Alexis Guerrero Ms.

Heather Wright ENG 113-970IN 15 November 2013 An Argument on the Ending of A Dolls Housea Feminist Play A Dolls House is a play that generates many questions concerning its content as well as being a feminist work. Although Nora does leave her husband and family, her last words to her husband indicate that there is a slight possibility that, if circumstances drastically change, they will reunite. In addition, it is a uncertain whether or not Nora will be successful with her life because her husband has always been in charge of the finances. Nonetheless, information derived from the play gives an impression that Noras determination to live a free life will be the inspiration needed for her to keep going until she is successful with her life. Consequently, this play, which is a good example of the relationship of husbands and wives during the 1800s, has a pending conclusion. It is not certain that Nora leaves for good. At the end of the play, she says that the most wonderful thing would have to happen, which would be that she and Torvalds relationship could be a real marriage (Ibsen 1332). This indicates that Nora has thought that maybe one day she might get back with Torvald if they both were changed to where they would have a true husband/wife relationship. However, when Torvald asks her if he can write her or have any contact with her, she refuses (Ibsen 1331). On the other hand, Torvald does not want Nora to leave; he tries to make things right between them (Ibsen 1326), and even when she walks out the door, he sinks in his chair in disappointment until he remembers that she had said the most wonderful thing of all would be for their relationship to be a real marriage (Ibsen 1332).

More than likely, Nora will be successful after she leaves her family. With information derived from the play, Nora seems to be a person that will accomplish a task when she has the mindset to do so. For example, Nora knows that she is obligated to pay back the debt on the loan she illegally got from Krogstad in order to save her husbands life. However, Torvald does not know anything about this debt. Therefore, Nora had a secret side-job in which she makes money to pay back her secret debt. In addition, when Nora would ask Torvald for money to buy whatever she needed, she would keep some of that money and use it to pay back the debt. Nora is determined to pay back the debt, and she does whatever she has to in order to do soeven to the point of lying to get the money she needs (Ibsen 1284). Noras determination to pay back the debt and find out who she really is proves that she is a determined individual. After Noras husband becomes aware of the document on which Nora forged her fathers signature to pay back the debt, he becomes enraged and slights her (Ibsen 1325-6). Because of this, many statements that Torvald says cause Nora to make the decision that she is going to leave her family because she is not good enough for them. She then begins to believe that she has never known who she really is because all her life she has been treated like a doll. In other words, Torvald and Noras father have always treated her as if she were their toy; and she loved it to be that way (Ibsen 1328). Thus, Nora does not even know who she really is, and as a result, she is going to leave and discover her true self (Ibsen 1329). Nora states, There is another task I must undertake first I must stand quite alone, if I am to understand myself and everything about me (Ibsen 1328-1329). This proves that Nora is convinced that she must leave her husband, children, and home to explore her own personality and life. In addition, in Torvalds moment of rage, he tells Nora that she is not fit to raise the children. This statement sinks into Nora, and as a result, she makes up her mind that her children

will be better off without her (Ibsen 1328.) In fact, Torvald makes a statement that indicates that if their children were raised in an environment with lies as in this situation, then the children could turn out to be criminals themselves (Ibsen 1325). After hearing these words, Nora decides that she is an unfit mother to raise her children because all her life she has been treated like a child herself (Ibsen 1328). One of the main reasons Nora is leaving is because of the hurtful words that Torvald said to her. She states, then I saw you were not the man I had thought you (Ibsen 1330). Nora has always thought that her husband is very kind and would do anything to protect her, and she believes that he will take the blame for the crime she committed when she forged her fathers signature. However, when Torvald confronts Nora for what she did, she sees the true nature of her husband (Ibsen 1330). Noras feelings are in conjunction with the dominance that her husband has over her although he treats her kindly. He is in charge of the finances as well as how things go in the household though she is sort of an entertainment for him. However, this leaves her with a feeling of not knowing who she really is because she does whatever he wants her to do as long as she is in agreement with it. This work is feminist because it describes how the women were always under the dominance of their husbands, and how they were in subjection to them. Nora states that she is going to leave and will be free to be her own self (Ibsen 1329). A Dolls House is a reflection of the time era in which husbands dominated their wives. The husbands were in charge of the household, and the wives were to submit to their authority. One of the main characters of the playNoraleaves home because she is tired of the phony lifestyle she lives since her husband always treats her like a child and a doll instead of a wife. Nora is also very hurt by the words that her husband says when he is in his first moment of

consternation (Ibsen 1326). As a result, the couples relationship is severed, and the question remains if they will ever reunite.

Work Cited Ibsen, Henrik. A Dolls House. An Introduction to Literature. Ed. Barnet Sylvan, William Burto, and William E. Cain. 16th ed. Glenview: Pearson, 2011. 1280-1332. Print.