Nora and Torvald Character Analysis in A Doll's Hous Essay Example

In the play, A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen uses characters such as Nora, a typical housewife that acts in the best interest of others, and Torvald, a typical prideful and reputable man that views women as objects to benefit his appearance to explore the ideas in the 19th century regarding individualism within marriages. Ibsen portrays Nora merely as a “doll” under the reign of Torvald to reveal her lack of individuality and dependant nature. Throughout the play, Nora is faced with the hardship of navigating a constrictive landscape controlled by Torvald which directly reflects the societal expectations surrounding relationships. As the play continues, Nora profoundly realizes the destructive nature of her relationship and how it has only led to an absence of her true self and her lack of knowledge about the world. Through the development of Nora throughout the play, Ibsen implicitly expresses his frustration that societal norms regarding gender hamper individualism and promote inequality between men and women. 

In act 1, Nora arrives at her home with a plethora of presents. Due to her new economic situation, “we really can let ourselves go a little”( ). Torvald immediately scorns her and calls her foolish. His enraged reaction is the first time he establishes an authoritative presence in the play. Following his reaction, Torvald says “Not been nibbling sweets”( ), Nora responds “I should not think of going against your wishes”( ) which immediately sets the stage for Nora’s desires to become obsolete if they contradict with Torvald’s. Even if Nora desires to have macaroons, Torvald wishes against it because it will only hamper her look. His motivation for making sure Nora is not eating macaroons shows that Nora is a presentable figure that is only there to make him more reputable. This belief stems from Torvald thinking of Nora as less of a human than him, which gives him the authority to talk down upon her. In addition, Torvald also utilizes nicknames for her such as “my little squirrel”( ) which subtly alludes to the fact that he believes she is not a human and more of a literal animal that he can treat like a toy. These names are manipulating because they are demoralizing Nora and making her think he has more authority over her. This metaphorical meaning is crucial to Torvald’s actions later in the play and aligns with the belief that 19th-century ideals promoted unequal gender roles which eliminate the ability for females to exercise their endeavors. 

At the beginning of Act 2, Nora is still oblivious to the manipulating and controlling ways of Torvald. Nora says “Torvald is so absurdly fond of me that he wants me absolutely to himself, At first he used to seem almost jealous if I mentioned any of the dear folk at home, so naturally I gave up doing so”( ) which gives the reader an insight of how controlling Torvald is. Contrary to Nora’s perception of love, which is heavily misconstrued, Torvald only loves the idea of having Nora around and only desires her to discuss their relationship and not other relationships she has. This is a conception held by Torvald that if Nora is not talking about him, then she is not focused solely on him. He wants her all to himself just so he can play with her. The oblivion of Nora to not think of Torvald’s acts as controlling shows how she values love and that she believes everything Torvald does is for the love he has for her, but in reality, he loves the idea of having her around his home. This idea of Nora as Torvald’s doll is a very twisted relationship but represents the 19th-century beliefs of how normal relationships are supposed to function. As of now, Nora is still ignorant of Torvald’s evil nature and his motives to utterly control her, but Ibsen continues to reference Torvald’s obsession with her to foreshadow Nora's understanding that she needs to become independent.

In the last part of the play, Nora is at ease voicing her opinion about the lack of love she has for Torvald. This is a significant part of the play because it is the first time Nora expresses an opinion that is unpleasant to Torvald. This signifies the beginning of Nora’s journey of independence and courage to make something of her life. Nora says “You and papa have committed a great sin against me. It is your fault that I have made nothing of my life”( ), it’s at this point in the play where Torvald and Nora’s relationship has finally come to an end. Upon Nora realizing that she is merely a placeholder or a decorative piece to benefit Torvald’s reputation, she expresses her resentment towards him. She compares Torvald’s empirical nature to that of her father, who also viewed her as a doll. Ibsen intentionally creates a very climactic scene through a suspenseful buildup to that there is an immense amount of toxicity within most marriages in the 19th century. He uses this scene to highlight the real perspective most men have of women when Nora says “In all these eight years—longer than that—from the very beginning of our acquaintance, we have never exchanged a word on any serious subject” to prove that men view women as incapable of having such conversations. He communicates this message to the reader by thoroughly expressing her concern that standards among genders set by society make individualistic goals unattainable for women because they are only an acquaintance of the husband. Ibsen depicts his view of societal standards through a fictional narrative by displaying that there is no individualism in a relationship if one of the parties is constantly making the decisions and influencing their spouse’s opinions. This transformation and development of Nora as a character reveals her maturity to conceptualize the lack of identity she has taken on. It metaphorically displays the facade she embraced when around Torvald and how she embodied a different personality. This development adds to the interpretation of A Doll’s House as a whole by providing the reader with a perspective of the injustices that persisted in the 19th century. This development gives Ibsen a platform to express his frustration with marriage inequality enforced by societal expectations and how this negatively affects individualism within a relationship.