Henry Lor
Professor Myrtetus
English 103
December 9, 2013
Equality
Often times when one goes through society and assimilates to that society’s customs, it is difficult to judge whether the most common actions like communication are correct because it has been engraved so deep into us which makes it hard to judge ourselves. A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen is about a married couple discovering that their lives are filled with hidden secrets and desires. The play takes place in a society heavily influenced by patriarchal idealisms during Christmas time. Throughout the play, Nora tries to maintain her current lifestyle with her husband Torvald, but she realizes it is futile because Torvald finds out about her big secret which leads to the collapse …show more content…
For instance, near the end of Act 3, Nora speaks her mind for the first time and tells Helmer that “You arranged everything according to your own taste, and so I had all the same tastes as you. Or else I pretended to,”(Doll Act III). This show that a patriarchy influences women to not be able to think for themselves which is the same as not living their own life. Due to the fact that Henrik Ibsen sets the play in a patriarchal society, Nora is not able to think for herself not because she does not have the ability, but because she is forced to. The audience learns this at the end because when Nora drops the act, she realizes that she is not able to live her normal life anymore and is forced to the point where she has to commit suicide to become of any use to her family. To clarify, Nora has been following the head of the family all her life. She had been passed down like a doll from her father to Helmer. So, with no chance of ever having any independence, she never attained any skills other than to please the man of the family. Nora does not have children to take care of because the nanny take cares of them. Therefore, if the man is removed from her life, she is simply left with nothing, and is viewed as …show more content…
This is displayed through Torvald and Nora in A Doll’s House. For example, Torvald cares deeply for his family. He works hard at his job, and recently been promoted. The fruits of his hard work will be shared to his family; however, underneath this hard work, Torvald is constantly trying to maintain his image to his colleagues because according to Lois Wyse “while women are encouraged to reject the ludicrous ideas that are held about them, men are supposed to embrace them.” Torvald does not have the right to change what is sexist and what is not because in a patriarchy society men who does this are looked down upon by other men. This is displayed in Act 1 when Nora tries to persuade Torvald into doing something. During their exchange, Nora successfully made Torvald rethink his decision, but the thought of people looking down on him frightens his actions which leads him to go against his
Professor Myrtetus
English 103
December 9, 2013
Equality
Often times when one goes through society and assimilates to that society’s customs, it is difficult to judge whether the most common actions like communication are correct because it has been engraved so deep into us which makes it hard to judge ourselves. A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen is about a married couple discovering that their lives are filled with hidden secrets and desires. The play takes place in a society heavily influenced by patriarchal idealisms during Christmas time. Throughout the play, Nora tries to maintain her current lifestyle with her husband Torvald, but she realizes it is futile because Torvald finds out about her big secret which leads to the collapse …show more content…
For instance, near the end of Act 3, Nora speaks her mind for the first time and tells Helmer that “You arranged everything according to your own taste, and so I had all the same tastes as you. Or else I pretended to,”(Doll Act III). This show that a patriarchy influences women to not be able to think for themselves which is the same as not living their own life. Due to the fact that Henrik Ibsen sets the play in a patriarchal society, Nora is not able to think for herself not because she does not have the ability, but because she is forced to. The audience learns this at the end because when Nora drops the act, she realizes that she is not able to live her normal life anymore and is forced to the point where she has to commit suicide to become of any use to her family. To clarify, Nora has been following the head of the family all her life. She had been passed down like a doll from her father to Helmer. So, with no chance of ever having any independence, she never attained any skills other than to please the man of the family. Nora does not have children to take care of because the nanny take cares of them. Therefore, if the man is removed from her life, she is simply left with nothing, and is viewed as …show more content…
This is displayed through Torvald and Nora in A Doll’s House. For example, Torvald cares deeply for his family. He works hard at his job, and recently been promoted. The fruits of his hard work will be shared to his family; however, underneath this hard work, Torvald is constantly trying to maintain his image to his colleagues because according to Lois Wyse “while women are encouraged to reject the ludicrous ideas that are held about them, men are supposed to embrace them.” Torvald does not have the right to change what is sexist and what is not because in a patriarchy society men who does this are looked down upon by other men. This is displayed in Act 1 when Nora tries to persuade Torvald into doing something. During their exchange, Nora successfully made Torvald rethink his decision, but the thought of people looking down on him frightens his actions which leads him to go against his