A Doll's House

4 Pages 987 Words

“People who questioned how Nora Helmer could fare in the world on her own were not aware that it is a common theme in folklore--that of the innocent creature journeying through the world to discover basic human values...Only an innocent, fearless creature has the power of vision to see through false values of sophisticated society”{Marianne Sturman). This quote lays the foundation for the circumstances that kept the character, Nora, innocent and quite naive to the ways of the world. But, innocence should not be mistaken as an inability to adapt and overcome, as Nora completely demonstrates her ability to do so in Henry Ibsen’s play, “A Doll’s House.”
Nora’s innocence allows her to see through the subterfuge and masks that polite society obtain in order to make their way in the world. However, in the time this play is set, Nora is kept, much like a doll, away from the necessity to struggle for a living. Lack of struggle does not make her unintelligent; in fact, she is just the opposite, having become a master manipulator. Of course, like most women of her time period, manipulation was the only way in which they could achieve their own goals. In this respect, women were reduced to the role of children. The men of the time, especially her husband Torvald, belittle their women and define them based on their potential as a companion, housekeeper, and the ability to produce offspring.
This attitude is quite evident in Torvald’s belittling attitude of Nora. In one of the very first scenes between the two, the reader realizes that Torvald is going to be a domineering and demeaning person to Nora. He downplays her suggestions with dull phrases such as “how like a woman”(Ibsen 1011) and “Spendthrifts are sweet, but they use up a frightful amount of money” (Ibsen 1012). These are the types of phrases one uses with a child, which serves to reduce Nora to the status of a child. Torvald seems to take an ownership manne...