A Doll House Sacrifice

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Love is the greatest issue, mystery, confusion, ecstasy, and salvation known to man. It may be thought of as an universal language which is spoken by all sentient beings. And yet, how many of us truly know love? The traditional ideology of love it is frequently associated with sacrifices and resisting compromises. Many people believe that sacrificing their own happiness for the joy of the one you love is by far the truest type of love. Nevertheless, limitless sacrifices and compromises in a romantic relationship are usually the trigger of disastrous relationships. Both Ibsen's play, A Doll House, and the film ''The Reader'' demonstrate that if a relationship need unconditional sacrifices and compromises to maintain, it appears to exist solidly …show more content…
The greatest sacrifice that Nora made for Torvald is taking out a loan to cure his deadly illness; however, out of her naivety, Nora forges a signature to cover up the fact that she borrows money without the authority of her husband and father. In the end, Torvald would not sacrifice himself for Nora's lackadaisical approach on account of the sacrifices that Nora has made for him. The one who quantifies his love for Nora by saying "Do you know, Nora, I have often wished that you might be threatened by some great danger, so that I might risk my life's blood, and everything, for your sake." (Act Three) is not the one who would rescue her from danger. Sacrifices in romantic relationships raises questions of power when there is one person who is willing to sacrifice and the other one do not reciprocate. Similarly, in the movie of The Reader, Hanna Schmitz and Michael Berg are also engrossed in a toxic relationship that there is only Michael expresses his willingness to make sacrifices. As a 14-year-old boy who has an affair with Hanna, a 35 years old woman, Michael is very dependent on her. He is devoted to read for the illiterate Hanna in order to gain sexual fulfillment and her infatuation. Hanna's primary acquisition from the relationship is the futile hope of tending to the wound she feels of …show more content…
In the beginning of the movie, Michael often suffers under emotional breakdown that is caused by Hanna's sudden brutality to him. For instance, one time Michael decides to surprise Hanna with breakfast in bed. Out of his ignorant of Hanna's illiteracy, he drops her a piece of paper with a message that he will be back soon. When he comes back, Hanna is exasperated with him and alleges that she did not find the note. She thinks Michael had left her and then she hits him with her belt until his lips became bloody. The imbalance of power in their relationship acts as a barrier to intimacy. Hanna can be seen as a babysitter to Michael and she treats him without emotional depth and a sense of connection. The superiority of Hanna over Michael debilitates her sensitivity to him and precludes their emotional connectivity. Yet this connection is what Michael has always craved, and need. Similarly, in the relationship between Nora and Torvald, Torvald is the one who wields excess power. His exercise of power is really an illusion, but it is an enormously destructive illusion which engenders Nora's resentment towards him. In the end of A Doll House, the power imbalance leads to Nora's unexpected exit that leaves Torvald in head-scratching surprise. It demonstrates that in order to sustain a healthy
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