A Dolls House, Drama Analysis, Realism and Naturalism Essay

Nora Helmer frolics about in the first act, be agrees urgently in the second, and gains a stark sense of reality during the finale of Henrik Ibsens A birdies House. Ibsen was one of a few pioneers of the new theatrical movement of realism, and accordingly he is often called the preceptor of modern drama. The character of Nora lives in a dream world, a peasantlike fantasy, where everything is perfect, and everything makes sense, but as the diarrhoea develops, Nora transforms and finds the strength to leave her home and her children in order to find out who she is and what she wants out of life. Nora leaves the role of the razz child and doll wife and becomes an fissiparous self-thinking full-grown. She realizes that the world is different than she always thought it was, and that she herself is also different. The extend opens a door onto the social problems that many face but never speak of. Since Ibsens time, women have made great strides in gaining the choice to determine th eir role in relation to the family and society.A Dolls House uses the character of Nora Helmer to show the transformation that takes place from dependent house wife to independent adult. The theme of A Dolls House, a womans right to individual self-fulfillment, was considered passing subversive in an age when women were not allowed to conduct business without the authority of a father or husband. Wives and daughters were considered to be property, thus lending to women acting childish and naive. The character of Nora exhibits many of these juvenile and immature qualities. The listening first sees her when she returns from a seemingly extravagant Christmas shopping excursion. She eats a few desserts which she has secretly purchased. When her wicked husband, Torvald Helmer, asks if she has been sneaking macaroons, she denies it whole-heartedly. The Narrator tells us, She takes a bag of macaroons out of her pocket and eats one or 2 then she walks stealthily across and listens at he r husbands door (Ibsen 1681).With this minor act of deception, the auditory sense learns that Nora is quite capable of lying. She is most child-like when she interacts with her husband. She behaves playfully yet obediently in his presence, always coaxing favors from him or else of communicating as partakes. Torvald gently reprimands Nora throughout the play, and Nora good-naturedly responds to his criticism showing how immature and dependent she is. However, Nora has been lead-in a double life. She has not been thought slightly spending their money. Rather she has been scrimping and saving to pay off a secret debt. Years ago, when her husband became ill, Nora forged her fathers signature to receive a loan to save Torvalds life. The fact that she never t obsolescent Torvald about this arrangement reveals several aspects of her character. For one, the audience no chronic sees Nora as the sheltered, care-free wife of a banker. She knows what it means to struggle and take risks. I n addition, the act of concealing the foul loan signifies Noras independent streak as stated in the line, Daddy never gave us a penny. I was the one who raised the money (Ibsen 1688).She is proud of the sacrifice she has made. Although she says nothing to Torvald, she brags about her actions with her old friend Mrs. Linde. Basically, she believes that her husband would undergo just as many hardships, if not more, for her sake. However, her perception of her husbands devotion is quite misplaced. Nora is evolving and is showing an independent side to her personality. When the disgruntled Krogstad threatens to reveal the truth about her forgery, Nora realizes that she has potentially brought scandal upon her husbands good name. She begins to question her own morality, something she has never done before. Did she do something ill-use? Was it not the right thing to do, under the circumstances? Will the courts convict her? Is she an improper wife? Is she a terrible mother? Nora contemp latelys suicide as a means to eliminate the dishonor she has wrought upon her family. She seems to bear all grasp of reality as she declares, Never, never. Oh, that black icy water. Oh, that bottomless If notwithstanding it were all all over Hes got it now. Now hes reading it (Ibsen 1727).Yet, it remains debatable as to whether or not she would truly follow through and jump in the icy river. During the climactic scene in Act III, Nora seems to stall before running out into the night to end her life. Nora is frantic and changing into an adult by confronting the inevitable future that faces her. She realizes that it is always darkest before the dawn. Noras epiphany occurs when the truth is finally revealed. As Torvald unleashes his crime towards Nora and her crime of forgery, the protagonist realizes that her husband is a very different person than she once believed. Torvald declairs, Im done for, a miserable failure, and its all the fault of a feather-brained woman (Ibsen 1727). Torvald has no aim of taking the blame for Noras crime. She thought for certain that he would selflessly give up everything for her. When he fails to do this, she accepts the fact that their marriage has been an illusion. Their false devotion has been merely play acting.She has been his child-wife and his doll. The monologue in which she sedately confronts Torvald serves as one of Ibsens finest moments. Some argue that Nora leaves her home purely because she is selfish. She does not want to release Torvald. She would rather start another life than try to fix her existing one. Or perhaps she feels that Torvald was right, that she is a child who knows nothing of the world. Since she knows so little about herself or society, she feels that she is an inadequate mother and wife. She leaves the children because she feels it is for their benefit, painful as it may be to her. Nora Helmers last words are hopeful, yet her final action is less optimistic. She leaves Torvald explaining that t here is a slight chance they could become man and wife once again, but only if a miracle of miracles occurred.This gives Torvald a brief ray of hope. However, Nora exits through the hall door, symbolizing the finality of their relationship. Nora has reached her final pause point and has evolved from childlike to mature and decisive. A Dolls House, with its multi-level characters, opens a door onto real problems veneering the most common of marriages. Although, Ibsens views differed from those held by many modern feminists, he firmly believed that women were inherently meet to being mothers and wives. However, he also felt that a husband and wife should live as equal partners, free to become their own human beings. The play shines a spotlight on problems that few women were instinctive to talk about. The so called perfect life of Nora Helmer in A Dolls House highlights the changes from child to adult in a very short time and proves the point that it is never too late to change.Wo rk CitedIbsen, Henrik. A Dolls House. Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Ed. Kennedy, X.J. and Dana Gioia. 10th ed., New York Pearson Longman. 2007. 1679-1734. sucker