Category: A Doll’s House

Many audience members go to plays to get out of their homes for a few hours, and to experience an older form of performance art. Some go simply for the emotions that live actors can portray, such as drama and romance without thinking of the deeper meanings and portrayals of different aspects of the play. For the author of the play there is almost always a deeper meaning to many of the details within their works beyond what is shown. A Doll House is a three-act play written by Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian author with an interest in women’s right, and was published in Norway in 1879. In his play, Ibsen portrays all human beings as broken each in their own individual ways through the characterization of each character.

Torvald is insecure about money and appearance so much that it affects his relationship with his wife Nora. The first scene of the play introduces the audience to the characters beginning with Torvald meeting his wife Nora when she comes home from shopping for Christmas and they start speaking about money, which causes Torvald to get upset about her spending money on Christmas and her view’s on debts. Throughout the duration of the play we continue to see Torvald’s obsession with money and appearance through his actions and his words especially towards Nora. In act 3, Torvald does not take time to think before lashing out at Nora calling her many awful things after reading Krogstad’s initial letter about Nora’s loan and forgery of her father’s signature. Then, after receiving Krogstad’s second letter he thinks only of himself until Nora asks Torvald if she is saved from ruin as well. In Act one, Nora knows that they are about to be in a very comfortable financial situation with Torvald’s promotion and suggests that they make Christmas the nicest they have had by borrowing money if necessary to which Torvald goes off saying “Nora, Nora, you are a woman! No really! You know how I feel about that. No debts! A home in debt isn’t a free home, and if it isn’t free it isn’t beautiful. We’ve managed so far, you and I, that’s the way we’ll go on. It won’t be much longer” (Ibsen pg. 1129-1130; act 1). Torvald obviously feels the need to raise his voice, belittle, and ignore Nora’s view when money is involved which is not a healthy way to communicate his feeling and concerns about their financial state and savings especially with his wife. The approach Torvald uses when speaking to Nora proves that he is insecure and believes that she could never understand the value of money or have a mind beyond that of a young girl obsessed with nice things and spending money. According to Stephanie Forward, “Torvald has absolute, patriarchal control over the household; and the fisher-girl costume, which could be interpreted as implying a repressed but passionate personality.” (Forward 2009).

Kristine Linde, Nora’s friend, is conniving and only comes to visit Nora because she wants something from Nora. Kristine is speaking with Nora about Torvald getting a new job with the bank and Kristine is complaining to Nora about how difficult her life has been especially after her husband’s death. In act 3 while taking to Krogstad downstairs in the Helmer’s home during a Christmas party, Kristine convinces Krogstad to not ask Torvald for his initial letter back but to let everything Nora has done come out into the open of Nora and Torvald’s marriage and Kristine uses Krogstad’s emotions to gain status and comfort in society. In Act 1, Kristine Linde is speaking to Nora, and Kristine gets snippy with Nora because she believes that everything is handed to Nora and then tries to guilt Nora into feeling horrible for her by saying “dear Nora, don’t you be angry with me. That’s the worst thing about my kind of situation: you become so bitter. You’ve nobody to work for, and yet you have to look out for yourself, somehow. You’ve got to keep on living, and so you become selfish. Do you know- when you told me about your husband’s new position I was delighted not so much for your sake as for my own” (Ibsen pg. 1135-1136; act 1). Kristine comes to Nora asking for Nora to speak to Torvald about possibly getting her a job at the bank, he has recently become a bank manager at a well know bank, not to catch up with an old friend who she has not seen in many years. These actions and words prove that Kristine cares only about the betterment of herself and increasing her comfort in any way possible, including making Krogstad believe that she still has feeling for him after so many years apart and a previous marriage and according to Wang “ this different way of viewing Kristine as a calculating predator emphasizes the complexities of the play and reveals Henrik Isben’s tentative probing into an ideal society.”

Krogstad is a very scared and vengeful individual that realizes he has power over a woman who is married to a man with the power to fix his situation. Krogstad comes to the Helmer’s home when he knows that Torvald is not there in order to blackmail Nora, who took a loan form him and forged a signature, because he believes that Torvald’s new position at the bank puts his job in jeopardy because of his past transgressions. When Nora tells Krogstad that she tried to save his job, but failed, Krogstad plants a seed in her mind that Nora’s husband Torvald does not love her enough to help her take care of this blackmail situation that Krogstad has put her in. Krogstad shows up to the Helmer’s home, after seeing that Torvald was not home, to blackmail and threaten to expose Nora’s act of forgery to the world saying “that may be. But business-the kind of business you and I have with one another-don’t you think I know something about that? Very well. Do what you like. But let me tell you this: if I’m going to be kicked out again, you’ll keep me company. (He bows and exits through the front hall.)” (Ibsen pg. 1148; act 1). Krogstad follows through with his threat when he is fired by Torvald right before Christmas causing marital discord between Torvald and Nora that even an apology letter and the return of Nora’s loan document could not fix. Krogstad believes that he is entitled to his good name that was taken from him due to his own previous actions and the possibility of losing the only good job he could get afterwards makes him scared and vengeful enough to make the life of a woman, Nora, who is seen in their society as his lesser by a landslide as she could not even take a loan with the permission of either her husband or father miserable. Krogstad continues to blackmail Nora until Kristine offers herself as a wife to Krogstad which is unbelievable to him because “the figure the pure and self-sacrificing woman had become no more than a well-worn cliché by the time Isben wrote A Doll’s House is made clear in Krogstad’s suspicious reaction to Mrs.Lind’s offer of marriage: ‘I don’t believe in this. It is nothing but a high-stung woman’s sense of nobility, driving her to sacrifice herself.” (Moi 2006 p. 256).

These three characters are prime examples of Ibsen’s portrayal of human beings as broken individuals through characterizations within his play A Doll House.

Ibsen’s play A Doll House demonstrates the importance of establishing a respectful and equal relationship in which individuals can speak openly with one another with no fear of how the other individual will reach especially to touchy or sensitive topics such as money. A Doll House still has a fairly large relevance in today’s society. The message of A Doll House seems to be that everyone had their own flaws and broken pieces that need to be addressed in order to form and maintain healthy relationships. The most significant reflection, I have had while working with A Doll House is that absolutely no one is perfect, even if they may appear to be and it is important to address things that severely bother you early on in a relationship so that you can avoid wasting the time of yourself and others.

Work Cited

1. Forward, Stephanie. ‘A new world for women? Stephanie Forward considers Nora’s dramatic exit from Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.’ The English Review, vol. 19, no. 4, 2009, p. 24+. Literature Resource Center, athena.jeffersonstate.edu:2048/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&u=avl_jeff&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA196227179&asid=272a995b69cede3f926ede3c76ff0bb6. Accessed 26 June 2017.
2. Isben, Henrik. A Doll House. Perrine’s Literature: Dtructure, Sound, and Sense, edited by Greg Johnson and Thomas R. Arp, Thirteenth Edition, Cengage, 2018, pp. 1128-1187.
3. Moi, Toril. “’First and Foremost a Human Being’: Idealism, Theatre, and Gender in ‘A Doll’s House.’” Modern Drama, vol. 49, no. 3, Fall 2006, p.256. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=23224459&site=eds-live.
4. Wang, Quan. “Before Marriage, Within Marriage, and After Marriage – Kristine Linde in A DOLL HOUSE.” Explicator, vol. 74, no. 2, Apr. 2016, p. 69 EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00144940.2016.1169494.

Realism is a literary movement (1865 -1915), aimed to reflect the reality in literature, most of writers in this period were not romantics or transcendentalists, they are realists. This period was very cruel and unforgiving anyone because of the influence of the civil war. Thus, people were pessimist about their future, so the idealism of the romantics and philosophy of transcendentalists became old and unrelated to many readers. Henrik Ibsen was one of the realist writers, he referred to the social demands in most of his literary works, and supported the most arisen issues, such as feminism and classifying. He seeks to mention details such as dates, characters’ qualities, feelings, and the finer details of events, making his work appear more realistic. This essay is going to clarify the way in which Ibsen apply realism in his play A Doll’s House.

The play of the doll’s house challenged the stereotypes of society about the family and the roles of women and men in relationships, because in the 19th century stereotypes made the role of women is limited in the domestic sphere. They considered woman aa a small thing unable to make difficult decisions. But Nora’s character broke this role in this play because she made a completely masculine decision to get a loan in secret and without her husband’s knowledge. But it was a surprise when Torvald knew this secret and he did not respect her help. At this moment, Nora suddenly realized that she was not actually happy in her life, decided to leave everything and live for herself. This step was threatening to many contemporary men because when woman abandoning her husband and children is reference to the breakdown of the family.

The main themes in a doll’s house play are money, respect and reputation, women and feminist, lies and deceit. These themes make the play more realistic because all of them are arose in the society and became common issues during realism movement. Money appeared in many times because all characters spend a a long time talking about their finances. Also, Reputation shows in most of men as if they are obsessed with their reputations and will do anything to keep it. Feminist appeared in Nora who has often been painted as one of the feminist heroines in modern drama because she breaks away herself from the domination of his husband Torvald, and decided to live her own life. Finally, deceit, the essential cause for tension throughout A Doll’s House is Nora’s fear of her secret, which led her to tell lie after lie, the persistence of lies makes Nora a deceptive figure even though she is not.

In George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion some similarities with Henrik Ibsen’s, A Doll’s House. Both Nora and Eliza go through a major transformation, which led to changes the two women. In comparison, both women are treated with little or no respect by the men in their lives. Nora has the responsibilities as any a wife; Eliza has the responsibilities to learn phonetics, and to take care for Higgins and the home, women find themselves have to be changed according to the circumstances of life. If we compare their transformation, after growth each one of them make her own decision, Nora is convinced that she can no longer live with her husband. On the other hand, Eliza improves her sense of self, making her more demanding of Higgins’ respect. The most important, the two plays shed light on the realization of women to be free and choose her way by herself.

One of the scenes which reflect realism in many themes, when Torvald called Nora a spendthrift, becuase she uses much money to buys a lot of things. Helmer: “What are little people called? They’re always wasting money?” Nora: “Spendthrifts–I know’ (pg 3). This scene reflects different themes such as money; money fuels their emotions, their actions, and how to behave around one another. Torvald considered money a valuable item and reproves Nora as child because she spends a lot. Also, it reflects theme of gender, because Torvald considered Nora as child and less than him because she is woman. The last theme is deception, Nora was deceiving her husband and taking a lot of money to buy Christmas gifts, but in fact she paid a loan to Krogstad. Ibsen used these themes to confer the play more realistic.

I think that A Doll’s House is a play explores aspects of social commentary because it sheds light on many issues in the socitey and aims to change the stereotype imposed by society in these issues, such as: marriage which is judged men and women by certain roles in their relation. Also, the importance of self-realization, the writer here because Ibsen urges everyone (male and female) to search for themselves and achieve their being. There are a lot of social issues that are mentioned in the play.

Realism appeared in the last half of the 19th century as an experiment to make theater more useful to society. It is often used in literary works that represent the lives of middle-class people especially after world war. It is not like romanticism or idealism because writers and readers suffered of the same issues, so the realistic works based on real elements to simulate readers, such as using characters with normal features and known names with limited abilities living in daily problems which are caused by logical reasons. Ibsen is one of the most famous realists writers, he called ‘the father of realism’ because in all his works depicts humans as they are, and he chose to break the barrier of beautiful text in literary works and decided to reflect the real life because his goal of writing is to describe human moods and human fates in its natural according to predominant social conditions. This essay is going to discuss the play a Doll’s House which written by Henrik Ibsen as an example of realistic play.

A Doll’s House, play in three acts by Henrik Ibsen, it has been published in Norwegian (1879) and performed the same year. The play revolves around a normal family, a family of Torvald Helmer, he is lawyer in a bank, married of Nora, and they have three little children. Torvald is supposed to represent the ethical member in this family, while his wife Nora is the little, beautiful and irresponsible woman in order to flatter him. As the events progressed, many outsiders enter this family’s life, one of them reveals the fraud once committed by Nora without her husband’s knowledge, in order to get a loan was necessary to save her husband life. When he discovered this act, Torvald was very angry at Nora because of his fear about the social reputation and does not appreciate her. Noura is very disappointed with her husband’s reaction and sees it as a hollow fraud because he let her down. Nora decides to be independent and left him and their children, slamming the door of the house behind her.

The Most important three themes in A Doll’s House play are Gender, Societal Expectations and Identity. These themes introduce realism in the play because it appeared in real circumstances among normal people; Gender is an important theme because the relationship between men and women is based on the expectations of society which make men are the dominant gender while women have to take a sacrificial role. The second theme, Societal Expectations, it is shown clearly in A Doll’s House particularly about the roles of women and men in marital life, Torvald is the man, so he has to be the dominant spouse, and Nora as the wife has to live and work to serve her family as the most important task in her life. Identity, the last theme, is shown through Nora’s view of herself ‘a doll’. Nora felt she was like a doll controlled by both her father then her husband, with no real identity.

Shaw is similar to Ibsen in his play (Pygmalion) in the way of describing women suffrage because of the male power, because in both plays Liza and Nora are subject under the dominant of male. Although these two women were always with men, Eliza filled the void and the time in which Higgins lived, and Nora had actually saved Torvald’s life, but the both men with the women in their respective lives was filled with hatred and selfishness. At the end, Eliza and Nora are looking for independence and seeking to find themselves.

Realism is a literary movement that occurred in 20th century, focused on the events that happened in this period. Some writers consider it as reaction against Romanticism which was focused more on imagination because it is formed from factors resulting from world wars, so realism reflects the real life of the society, and discusses the present issues not in the past or fantasy. Realistic literary works focused more on the characters than the plot to be similar to normal people’ lives and their personalities. Henrik Ibsen is a realist; he changed the concepts in conventional theater through choosing issues and themes represented in the life of most of the audience. Therefore, his works became related to people, as if he meant anyone of them in his personalities or events. Thus, this essay will talk about one of the realistic plays written by Ibsen, it is a Doll’s House.

A Doll’s House is one of the few plays that have a strong impact on the global norms and social conditions, it is a play of three acts, about Nora who involved herself with a loan for her husband and kept this a secret. But at the end, she surprised of his reaction when he knows, because he is feared for his reputation and did not appreciate what she did for him. Nora decided to leave him and her children and live the rest of her life for herself. Ever since A Doll’s House was first published in Denmark, on 21 December 1879, it has raised debate and controversy, both because of its splendid dramatic structure and because of its broad ideological impact. Also, it has a role in highlighting on the way that community deals with the fate of a married woman, and some psychological issues which were common in the community.

Themes of A Doll’s House make the novel more realistic because they are real issues in the community. Individual and Social Fabric theme is shown in a doll’s house because most actions of an individual are in response to the society, they live but Nora does not stick to the moral framework of society. Feminism theme, Nora changed Torvald’s traditional concept of women controlled be men; when she decided to support herself instead of supporting her husband, and her children in the past. Deception is a major theme, when Nora borrowed a debt and then forging her father’s signature, these acts show that Nora as a deceptive. Materialism is an essential theme in the play, because the couple talk about money always. Financial autonomy is the key cause for success according to Torvald’s view. Nora also thought that material comfort is the way to win her husband.

A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen had some similarities with George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion. They both represent the general concept of women during this 20th century by the main male character in both plays–Helmer and Higgins–and their interactions with the female characters. Torvald and Henry are treating Nora and Eliza as one might treat creatures less than a full human–considering the women as if they are of lesser intelligence and understanding. At the end, the climaxes of both Pygmalion and A Doll’s House come when the women realize their position in the minds of Torvald and Henry, resist it as unfair, and leave with a more independent outlook.

The part in which Nora decides to make for the first time a fateful decision in her life herself without following the orders from her husband ‘Travold’ is the part that reflects the subject of the individual and social fabric because some certain concepts of society have been formed in the realism movement, about how everyone lives their lives according to these stereotypes. But Nora here changed the commonly known idea as a woman and decided to find her identity and live as what she wants because she always wished to be treated only as an individual and not as an object less than others.

From my point of view, this play discusses the feminist aspects clearly because the female character in the play suffers at all stages of her life, she faces problems in society only because she is a woman while men go through the same attitudes without any difficulties. Nora’s last decision was the result of all the pressures she suffered as a woman, so the main purpose of the play was to support the feminist movement.

In literature, realism movement started around (1865- 1914), emerged in France. It is a literary and intellectual movement aimed to describe reality in literary works, it tends to present elements of the story accurately, such as: setting, characters, themes, etc., to make them realistic without any reference to fiction such as Imagination or figurative language. Also, realism movement is considered the opposite of romanticism and idealism because it shows lives of people with all their flaws and tragedies, especially because they suffered in this period from the horror of World War. Ibsen is one of the authors who can be classified as realistic, because in his works he seeks to achieve a certain consistency between the act and psychological complexity. When writing literary work, he mentions the reasons why things happen, and what are the resulting consequences, which makes the plot more realistic and did not originate from an unknown past. This essay will discuss realism in the play of a Doll’s House which written by Henrik Ibsen.

A Doll’s House is a play divided into three-act, written by Norway’s Henrik Ibsen. It was presented in the first time at the Royal Theatre. The importance of the play is to highlight the way in which the fate of married women is dealt with. Nora is married to a man (Torvald) who treats her with little respect, or like a child not as a person. However, Nora is responsible for (in illegal way) borrowing money to pay to help her husband to save Torvald’s. But when he knew, he did not appreciate that, which made Nora decides to left him and her children and live for herself. This play provoked controversy at the time and we can say, it caused ‘storm of outraged controversy’.

There are several themes in this play, such as: love and marriage, gender, money and work, and Deceit. love and marriage in the play began with emphasize on the relationship between the couple Nora and Torvalds. Also, gender shows the limited role of women in society and how Nora considered the first feminist when she realized this role at the end, then declares her freedom. In addition, Money and Work is appeared as an important theme because the need for money influenced all characters in the play almost, in Torvald and Nora relationship, and when Nora borrows money for her husband at first, Kroegstad also tries to get back to work at the bank. Furthermore, deceit appeared in more than one situation in this play, but the most prominent, when Nora appeared to be obedient wife but she hides a serious secret from him, it is in all cases deceitful. Deception in the play destroys relationships. These themes in the story discussed as issues and concepts of the society, which makes the play more realistic.

Shaw in Pygmalion is similar to Ibsen in A Doll’s House in some points, and they have occurrences that show similarities between the two female protagonists, Nora Helmer and Eliza Doolittle. Comparison Nora with Eliza is very acceptable and shown very clearly because they both are going through experiences that have led to huge results, and changed their lives completely at the end. Also, they both under male authority because Torvald and Mr. Higgins who make decisions in their life, and no man in the two plays respect them. Mr. Higgins and Torvald do not give them absolutely freedom to live their life as they deserve.

A scene that describes realism in terms of gender theme is when Nora is confronting Torvald, she told him that their relationship is exactly like her relationship with her father, who treated her as a toy. She is obliged to obey their orders and beliefs, and she has no right to make a decision by her own desire. Thus, this part reflects the situation which many women live in, and shows the oppression of female characters in this play and expectations imposed by society on them.

In short, A Doll’s House explores aspects of feminism because Ibsen created the first real “feminist” character in the history of a theater. In my opinion, this play aims to reveal the injustice upon women, which was inherent in the culture of the male-dominated society. Everymen around Nora consider her as inferior creature, which reflects the common view of women in this period. No doubt, A Doll’s House one of the literary works that contributed in increasing attention in feminism issues

The Term ‘Realism’ was appeared in the 1850s includes works about working class life, ordinary people and their activities. It is used to represent events, actions, and characters as they actually are. Realism in literature is considered opposites to idealization or romanticism, it aims to get people aware of the social condition of the lower class, because no one talks about the situation of low class and their problems. Thus, literature is the only means that helps them to overcome this harsh period. Henrik Ibsen is one of the realists because all his works are influenced by the problems that people live in, so he called (the father of realism) because he takes ideas from reality and turning them into literary works, seeking to discuss these problems and then solve them. In addition, his works are not without the precise description of the details which make them more realistic. This essay is going to discuss one of the plays written by Henrik Ibsen, it is ‘ A Doll’s House’.

A Doll’s House play was one of the plays that aroused interest among many people in the 20th century because it is one of the first plays that discussed unexpected issues, such as the issue of feminism, individualism, and finances. Nora is the most famous feminist in literature of the 20th century because she refuses to live the rest of her life belonging to her husband Torvald, and carry out his orders without asking herself if she wants this or not. Throughout the play Nora has not been treated as an independent individual with a value or respect but she was not aware, until her secret has been revealed about the money borrowed to save her husband’s life, and here she realized that Torvald does not care about her, his priorities are reputation and appearance, thus Nora decided to leave, look for herself and achieve her wishes.

The main themes mentioned in the play are the problems of reality that middle-class people had in the 20th century, money, gender, individual vs. society. Money was the main theme of this novel. It represents Torvald’s priority in life, and Nora’s need to keep her marriage. Also, gender has played a key role in the play because it illustrates the difference between a woman’s life and a man. Nora is getting the loan hardly and then repay it hardly, just because she is a woman. In conclusion, her husband sees her wrong and does not appreciate the circumstances she went through because as a man can simply overcome these difficulties. The last issue, individual vs. society, society imposes some roles on individuals, whether female or male, and therefore Nora’s desire to be treated as an independent individual is not acceptable in society because he sees the role of women does not exceed the limits of her home.

Both plays talk about almost similar problems. First, gender, Nora and Eliza are treated badly by men in the plays (Torvald and Higgins) because they are women, whose lives are entirely under the control of these two men. Also, both plays illustrate the financial problems of the twentieth century, because throughout A Doll’s house play Nora needed money to pay the loan, and Eliza in Pygmalion had to agree to Higgins’ ask to change her class and get money. Also, Eliza and Nora were suffering from their fathers, Eliza’s father left her because of poverty, and Nora’s father treated her like a doll under his control. So, both plays are almost intended to refer to the problems of society in the 20th century.

One of the scenes that accurately described the reality in A Doll’s House play when Torvald learned about the loan, he never cared that Nora was forced to this illegal loan only in order to help him and save his life, he abandoned her and was very angry, his reputation and social form was much more important than the feelings of his wife This scene reflects realism in both reputations and gender because men always care about their reputations without regard to any other considerations. They also see themselves as much more important than women, so Torvald could not appreciate this great sacrifice from Nora because his focus on himself.

In conclusion, A Doll’s House Play contained the most prominent problems of society such as, feminism, gender discrimination, loss of identity, and financial issues. Thus, it can be considered as one of the literary works that have contributed to guide society to correct concepts on some common issues.

Realism is defined as a literary and intellectual movement began in France in the 1850s, rejected Romanticism, try to portray contemporary subjects as in its truth and accuracy. Poets and novelists changed the traditional style of literary works based on imagination and metaphors to study life with its real events and people with their daily problems by recording what they see around them. The realist writer shows in their works all the details of ordinary life as if it depicts the reader how to live the life. One of the realist writers Henrik Ibsen, who discussed in his works a lot of psychological and social problems which are existed already in the reality, and aimed to solve many issues of the community through using realism in his plays. This essay will explain how Henrik Ibsen reflected realism in a Doll’s House play.

The play of the doll house is one of the literary works that received much attention in the nineteenth century, because it aimed to interest in women and gender relationships. The play deals with events happening with the Helmer family: Nora, Torvald, and their children. Since the beginning of the play, the difference in strength and inequality between Nora and Torvald appeared. Always he sees Nora as a small thing for him, although he is affectionate with her but considers her less than a full human being, as something of his own. Through appearing of her old friend Mrs. Linde, her lie about the loan has been discovered to help Torvald financially, so he abandons her and only cared about his reputation. After the crisis ends between them, Nora realizes that she has no impact in this marriage and family, she is just followed to Torvald and prior to her marriage to her father, Nora decides to leave her family and go on her own.

There are many themes in A Doll’s House play, but the most common of them are Self-Awareness, Nora did not realize that she lacked self-consciousness throughout her life, did not realize that she deserved an identity, independence and should seek to find herself. Another important theme is Sexism, Nora’s relationship with her husband is typical, as if their roles in life are defined by the husband working and making decisions, and women’ role is limited to housework, they are not treated equally because of their gender. The last theme is Individual versus Society, all the characters in the play work under the authority of society, no one seems independent, at the end only Nora breaks all the barriers drawn by society, and decides to live for herself. These themes make the play realistic because they refer to attitudes taken from the matters of ordinary lives of people.

George Bernard Shaw in Pygmalion looks like Ibsen in the play ِA doll’s house in terms of the characteristics of the two female characters in the plays, Nora Helmer and Eliza Doolittle, both are fragile and naive characters, shifts occur in their lives that lead to great changes in both characters, because of the two men in their lives Torvald and Mr. Higgins, who completely control their lives. Although both men have their lives centered around these two women, Nora is Torvald’s wife, who helped him with the loan, bears the responsibilities of his family; and Eliza, who bears Higgins’ responsibilities and fills his life. But male power makes the two men treat these women badly and selfishly, making Eliza and Nora realize that they deserve to be more respected and decide to make tough decisions in their own lives by themselves.

The most important parts of the novel when Nora Travold confronts her husband and tells him that her life with him is similar to her life with her father, both of them deal with her like a doll, that they control it as they wish, this part reflects the important themes emerged in realism movement, self-awareness and identity. At the end of the novel, Nora realized that she only belonged to her father and then to her husband, she did not find herself and lost her identity, which she may not have known.

From my point of view, this play reveals aspect of societal commentary because Ibsen was not only intended to urge women to find themselves, but also everyone in the society have a right to know his true identity and make decisions in his own life. Also, it highlighted several personalities who suffer from psychological and social problems such as, Torvald, Dr Rank, etc., which means that the play aims to reform the problems of the whole society.

“‘I am too intelligent, too demanding, and too resourceful for anyone to be able to take charge of me entirely. No one knows me or loves me completely. I have only myself’ -Simone de Beauvoir” (Good Reads). In the play, “A Doll’s House” by Hendrik Ibsen, main character Nora seems to have felt exactly this way when she decided to leave behind her husband, children, and while family to go start her own life. “A Doll’s House” starts out with what seems to be a perfect marriage and a perfect family, where the husband works all day to provide for the family while the wife is at home making sure the family is well taken care of. In chapter 9 of Kelly Mays’s book The Norton Introduction to Literature, she talks about how middle-class women were trying to make a difference, stating that, “Many of these effort, perhaps most notably the women’s suffrage and temperance movements, were spearheaded by middle-class women, trying to improve their own circumstances and those of women of all socioeconomic classes and races” (Mays 565). The 19th century was a unique time period because while society seemed to be stuck in their old ways, it was also the start of women trying to break-free, become independent, and break through the stereotypes. In the beginning of the play, Nora makes sure to be the perfect woman that would do anything to please her husband. As the play goes on; however, Nora starts to show her true colors, which are full of independence, rebellion, and determination. In his play, Hendrik Ibsen uses Nora’s relationship with her husband Torvald to prove that although there was a lot of gender roles and conformity in the 19th century, there was also rebellion and reinvention of tradition that led to the inspiration of not only women’s rights, but human rights in general.

In the 1800s, men and women presented very different roles in society. Men and women were not seen as equal, in fact, women were seen as much lesser that their husbands. For example, in an article called, “An Overview of a Doll’s House,” author Sheri Metzger mentions, “That the prevailing view is that women have little worth when their usefulness as mothers has ended is clear in Torvald’s repudiation of Nora” (Metzger). This quote suggests that in the eyes of society and in the eyes of their husbands, the women/wives were deemed useless unless they could have children and take care of a family. Another example in Hendrik Ibsen’s play, “A Doll’s House,” he writes, “Nora: [Going toward the stove.] Yes, whatever you say Torvald” (Ibsen 1705). Nora saying this to her husband reveals that she knows that Torvald is in charge and has the power. She wants him to know that she respects hi, in their relationship. Since women were seen as inferior to their husbands, that means that the men were seen as having all of the power in their relationships. One article called “A Doll’s House: Overview” by Goontilleke states, “To him the man is the superior being, holding the economic reins and thereby concentrating in his hands all power and responsibility in the household, making the woman his slave” (Goontilleke). This quote proves that women’s roles were so different because they were seen as inferior to the men. The men held all of the power in the relationship, and the women were only there to please and take care of their husbands and make their lives easier. Another excerpt from Ibsen’s play states, “Helmer: … [Taking out his wallet.] Nora, guess what I have here” (Ibsen 1705). In this excerpt, Torvald is about to give Nora money, but he wants to be sure to subtly express that it was the money that HE got. It was the money that only he had the power to give her. This last quote from Ibsen’s play writes, “Helmer: Is that my little lark twittering out there?… is that my squirrel rummaging around?” (Ibsen 1704). In this piece of the conversation, Torvald is comparing his wife to birds and squirrels. He is referring to her as inferior animals to indirectly show his power and dominance over her.

While Ibsen may speak more specifically about human rights rather than women’s rights, he is still a major contribution to the start of the women’s movement. Standing up for human rights was very important to author Hendrik Ibsen. In fact, in Goonetilleke’s article he writes, “‘I … must disclaim the honour of having consciously worked for women’s rights. I am not even quite sure what women’s rights really are…” (Goonetilleke). While he may have gotten credit for kick starting the women’s movement, he actually had no intentions of helping women’s rights. Rather than just helping women specifically, he was trying to help the human population in general. Another quote by Goonetilleke states, “To me it has been a question of human rights’. This, in fact, suggests the main theme of the play. It is true that the rebel, trying to claim what she considers her legitimate rights, is a woman, but Ibsen also conveys a more general theme of freedom…” (Goonetilleke). Ibsen’s work may have seemed like more of a feminism approach; however, he was actually trying to stand up for all human rights, and more freedom for everyone, not just women. In one more article called, “The meaning behind the lines: how Ibsen’s toughness and Chekhov’s tenderness transformed American playwriting and acting,” author Wendy Smith claims, “Ibsen remade the art of playwriting, creating works that startled audiences with their frank discussions of social issues and their unconventional dramaturgy. His later plays would be concerned less with social criticism and more with the progress of the human soul, but he would always be drawn to conflicts couched in the fiercest terms” (Smith). Ibsen seems to focus more on the bigger picture. Instead of only helping one group of people, he wants to make a difference for everyone. In trying to push human rights; however, it seems as though Ibsen played a huge role in the inspiration of women’s rights. In an article by Joyce Moss and George Wilson called, “A Doll’s House,” they mentioned that, “Even so, the women’s movement embraced him as one of the leading champions of its causes after the publication of the play” (Moss and Wilson). While Ibsen intended on just pushing for human rights in general, he had a much larger impact than that. He was one of the main reasons for the start of the whole women’s movement.

During the 19th century when there was such specific gender roles, most women conformed, but some women rebelled. In Moss and Wilsons article they also state, “To outsiders, a portrait emerges of a kind but firmly dominant husband who closely monitors his comfortable home, charming wife, robust children, and secure income. Yet it turns out to be disastrous that Nora has been sheltered so completely by her husband, as she had been by her father” (Moss and Wilson). Nora’s life was never the perfect fairytale marriage, she just wanted people to think her life was normal because she wanted to keep up her reputation and she was just conforming to the gender roles of her time. Another example of Nora complying to the rules if society, is in Hendrik Ibsen’s play, “A Doll’s House.” The play states, ““Nora: Oh yes, I promise I will. But come here so I can show you everything I bought. And so cheap!” (Ibsen 1705). She knows that he is stressed about money so she is trying to do the wifely thing and show him the cheap things she bought- how much money she has saved him. While Nora seemed to conform to the gender roles in the beginning of the play, as it goes on, it proves that Nora was actually one to try to deviate from society’s gender roles. An additional quote from Goonetilleke’s article says, “It has been said that the banging of the door as Nora leaves the house was the first action of women’s liberation” (Goonetilleke). Though Nora’s act may have seemed small at first, it actually represents the start of the women’s movement; it was the first step, with many more to come. Metzger also mentioned in his article that, “If Nora wants to define her worth, she can only do so by turning away from her children and husband” (Metzger). This quote proves that Nora is rebelling from the social standards and she knows that the only way to do that is to break away from her family and not seem like the perfect wife and mom. Once again from Ibsen’s play, he writes, “Nora: I have a huge desire to say- to hell and be damned” (Ibsen 1715). While it may not seem like a big deal that Nora says this, is symbolizes that she is coming to the realization that she wants to leave her husband and family. She wants to tell her husband off, which is far from what a traditional wife would do. And lastly, another quote from Ibsen’s play states, “Nora: But it still was wonderful fun, sitting and working like that, earning money. It was almost like being a man” (Ibsen 1712). In this quote, it seems as though Nora likes the idea of having a male’s role. She wants to be able to work like a man and earn money like a man, which again, is not what a typical woman would be thinking about. In one last quote from the article “The Marrying Kind,” author Hilton Als states that, “She wears her independence like some gray shawl and resembles those single women Elizabeth Hardwick once described as wandering about ‘in their dreadful freedom like old oxen left behind, totally unprovided for.’ (Hilton). In mentioning this, it proves that Nora is representing all of the single or independent women who do not rely on other people to provide for them, they provide for themselves.

Throughout his play, “A Doll’s House,” Hendrik Ibsen relates Nora’s relationship with her husband Torvald to one of the biggest social issues of the 19th century, which was gender roles and conformity. During and after Nora’s decision to leave her family, Ibsen also relates the play to rebellion and reinvention of tradition that led to the inspiration of not only women’s rights, but human rights in general. While Ibsen may have just been trying to help society in general by speaking up for human rights, the way he depicted Nora’s character and her life, was an important factor, if not the leading cause, of the start of the women’s movement.

Works Cited

1. Als, Hilton. ‘The Marrying Kind.’ The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2014, p. 70. Literature Resource Center, http://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A363465716/GLS?u=glen55457&sid=GLS&xid=279b075b. Accessed 22 Oct. 2019.
2. “Feminism Quotes (4182 Quotes).” Goodreads, Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/feminism.
3. Goonetilleke, D.C.R.A. ‘A Doll’s House: Overview.’ Reference Guide to World Literature, edited by Lesley Henderson, 2nd ed., St. James Press, 1995. Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420004208/GLS?u=glen55457&sid=GLS&xid=470910a4. Accessed 22 Oct. 2019.
4. Ibsen, Henrik. “A Doll’s House”. Dover Thrift Edition. New York: Dover Publicatins, 1992.
5. Mays, Kelly J. The Norton Introduction to Literature. Ed. Kelly J. Mays, W.W. Norton and Company, 2019.
6. Metzger, Sheri. ‘An overview of A Doll’s House.’ Drama for Students, Gale. Literature Resource Center, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1420002305/GLS?u=glen55457&sid=GLS&xid=e29f7aba. Accessed 22 Oct. 2019.
7. Moss, Joyce, and George Wilson. ‘A Doll’s House.’ Literature and Its Times: Profiles of 300 Notable Literary Works and the Historical Events that Influenced Them, vol. 2: Civil Wars to Frontier Societies (1800-1880s), Gale, 1997, pp. 111-117. Gale Ebooks, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2875100099/GVRL?u=glen55457&sid=GVRL&xid=f2e70354. Accessed 12 Nov. 2019.
8. Smith, Wendy. ‘The meaning behind the lines: how Ibsen’s toughness and Chekhov’s tenderness transformed American playwriting and acting.’ The American Scholar, Summer 2009, p. 96+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A202486440/GLS?u=glen55457&sid=GLS&xid=1074b20e. Accessed 22 Oct. 2019.

The play, A Doll’s House, by Henrik Isben, took place during the Victorian era. It was dedicated to the social standards of both men and women. The women are portrayed as inferior to men and will show the sacrifice of themselves. This essay is going to focus on the ways that women were perceived as well as the social movement of women’s equal rights and opportunities, both socially and economically.

All of the women characters in A Doll’s House play are put in difficult situations where they have to decide to sacrifice themselves for their husbands and children. Mrs. Linde and Nora are discussing the decisions that were put upon Nora concerning saving Torvalds life. Nora had taken matters into her own two hands to get a loan, Nora says “And besides, how painful and humiliating it would be for Torvald, with his manly independence, to know that he owed me anything! It would upset our mutual relations altogether; our beautiful happy home would no longer be what it is now” (Ibsen 12). Because Nora is a woman, borrowing money turned into an illegal action, which was a forgery. Nora had to make the difficult decision of sacrificing her innocence or her husband. She chose to take the selfless act, by sacrificing her innocence she was also sacrificing her reputation and her marriage. Because Nora is a woman, she has to keep the deed a secret among herself. She has brought difficulties upon herself, she now has payments to make and no job to earn the money. In fear that Nora will ruin her husband’s reputation, due to the women saving the man, it is viewed unconventionally. Another woman that makes a selfless decision is Anne-Marie.

After Nora believes that she is corrupting her children, Nora asks Anne-Marie what are some troubles of raising children and what it was like to foster her child. Anne-Marie replies “What, when I was going to get such a good place by it? A poor girl who has got into trouble should be glad to. Besides, that wicked man didn’t do a single thing for me” (Ibsen 30). This excerpt proposes that Anne-Marie was once in the position of being a single mother. She was not able to take care of her child, she had given it up for adoption in hopes to be able to support herself and give her child a better chance. Being a woman, Anne-Marie was unable to provide for herself and a child, she was unable to have an adequate job to take care of them both. She was stuck with a child because of restrictions, due to being a woman. Mrs. Linde also had made difficult choices. As Mrs. Linde and Nora are conversing, Nora says “Tell me, is it true that you did not love your husband? Why did you marry him?” (Ibsen 8) Mrs. Linde responds, “My mother was alive then and was bedridden and helpless and I had to provide for my own two younger brothers; so I did not think I was justified in refusing his offer” (Ibsen 8). Later on in the play, it is revealed that Mrs. Linde’s true love was Krogstad. Yet, the situation that she was in, she sacrificed her desires and married for money in regards to helping provide for her family. It shows a woman unable to work for herself, had to make a sacrifice of hers for others. Which is confiding her to the values of society.

Society for women is conforming to living in a man’s world. Nora decides to try and have a serious conversation with Torvald. She says, I mean that I was simply transferred from Papa’s hands into yours. You arranged everything according to your taste, and so I got the same taste as you-or else I pretended to. I am not quite sure which- I think sometimes the one and sometimes the other. When I look back on it, it seems to me as if I have been living here like a poor woman- just from hand to mouth. I have existed merely to perform tricks for you, Torvald. But you would have it so. You and Papa have committed a greater sin against me. It is your fault I have made nothing of my life” (Ibsen 66).

While Nora is consulting Torvald, she makes it understood that she and her husband’s relationship is just as she and her father were. She was obligated to conform to their values and beliefs, controlling her so she is unable to bring forth her own opinion and ideas. This is showing the expectations of society during this era. As well as, showing the oppression of female characters in this play. In this play, Torvald begins in sexual advances towards Nora. Nora refuses to accept it and Torvald says, “What’s that? You’re joking, my little Nora! You won’t- you want? Am I not your husband?” (Ibsen 58). That excerpt is saying that Torvald believes because Nora is his wife, so she is obligated to his sexual advances, which shows that Torvald treats Nora as an object. It makes it clear that a man’s wants and needs are above his wife’s. It is showing a female character to confinement to social norms. Torvald also shows that he is above his wife by using the pet names. Torvald says, “Nora! The same little featherhead…” (Ibsen 2) By calling Nora pet names, it is diminishing her self worth. The definition of a featherhead is a silly or foolish person. Not only does Torvald call Nora a featherhead but he also uses the pet names such as little squirrel, little skylark, miss sweet tooth, sweet little skylark, and poor little girl. He treats his wife as if she were below him.

Some choices of the female characters. At the end of the play, Nora makes a bold choice, which is to leave Torvald. In an argument, Nora says, “ Indeed, you were perfectly right. I am not fir for the task. There is another task I must undertake first. I must try and educate myself- you are not the man to help me in that. I must do that for myself. And that is why I am going to leave you now” (Ibsen 67). Ultimately, the decision Nora had made to leave was heartbreaking to Torvald, but it was the best decision or her. Up until this point Nora has been trapped, feeling that she is being played with as a doll in her marriage. By leaving the cage her husband has her in, allows her to discover herself and abandon society’s expectations. As for Mrs. Linde, when Mrs. Linde goes over to Krogstads to discuss the letter, the conversation is heading towards the topic of their relationship, Mrs. Linde is deciding that she would like to continue to pursue Krogstad, her long lost love. Mrs. Linde says,

I could not endure life without work. All my life, as long as I can remember, I have worked, and it has been my greatest and only pleasure. But now I am quite alone in the word- my life is so dreadfully empty and I feel so forsaken. There is not the least pleasure in working for one’s self. Nils, give me someone and something to work for (Ibsen 53).

Originally Mrs. Linde married a man that she was not in love with to be able to support her family. She soon became the main provider, which was not easy to obtain being a woman, not being able to get a well-paying job because of her gender. With the lifestyle that was put upon her, she was very unhappy. Once her husband died, she now has the freedom to make her own choices. She is beginning to shape her future. Although Mrs. Linde’s choice was not what Nora wanted, Mrs. Linde did what was in her best interest to make herself happy.

In A Doll’s House play, he brings attention to the relationship between men and women. It focuses on the change of society socially and economically, it allows the readers to understand the social transformation, allowing women to have more freedom. The play functions as such a clear understanding of social roles in the nineteenth century and how women can start taking more responsibility and have a choice other than being just a stay at home wife, and or mother.

Both characters in To Kill a Mockingbird and A Doll’s House are challenged with dilemmas that they eventually learn a valuable life lesson from. In Lee’s novel moral lessons are presented in a ‘seemingly effortless style’ with the character Atticus Finch ,a highly praised lawyer, showing both social and personal morality such as in the way he raises his children and how to tackle racial inequality in Maycomb. On the contrary, in a doll’s house a ‘self made’ morality play consists of the individual and society. Society’s morals are questioned by Ibsen when Nora forges her father’s signature and the reasoning behind the crime committed by a woman to save her husband becomes morally wrong for the individual too. The idea of individual morality is further exemplified in wrong doings with characters such as Krogstad in blackmailing Nora as well as Torvald being morally stunt with the patriarchal society.

Similarly personal morality in both texts stems from the idea of the individual making their own rational judgements and actions – which differs from what’s good and bad from arising circumstances. Lee presents personal morality through Atticus Finch believing to raise intuitive kids (Scout and Jem) who must form their own decisions. At the beginning of the novel, Scout’s teacher is very specific on education and it arises concerns for Scout as she has learnt a lot from home and there is a clear conflict between institutionalised education and education in the homes. This leads her to talk to his father Atticus who remarks “If you concede the necessity of going to school , we’ll go on reading every night”. Compromises are made by atticus as he understands the fault of the education system yet education is a must to pass through society in Maycomb. Therefore “necessity” emphasises education as being a privilege especially compared to the lower classes lacking education and not educating themselves in simple morals. As the novel goes on Scout herself comes into realisation that the outside world has a more valuable lesson to offer her than inside the classroom as her teacher explains oppression of a particular group of people could never happen in America and scout is “astonished” as later miss gates, outside the court ,at Tommy Robinson’s case exclaims “time somebody taught them a lesson , they thought they were getting way above themselves , next thing they think they can do is marry us”- the repetition of ‘they’ emphasizes on the poor treatment of people of colour and the use of prejudice language noticed by Scout further exemplifies Lee’s notion that lessons are learnt through experiences and sympathy yet the lack of it from Miss gates raises the fact she is in fact the danger in society and not those who are secluded from society. Similarly, in a doll’s house torvald helmers personal views mirror Miss Gates on discriminating against a certain group in society. Torvald lectures his wife on morality which is firmly gendered as he believes the wife is the most important figure in the family to generationally transmit morals. Helmer uses the metaphor of corrupt behaviour as “moral sickness” to explain that “everyone who has gone to the bad early in life, has had a deceitful mother”. Here torvald wrecks the character of Krogstad but this is ironic as nora has also been “deceitful”.For torvald it is important to maintain a good reputation in society surpassing the idea if its good or bad morals.

On the other hand, at the end of A Doll’s House Nora makes an epiphany realising the way she acts coincides from her husband Torvald Helmers commandments from forbidding her to eating macaroons as Ibsen uses the stage directions to show her “putting her hands over her mouth” which conveys her being submissive and reckless however later in the play the stage directions change to”coldly and quietly” which reveals Nora’s real nature. Torvald belittes her as if she were a child and gives her pet names such as “skylark” and “squirrel”. The animalistic and child-like imagery conveys the superiority Torvald has over Nora and she remains naive and oblivious .Nora finally realises her self worth by remarking to Torvald ‘I must stand on my own two feet , if im to get to know myself and the world outside , I can’t stay with you any longer’. She finally puts her individual self over her family with the repetition of “i” which is unprecedented in the nuclear family in the 19th century.Ibsen allows Nora to repeatedly mention this “miraculous” thing will occur and its her that is the miracle for society to change. Contrasting Nora from the beginning of the play to the end portrays two different people due to ibsens idea of modernism as Nora slowly emerges away from the traditional ‘ideal’ family values that is holding her back and becomes self reliant. She has always enjoyed making ‘money like a man’ with years of her secret doing labour to pay off debts. This simile portrays ideal gender divisions in the patriarchal society and her fierce determination as a strong woman to do well in life. From a social systems theory perspective morality of a patriarchal society can not survive under conditions of functional differentiation and that is why nora can not be controlled by torvald any more. The sense of realisation by coming to your own rational judgments have been displayed through the kids in To Kill a Mockingbird especially through the character of Scout who understands the innocence and good intentions of people such as Boo Radley at the end of the novel. Despite having an angry nature at the start of the novel Scout develops through her father’s values as well as forming her own.

Moreover, Lee advocates social morality through each characters purpose , decisions and actions contributing to the society ,the way society is organised also how society is gradually changing and how each character adapts to the changes. Law and justice plays a vital part in this novel; Lee in terms of structure purposefully has the trial taking place in the middle of the novel to signify how important the trial is for the fact “you’ll never really understand someone until you consider things from their point of view” remarked from Atticus to the younger characters. Atticus Finch teaches basic moral skills in and out of court , being a defence lawyer to the case of Tom Robinson he has faced many challenges. At the trial the all white jury puts their own prejudice over law. Tom Robinson’s guilty verdict enacts the flawed legal system and makes the reader question the idea of the “fair” in a “fair trial”. This in fact was inspired by the real life case of Scottsboro Boys where nine African males in Alabama were found guilty of raping two white women. As well as the Great Depression shadowing the life of people in the 1930’s, it sparked a mistreatment of African Americans who were considered as second class citizens. Ibsens well made play takes the audience on a journey with only knowing the secret of Nora’s forgery at first then unraveling further secrets. Through the introduction of characters and secrecy of letters (for example the use of flashbacks from Mrs Linde gives us an insight of the characters past and Nora taking the loan from Krogstad) leads to an increase in intense actions and suspense. The climax develops further tension through Krogstad and Nora delaying the opening of the letter. It is followed by a longer denouement which is not typically a feature of a well made play but it was shocking for ibsens audience that Nora had left her marriage. It is argued that the ending of the novel becomes a new beginning for Nora.

Furthermore social morality is portrayed through Scout where in the beginning she was unconcerned with law and let’s her father do his “lawyering”, whilst still getting discriminated in school with kids saying “my folks said your daddy was a disgrace” – Lee uses colloquialism of “folks” in the way the children talk , presenting the small rural knit community Maycomb is thus they all share similar morals. Through atticus’s teaching he explains “shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a Mockingbird” – at the end of the novel is when Scout becomes aware that Boo radley’s action against Bob Ewell would be like killing a mockingbird. Lee uses the metaphor of a mockingbird to indicate innocence and to kill one is a senseless act. Boo radley’s kind act of saving the children against Bob Ewell ,by killing him , shows him as selfless in the society of everyone caring for themselves and their own “folks” also Tom Robinson’s represents a mockingbird as he was innocently killed. The end of the novel is critiqued by Sam Jordison who explained that “Morality should be enshrined in the law and applied impartially to all through public mechanisms such as trials, not privately or subject to the whims of individuals”. This proves everyone has different biases and everyone’s idea of personal morality is different. We could questions Lee’s idea of why Boo Radley got away with murder as some believe an “eye for an eye” however Boo Radley’s character taught that you can’t make assumptions of others before you get to know them.

Moreover, in a doll’s house nora questions her social morality when she commits the criminal offence of forging her father’s signature yet to the reader we understand that “Nora puts love before legality” as said by critic Sophie Duncan thus putting others before herself and going against the law by saving her husband’s life, this really emphasizes female power but a somewhat stereotype of a nurturing mother figure. Ibsen focuses on the central idea of nora’s crime as similarly ibsen’s father went into debt and the story on Laura Kieler was a huge influence of the characters of Nora and Torvald as issues about money and protecting your loved ones resulted in someone losing their stability. An important symbol throughout the play is the christmas tree as it becomes symbolic of nora’s journey. The festive object sits in the house and pleases people just like nora does but the tree later is stripped down and the stage directions show it should look ‘bedraggled” leading to the mental break down of nora’s character Krogstad who is described as a “crippled and morally twisted” being encourages Nora to tell Torvald about her actions by black mailing her and insisting he “shall take” her with him if he gets thrown in the “gutter”. The lexical choice of damaged is used by Ibsen to describe Krogstad as an individual who has ruined his reputation as society has ridiculed him with the stigma of a criminal when revealing he has committed an “indiscretion”. It could be implied the absence of Christine Linde has made him go into the world of crime and the further misjudgement and close-minded of the community had left him no option but to further be involved in blackmailing. Krogstad asserts dominance due to society’s moral of being a male and through his villainous exterior but there is good in him as he repels Nora away from a bad reputation as he explains “there is no bigger nor worse crime than the one I once committed that ruined my whole social position” the superlatives used show how much u can be ridiculed by society and that your whole life can be ruined. He cares a lot about the idea reputation and warns Nora about her own reputation which becomes the push for Nora becoming selfish in a good way towards the end of the play. Taboo topics are perceived through letters such as Krogstad revealing the facts of Nora’s loan , they are a symbol of secrecy to hide the truths of criminal activities. Atticus Finch demonstrates an ability and openness to cut through social and cultural prejudices, unlike Nora and helmer who coincide with the rest of the world, and to judge solely on the individual from his own experiences, He most importantly teaches his kids about how there is prejudice all around in Alabama and how it should be tackled atticus remarks “most people are nice , scout, when you finally see them” the remark of “finally” portrays that it takes a while to know someone’s intentions this can contrast to the upbringing of Nora as she realises life with her father is the same as with torvald; her dad would force beliefs onto her and nora would abide by it.

To Kill a Mockingbird took place in the 1930’s where people were not open minded of others amongst the society which resulted in corruption and inequality. Atticus finch breaks these boundaries by allowing Calpurnia to live in his house as “coloured help”. Calpurnia is a significant character that portrays the minority of black characters living a double life. Lee exemplifies the balance of calpurnia keeping professional when working with the Finch family and a member of Maycomb’s African American minority by Calpurnia preaches her struggle to the kids “suppose you and scout talked coloured-folks talk at home, it’d be out of place”. The use of euphemism in “coloured folks” advocates how calpurnia has to adapt to talk in a white community to make the children understand and demonstrate her following the norm. Calpurnia ultimately serves the purpose of teaching what it means to be respectful and gives insight on the hardships Calpurnia faces such as standing up to people who believe she has shifted from the black community. Through the younger character’s curiosity about the injustice in society, Lee is allowed to critique the underlying injust of minorities. Similarly, in a doll’s house the maid has also made sacrifices like leaving her daughter to work with Nora. The maid is an example of a woman in late 18th century who is willing to make sacrifices in order to make a living. It can be argued that leaving your family behind and starting a new life can be argued if it is morally right or wrong. Nora believes “the children have always been [my] dolls” implying the relationship between them have been nothing but “fun and games”; nora’s character hasn’t been able to experience raising her children. She is further not “fit to educate” them as before she is a mother she must educate herself first being a mother and her children have a better life. Here some people may criticise Nora for being a bad mother and leaving her kids but the critic Farell argues that the women did more than take care just take care of the house; women functioned as moral and religious guides for their husbands. Therefore I believe that Nora leaving her whole life behind to start a new one is good so people like Nora in modern society especially can develop their own morals which aren’t constrained upon by their partner or even family.

Scout and Jem further see prejudice and judgmentalness through their Aunt Alexandra especially with Scout, alexandra thinks it is morally right for women to be more involved in “girly” activities and scout should “be a ray of sunshine” to Atticus. This cliche reflects ‘the patriarchal expectation of women always being happy and brighten up the lives of their husbands and fathers” however scout stands up to Alexandra as she believes Calpurnia should be dismissed as she is “unsuitable” and the children should be taught the importance of class structure. Lee through the younger characters informs what goes against class prejudice to be not only noticed but voice the wrongs of it. I believe that it was crucial for Lee to narrate through adult scout as it signifies what moral awakenings have been experienced as well as how it has been tackled with the society around her and personal viewpoints on situations.On the other hand Ibsen revolves his play around the constriction of men and women’s roles in a patriarchal and capitalist society. In my opinion ibsen effortlessly demonstrates the facade all the characters put on to get through society by morally stunting themselves. By Nora being a traditional “doll-wife” and in the beginning being playful and naive she is still unhappy also Torvald (who may be viewed as the villain of the play) is also morally stunned by being fixating on his reputation and status.