A Doll's House

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I was surprised by the final outcome of the play. Ibsen’s play made me attain an understanding of the subservient role a woman is a part of during the 18th and 19th centuries, and their low standing in comparison to their husband or male relative is prominently revealed to the general audience. He also brilliantly describes the different gender role expectations in society at the time. Particularly, Torvald refers to Nora as a “squirrel,” a “featherbrain,” and a “scatterbrain,” which describes the mistreatment of his own wife as an object, but not as a person. Nora, on the other hand, also initially seems to accept this mediocre treatment by Torvald, and calls herself those names as a way to please him. However, as the play progresses, Nora …show more content…
During the time period, women were not allowed to speak for themselves and were expected to perform meager tasks: taking care of children and perform simple household tasks. In Norway and other European countries, women were not given reasonable opportunities to pursue their own self-interests or independence in a male-dominant patriarchy. Any attempts to breach these expectations were criticized by society, describing the reason as to why this story does not resolve realistically, based on Nora’s time period and situation. As well, “A Doll’s House” takes place within a one week period, which realistically is not long enough for Nora to decide whether to leave her family or whether to try to mend the damaged relationship in the family. However, I do believe that that the story resolves appropriately, because of the sudden revelation that Nora has discovered about her surroundings. Nora reveals that she hopes that the “greatest miracle” would happen that Torvald would take the shame of her actions and that they could transform into completely different individuals that would allow them to get into a real marriage. As Mrs. Linde had suggested, she could not believe the concealment and secrecy within the Helmer family, which further justifies Nora’s decision to leave. Having lived with Torvald for the past eight years, Nora must have hidden some form of resentment that would otherwise be unacceptable to express regarding the control exerted by her husband and the lack of opportunity in
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