Emilia Simu

WT3
2013-12-01

Outline WT3
Prescribed question:
How and why is a social group represented in a particular way?

Title of the text for analysis:

Henrik Ibsen: A Dolls House

Part of the course to which the task refers:

Part 3 Literature: Texts and Contexts

My critical response will:

Examine how women are represented in A dolls House by looking at Nora Helmer, Christine
Linde and the nurse.
Explore the role of women in the 19th century and the inequality that existed between men and
women, husbands and wives.
Conclude that women in the 19th century were expected to conform to the societal norms of
being a wife and a mother. However, Nora challenges the norms to find her own identity.
Emilia Simu
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In the 19th century society inequality between men and women was the norm, common in division of
labour, responsibility and in conversations. Gender roles were much more clearly defined then than they
are now and expectations of conforming to norms and doing what was expected within these roles were
clear and inflexible. Men were superior and women lacked many of the rights that men privileged from.
This is clearly shown in Henrik Ibsens play A dolls house where the men in the play are in a superior
position because of political and socio-economic reasons (Yuehua). It was expected of men in the 19th
century Europe to provide for and care for their family whilst women were expected to be a good wife
and mother.

Ibsen used Nora, a bourgeoisie woman, as the main character and protagonist of the play to attract an
audience. In the first act, Nora is presented as vulnerable, helpless and childish. Like a doll, she was
handed over by her father to her husband Torvald. It is expected of Nora to love Torvald as her husband,
but their relationship is comparable to a father-daughter relationship; she has in a way become, both
wife and child to him (Ibsen 65). The indication of Nora as Torvalds child is that she has to beg Torvald
for money and the macaroons that she secretly consumes and hides from Torvald, like a child hides
candy from their parents, also symbolise her infantilism (Fisher). Additionally they symbolize a woman
not expected to grow up (Fisher). Furthermore, Nora likes to dress her kids like a little girl does with her
dolls. This together with Nora being treated like a doll is linked to the title of the play, A dolls house.
Nora is living in her house with her family, but is given no responsibility whatsoever.

It was not socially accepted for women in the 19th century to speak freely since women were expected to
keep in the background. In A dolls house Torvald talks the majority of the time whilst Nora answers with
short, obedient sentences. Torvald talks to Nora in a condescending way and never consults her about
important matters. He uses nicknames such as my frightened little singing bird and my little scared,
helpless darling which indicates that Torvald sees her as scared and in need of someone to care for her.
This womanly helplessness (Ibsen, A doll's house 64) is an indication of Torvalds expectations of her
being helpless because she is a woman. Nora cannot decide for herself how to act, feel and think, since
Torvald does this for her which he also says to her: I will advise and direct you (Ibsen 64). An example
of this is the dance scene where Torvald is the one deciding how Nora should dance. He corrects her
when she makes mistakes and instructs her to dance as he prefers.

Inequality in their marriage and relationship is visualized by the language used. When Torvald says I will
serve as will and conscience both to you he indicates that Nora has no free will and is incapable of
decision-making. Nora is submissive to Torvald who misuses his power to control her, acting like she is
only a beautiful toy who belongs to him. Nora provokes this by two actions. Firstly she takes a loan,
which she is not legally permitted to since she is married. Secondly she leaves her family to go away and
learn to be herself (Rustin) and because she no longer wants to live the life of a doll (vreb),
contrary to the 19th century societal norm. This is when she realizes that she has only known what the
men in her life, her father and Torvald, have told her. Both her actions break laws, unwritten and
written laws of the society (Langs). There is something so indescribably sweet and satisfying, to a
man, in the knowledge that he has forgiven his wife Torvald said to Nora after forgiving her. By saying
this Torvald states that he has the power to decide if and when to forgive her, leaving Nora powerless.
After forgiving Nora, Torvald says that she is Doubly his own which indicates that Nora is all the more
in his power. The way he looks at Nora and the way he uses my indicates that she is not equal to him,
she is his property.

Whilst Nora represents the bourgeoisie, Christine Linde in some way represents independent, strong
women who have to work hard to make a living. She has had a difficult life after her husband died and
Emilia Simu
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has had to work hard to support her younger brothers and sick mother. Contrary to Nora, Mrs Linde is
portrayed as a mature, independent woman who is able to care for and make decisions for herself; she is
the opposite of Nora. A third important woman in the play, the nurse Anne represents the lower-class
women and shows that sometimes women have to make a choice between unsatisfactory alternatives
but is still able to live with her decision. Anne had to give up her only child for adoption to be Noras
nurse but she has accepted the role which society has given her. Through the nurse, Ibsen shows that life
is not all about happiness, but neither is it all despair. Although these three women are quite different,
they all have had to sacrifice themselves in order to be accepted, or to survive.

To conclude, Ibsen presents his thesis by the actions and dialogues of the characters in the play. In the
19th century society women could not be their own person, instead they had to conform to the societal
norms and be a wife and a mother. Nora is presented as the stereotypical woman but challenges this by
her struggles to find her own identity, which exposes actions that are contrary to gender norms. All three
women in the play had to sacrifice themselves in order to conform to these norms and to be accepted.
Emilia Simu
WT3
2013-12-01
Cited works
Fisher, Mark. A Doll's House review. 22 April 2013. 11 November 2013.
<http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/apr/22/a-dolls-house-royal-lyceum-review>.

Ibsen, Henrik. A doll's house. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1992.

. A doll's house. n.d.

Langs, Unni. Ibsen's Nora Revisited. NIKK magasin 2005: 1-36.

Rustin, Susanna. Why A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen is more relevant than ever. 10 August 2013. 28 11
2013.

Yuehua, Guo. Gender Struggle over Ideological Power in Ibsens. Canada: Canadian Social Science, 2009.

. Gender Struggle over Ideological Power in Ibsens. Canada: Canadian Social Science, 2009.

vreb, Turid. First and foremost a human being. NIKK magasin 2005: 1-36.