Nora Helmer Character Analysis in A Doll's House Essay Example

In the play “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, Nora, a housewife a part of the middle class, deals with the complexities of her marriage and past actions that come to haunt her seemingly normal life. While dealing with the complications of paying off a loan that she illegally forged a signature on, she learns that she is not as happy as she thinks she is with her husband Torvald, who consistently treats her like a child. In Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House”, Nora transitions from merely a doll her husband plays with, to an independent woman, breaking societal norms as a result of her husband’s oppression and torment. 

Ibsen introduces the original qualities that Nora possesses in the play to later reveal Nora’s significant behavioral change compared to her former self. At the beginning of the play, Nora is affectionate and loyal to Torvald as she says “I should not think of going against your wishes”(7), Nora is willing to obey Torvald as she not only loves him but she is also financially dependent on him. In addition, Nora’s unconditional love towards Torvald is evident when Nora illegally forges a signature to a loan to help supply funds to the family when Torvald was sick, “You don’t know all. I forged a name”(Page 52). Nora is willing to commit a crime for her husband due to her love and loyalty towards him, however, her epiphany later in the play due to Torvald’s controlling nature will cause a shift in her doll-like presence in the household and create a void in their relationship. 

To faintly reveal Nora’s initial change and inconsistencies in the play, Ibson highlights Nora’s slight revolting actions to show Nora’s growth and understanding of her situation. When Dr. Rank says “What, macaroon? I thought they were forbidden”(20), it uncovers that Nora is still eating sweets even though Torvald has banned them from the household. Rejecting Torvald’s dictator-like requests, Nora’s rebellious nature is put on display even if it is through small, unimportant actions. Even if it’s through something as small as eating a macaroon, this buildup of small defiant acts foreshadows Nora’s awakening due to Torvald overly controlling her. Slowly but surely, Nora is becoming less loyal and submissive to Torvald.

As the play progresses to the climax, Torvald’s word choice and angry tone emotionally hurt Nora and makes it clear that Torvald’s oppression has gotten to her, leading to an illuminating discovery. When Torvald opens Krogstad’s letter about Nora’s illegal forgery, he does not meet Nora’s hopes of doing the “wonderful thing” (53) she had hoped for Torvald to do. Nora was hopeful of Torvald to protect her and pay off the loan when he opened the letter, but Nora was met with harsh words of him saying “You have ruined all my future. It is horrible to think of” (71). Further in the argument, Nora reveals the epiphany of her marriage in which Torvald had “Only thought it pleasant to be in love” (74) With this new understanding and awareness of her shallow relationship, it leads to her wanting to separate from her family in order to find her true self. From starting out as a pet and having the presence of a doll that is controlled throughout her entire life with her Dad and Torvald, Nora transforms into an independent woman instead of pretending to be someone she’s not which is symbolized by Nora removing her expensive dress. Nora recognizes that she doesn’t have her own opinions and personality due to being overly controlled by the men in her life which guides her want of learning the true role of women in society when she leaves and discontinuing her once profound loyalty to Torvald.

Going against societies standards of women of the 1800s, Ibsen’s controversial ending of Nora leaving the household signifies how women realizing their oppression should lead to some sort of change in their life, in this case, it was Nora leaving her family to discover her true identity as she was just holding up an act for the majority of her life to please others. Although some could say that Nora hasn’t changed in this play due to her risk-taking mentality being present throughout the entire story. This very risk-taker trait that Nora possessed led to her taking the loan out of the bank, disobeying Torvald’s dictator-like requests, and ultimately leading to her leaving the household, transforming her into an independent person as opposed to her former role of being an obedient housewife. Ibsen communicating this message of how change must occur in the event of women recognizing their oppression greatly helped to combat traditional gender norms and Nora’s development throughout the play reflects this belief.

Works Cited

Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. Pennsylvania State University, 2001.