Analyzing Nora's Dilemmas from Male Perspectives

A Doll’s House was written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in December 4, 1879 which
is a three-act play. Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is a very controversial work because of the concept of
women and feminism, the way that women were seen, and the context of motherhood and
marriage. Nora is the main protagonist in this act. She is viewed as the reflection of modern
women who struggle for independence.
In A Doll's House, Nora is an impression of thousands of women in the real world. Women are
focused on domestic work and caring for the children, and don't have as many vital roles as men
have. Nora’s husband Torvald Helmer who doesn't consider her to be an equal and talks to her
and treats her like a doll. In this play, Nora socially is being private and domestically. She is
charming and beautiful.
Nora is forced to live a life organized and structured by male-dominated society. She thinks she
is assigned to be followed in order to be marked as an ideal daughter, mother, and wife. But
Ibsen talks against this social view and he says, “Woman is not a puppet, they are not a doll to
be played”. Seigfried Mandel says:
“Nora’s inner life can be reconstructed through the temper and tone of this impending
Christmas eve. Christmas is a children’s festival, and Nora is a child. Her childishness creates
her charm, her danger, and her destiny. As the sole daughter of a widower who in his carefree
ways spoiled her instead of bringing her up slowly, Nora grew older only in age. The
transformation from her carefree days as girl ton marriage meant no more to her than a change
from a small doll’s house to a larger one.”
Nora feels that she has no identity and independence, and realizes that women motive to be
allowed to find their own particular identities. Before she can be a wife, she wants to find herself
and her identity through adventure out into the world. She wants to leave an unformed soul,
determined to become a complete individual instead of the doll of the male figure in her life.
Nora is a woman who can possibly be free and strong when Torvald arrogantly says:
“Helmer: I would gladly work night and day for you. Nora- bear sorrow and want for your sake.
But no man would sacrifice his honor for the one he loves.”
Here, she realizes that she has had many instructions and that she is worthy of a larger award
than what she has given.

She also says to Torvald:

“I mean that I was simply transferred from papa's hands into yours. You arranged everything
according to your own taste, and so I got the same tastes as your else I pretended to, I am really
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 had 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 great sin against me. It is your fault that I have made nothing of my life.”
She realizes that Torvald is disagreeing to sacrifice anything for her sack similarly that she is
agreeing to sacrifice everything for him. She realizes that Torvald does not truly love her because
of his lack of sacrifice. Her father and Torvald have made her feel that she is living a life of
imprisonment because they give her little care and respect. He doesn’t try to understand her
opinions and thoughts because she has never expressed them to him but she receives his own
thoughts and opinions. In reality, he never tries truly knew or loved her, he only enjoys her
beauty, her sexuality, and her company. Nora has calmly come to her acknowledge and making
her claims.

In conclusion, I want to say that, Ibsen tries to explain that true marriage is a joining of equals,
love, care, and understand each other thoughts and opinions. But here, Nora is neglected because
she doesn’t get much attention, love, care from her father and husband. She feels that she lives in
prison because her father and husband make her life dependent. She shows her struggles and
gaining independence in her life.