FREE ESSAY ON DOLL'S HOUSE BY HENRIK IBSEN

DOLL'S HOUSE BY HENRIK IBSEN

In a Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen reveals how society and authority hinders the development
of individuality. By examining how Nora's father treated her, the way Nora's husband
talked to her, a woman's social expectations, and the social status of women, Ibsen sets
forth the image of a stiffed woman, trapped in an unhappy marriage. Nora's father treated
her as if she was just a little play doll. He belittled her and treated Nora like a baby.
Referencing to her father, Nora illustrates this by saying, " . . . He called me his
little doll, and he played with me just the way I played with my dolls. Then I came to
live in your house . . . I was passed from Papa's hands to yours,"(Act III 1120). The way
Torvald, Nora's husband, talked to her showed how he degraded and belittled Nora. He
talked to Nora as if she was inferior to him. He implied that he was a better person due
to his social status. In Act III of A Doll's House, Torvald shows his vulgar and
subservient manner towards Nora by saying, "Oh, you think and talk like a stupid
child,"(Act III 1123). A woman's social expectations were to stay at home, and conceive
the offspring. It was thought that women had to depend on men for everything. What ever
the woman wanted to do, had to be approved by the male spouse. "Oh, I wish I'd inherited
more of Papa's qualities," exemplifies Nora's urge to become more powerful (Act I 1074).
At that time, women's status in society was a step below those of men. Women could not
vote, open their own bank account, or have a management position. In some extreme cases
of the women's low status, they were told to marry the man whom their parents told them
to marry. Torvald depicts how men were thought to be higher than women are by claiming, "
. . . but no man can be expected to sacrifice his honor, even for the person he
loves,"(Act III 1123). The way women were treated, their social expectations, and their
social status hinder the development of individuality. Over the years, women have been
belittled, scrutinized, defaced, and scorned for trying to get suffrage. The society of
that day, was a block on the woman's will to succeed in raising their social status. In
addition, women having control, or authority, over men was not only not heard of, but
also unbelievable.