Langland-Hayes 1

Kelsey Langland-Hayes

Dr. White

ENGL 330, Studies in World Literature

20 November 2018

Seeking “Success” through Romantic Ideations

What makes one marriage more “successful” than another marriage? Emma Bovary and

Nora Helmer are two female characters who hold certain ideals for their marriages. Emma

Bovary, from Madame Bovary, is a selfish, materialistic, and stubborn woman in nature. Shortly

after Emma gets married, Gustave Flaubert writes that “it seemed quite inconceivable that this

calm life of [Emma’s] could really be the happiness of which she used to dream” (37). On the

other hand, Nora Helmer, from A Doll’s House, seems self-sacrificing and ignorant of her marital

problems. Despite Emma Bovary and Nora Helmer’s romantic ideations, Nora has what she

considers a successful marriage for eight years, whilst Emma’s marriage fantasy only lasts for a

few weeks.

Regardless of both of these women’s romantic fantasies, Nora stays married significantly

longer than Emma. Emma’s obsession with romantic novels and the fictional world prevents her

marriage from lasting as long as Nora’s marriage. According to Jeannie Judge, “reading saves

some young women from sacrificing their selves for the sake of social acceptance,” which can

result in “dire consequences for girls who crave adventure” (175). Emma craves the adventures

and fantasies that her romantic novels encourage. Whilst in the convent, “Emma dabbled in the

remains of old lending libraries” where she “had an enthusiastic veneration for illustrious or

ill-fated women” (Flaubert 35). Because of Emma’s immersion into these romantic novels, she
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quickly becomes bored in her marriage. Influencing Emma Bovary to “escape from a restrictive

society” (544), Lara Cox argues that critics Czyba, Heath, and Johnsen “have problematised

Emma Bovary’s love of romantic literature” (540). Emma’s love for romantic novels motivates

her to depart from reality and to create her own ideals of marriage. Emma’s misplaced ideals

reveal why Nora maintains her marriage for a substantial amount of time compared to Emma.

Nora Helmer’s “successful” marriage lasts for a considerable length of time as opposed to

Emma’s brief marriage. Placing Nora Helmer’s husband, Torvald, at the foundation of her ideal

world allows her to have a more stable marriage than Emma Bovary. After Torvald receives a

promotion at the bank, for example, Nora brags to Mrs. Linde of his success. Whilst discussing

the “better” future that will come with this promotion, Nora includes Torvald in that future.

Specifically, Nora announces, “‘For the future we can live quite differently - we can do just as

we like’” (Ibsen 7). Fantasizing the life that Nora wants, she makes an effort to incorporate

Torvald into her dreams; this makes him a higher priority in her life. In order for a marriage to

work long-term, DeMaris et al. “stress the seriousness of marriage” and “the intention of the

couple that their union be lifelong” (990). Essentially, the couple must realize the importance of

keeping their marriage covenant for as long as they both shall live. Nora Helmer puts her effort

into keeping this promise between her and her husband. Additionally, Maureen R. Waller and

Sara S. McLanahan point out that “shared expectations are the strongest predictor of marriage

and separation” (53). Since Nora Helmer’s dreams and romantic ideations for marriage focus on

her husband, her marriage has the ability to last.

Contrary to Nora Helmer’s marriage, Emma Bovary fails early on in her marriage. Due to

Emma Bovary’s selfish, materialistic, and obstinate nature, she lacks the character traits
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necessary to help her romantic ideations “succeed” like Nora Helmer’s romantic ideations.

Emma Bovary holds the firm belief that money can provide her the happiness she desires. For

instance, Gustave Flaubert writes that “it seemed that certain places on earth must produce

happiness, like the plants that thrive in a certain soil and are stunted everywhere else” (38).

Contemplating on her inability to have a wealthier husband and lifestyle, Emma Bovary longs

for a “better” life. To Emma, love and happiness can come to her through wealth. These false

views of love and happiness influence Emma Bovary to spend extravagantly, causing her to build

an enormous amount of debt over time. Barbara Vinken, emphasizes, “The ‘lifestyle’ that Emma

holds to be necessary for love leads to her complete financial ruin” (759). Emma continues to

spiral downward until her demise of financial debt and ultimately death. Not only is Emma

Bovary selfish regarding money and the material world, but she is also selfish in her

relationships. After meeting the handsome, wealthy, and suave Rodolphe Boulanger de la

Huchette, Emma believes he can fulfill her romantic desires. However, Robert Boyers expresses

that it “is a pleasure at once profound and pathetic, deeply felt but at the same time the product of

fantasies” and “the disappointing limits of Emma's consciousness” (123). Emma Bovary’s love

for Rodolphe centers around herself and her desires for financial abundance. Emma “loves”

Rodolphe out of selfish ambitions; therefore, she does not truly love him. Moreover, Emma’s

stubbornness and dogmatism taint her view of marriage. Suzanne Leonard argues that Emma is

“headstrong and abjectly deluded” (649). Emma Bovary’s strong-willed and corrupted nature

encourages her to obsessively pursue a love built on wealth and fantasies. Because of Emma

Bovary’s self-serving, greedy, and inflexible character, her romantic ideations already fail within

a few weeks as opposed to Nora Helmer’s eight years.

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While Emma Bovary’s materialistic, strong-willed, and self-seeking nature prevents her

from having a possibly successful marriage, Nora Helmer’s self-sacrificing nature and disregard

of her marital problems “saves” her marriage. Nora Helmer aspires to meet societal expectations

by protecting her husband’s reputation and his view of himself. Zafer Safak perceives Nora

Helmer as a “self-sacrificing and loyal woman who ministers the requirements of her home,

husband and children” (128). Essentially, Nora Helmer fulfills her housewifery duties. Even

though Nora conducts her uxorial responsibilities, her “ignorance” and self-sacrificial demeanor

“are nothing but appearance, a fake one accepted under the disguise that women are forced to

embrace” (Safak 129). To protect the reputation of Nora Helmer’s marriage, she must embrace

society’s standards and put on a facade. Throughout the play, for example, Torvald consistently

refers to Nora as different types of animals. In the first act, Torvald Helmer asks, “‘Is it my little

squirrel bustling about?’” (Ibsen 2). Oftentimes, Torvald dehumanizes Nora and calls her by the

names of animals. Abiding by society’s expectations, Nora Helmer plays along with Torvald’s

names and responds to them eagerly. Additionally, Nora seeks to protect Torvald from his view

of himself regarding her loan situation. When Torvald falls ill, Nora borrows money to help her

husband. Attempting to protect her husband, Nora exclaims, “‘how painful and humiliating it

would be for Torvald, with his manly independence, to know that he owed me anything!’” (12).

Nora goes against societal expectations by borrowing money without Torvald’s consent. During

this time, society holds the expectation for women to live subservient to their husbands and allow

them to take the lead when making marital decisions. However, Nora borrows the money

anyway to protect Torvald’s reputation; ergo, she must also protect his view of himself as the

“man of the house.” Despite Nora’s desire to abide by societal expectations, she is “torn between
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the traditional values and the urging necessity of the metamorphic transformation” (Sahin and

Huq). As a result, Nora Helmer must fight the urge to contradict traditional values and must

appear selfless and ignorant. Nora Helmer’s false ignorance and selflessness help her marriage to

last significantly longer than Emma Bovary’s marriage.

Emma Bovary’s lack of a male figure causes her romantic ideations to fall apart shortly

after her marriage begins. At the age of thirteen, Emma’s father sends her to a convent school.

Constantly surrounded by females, Emma Bovary does not have to live with men. Instead,

Emma Bovary “enjoyed the company of the good sisters” (Flaubert 33). Emma falls in love with

the beauty of religious life. For example, Flaubert writes, “When she went to confession, she

made up little sins so as to stay there longer” (33). Emma loves participating in religious

endeavors and grows a fascination with the aesthetic of religion. Furthermore, an old maid in the

convent shares stories with the girls, filling their heads with romantic ideals. Shortly after

Charles and Emma’s marriage, Emma “at first enjoyed managing the servants, then began to

loathe the countryside and to long for her convent” (Flaubert 37). Initially, Emma finds pleasure

in playing housewife; however, reality soon sets in, and Emma longs to return to her life

surrounded by women. Since the women at the convent essentially raise Emma Bovary and fill

her head with marriage ideals, Emma is quickly disappointed in her marriage. Emma Bovary’s

upbringing with women results in a fleeting marriage compared to Nora Helmer’s longer-lasting

marriage.

Growing up with a father who treats Nora like a doll, Nora Helmer’s upbringing with

males helps her marriage to “work” for a greater length of time than Emma Bovary’s marriage.

Nora’s upbringing consists of following her father’s orders whether she agrees with him or not.
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Even though Nora loves and admires her father, he is the reason that she knows how a wife

should supposedly act. Referencing Nora’s time with her father, she declares, “‘When I was at

home with Papa he told me his opinion about everything, and so I had the same opinions; and if I

differed from him I concealed the fact, because he would not have liked it’” (Ibsen 66). As a

young girl, Nora’s father teaches her to have the same opinions as the man she follows.

Similarly, Nora and Torvald Helmer’s marital relationship compare to Nora and her father’s

relationship. Nora points out, “‘I have been your doll wife, just as at home I was Papa’s doll

child; and here the children have been my dolls’” (Ibsen 67). Nora’s relationship with her father

prepares her to live subservient to Torvald. As a result, Nora Helmer’s romantic ideals last

numerous years more than Emma Bovary’s romantic ideals.

In spite of Emma Bovary and Nora Helmer’s romantic ideals for marriage, Nora has what

she believes is a successful marital relationship with her husband for eight years, whereas

Emma’s romantic vision only lasts for a few weeks. Emma Bovary puts romance novels at the

foundation of her romantic ideals, and Nora Helmer places her husband at the foundation of her

romantic ideals. Nora’s focus on Torvald allows her marriage to “succeed” for more time than

Emma’s marriage. Emma’s selfish and wealth-focused nature prevents her from having a

prosperous marriage. Nora’s selflessness and false ignorance of her marital problems, however,

gives her marital “success” for eight years. Additionally, growing up without a male figure

influences Emma Bovary to have a lower tolerance for men. For Nora Helmer, her father

prepares her for her life as a “doll” and a housewife. Due to their variation in upbringings,

character traits, and foundations for their romantic ideations, Nora Helmer’s marriage outlasts
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Emma Bovary’s marriage. Contrary to Emma Bovary’s marital failures, Nora Helmer’s

differences make her marriage more “successful” than Emma Bovary’s marriage.
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