A Dolls House essays

A Doll's House essays Henrik Ibsens, A Doll House, is a realistic play written in the mindset of realism. Throughout the play, lines of mockery and emphasis are present, giving the audience the feeling of fakeness and showing them a particular depiction of women in the 19th century. It is apparent that Ibsen set out to give a specific character, Nora, a role to play as the stereotypical 19th century woman, continually showing her need for individuality and lack of dependency. This is the main theme in A Doll House. From the first lines of the show, it is clear how Ibsen wants the audience to portray the role of women and continues to use this theme throughout the remainder of the show. As the show progresses, we see a parallel progression in the character of Nora. She has been babied her entire life, not only by her father but now by her husband, Torvald, whom only treats her as a pet, not as a wife. Her main struggle through the play is to find her independency and freedom as an individual. This is difficult for her, however, for she has never had to strain to get anything. Shes always had things handed to her and has always lived an over-comfortable lifestyle. Even through her dialogue, its easy to sense that all of her happiness is fake because she feels like a trapped animal, just living life as its given to her, instead of her taking the initiative to do things for herself. As a result of this upbringing, Nora is materialistic and impulsive. Over the duration of the play, however, the development of Noras character shows the audience that her ways are only a cover for the emptiness she feels each day. In the play, we find out that she secretly negoti ates a loan with Nils Krogstad, in order to pay for a trip to Italy for her husbands illness and recovery. Everyone thinks that Noras father funded the trip, but the audience finds, to their surprise, that it was she who actually paid for it. This...