (21). Since Nora was wrong in doing so socially, she could not tell Torvald or anyone else about her problem. Not only would that affect their social standard but also Torvald's ego, which inevitably would happen anyway. After Krogstad threatens to expose Nora for forging her father's signature, she realizes that no matter what she does Torvald was going to know the truth. The flaw within this

patriarchal framework becomes apparent when Nora discovers that she has no legitimate name of her own. She can use neither her married name nor her maiden name to borrow money. She finds that she cannot appropriate her father's name. In other words, as a married woman she has neither authority nor identity. Panic begins to set in and she begins to feel helpless because she has no power to do anything about the situation.

In act two Nora continues to act as she is supposed to, as a perfect housewife. She confides in her friend Mrs. Linde about her problem with Krogstad for the first time, which shows that she is starting to break free from Torvald and think for herself. Knowing that there isn't much that can be done to prevent Torvald from finding out, she tries to delay him from reading the letters. The climax of the play happens when Torvald does read the first letter Krogstad sent Nora questions (possibly for the first time), and Torvald's reaction is inappropriate. He treats her with no respect, calls her a liar and is ready to throw their whole marriage away just because his name might be hurt. He refuses to help her in any way, which shows that their marriage really didn't mean anything much. "What a horrible awakening! All these eight years - she who was my joy and pride - a hypocrite, a liar - worse, worse - a criminal! The unutterable ugliness of it all! For shame! For shame!" (35). When the second letter came and he found out that his name was saved, he acts as nothing just happened between the two of them and everything was back to normal. "Try and calm yourself and make your mind easy again, my frightened little singing bird. Be at rest and feel secure; I have broad wings to shelter you under. How warm and cosy our home is, Nora. Here is shelter for you... Tomorrow morning you will look upon it all quite differently; soon everything will be just as it was

before" (42). Nora realizes that here is a problem still. By waiting until after he discovers that his social status will suffer no harm, Torvald reveals his true feelings, which put appearance, both social and physical, ahead of the wife whom he says he loves. Torvald tries to rekindle Nora's

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