Henrik Isbens A Dolls House :: A Dolls House Essays

Main Theme     I decided to write about wiz of the themes of A Dolls Houses. I thought the main themewas a classic case of womens suffrage. How Nora parted from society. Breaking away from thesocial standards of their time and acting the way they want is takeed by several of thecharacters. No one character demonstrates this better than Nora.     The time period in which the play takes place, women were not to be assertingthemselves. Women were supposed to support their husbands, take care of their children, andmade for sure everything was perfect around the house. Work, politics, and determinations were left tothe men. Noras first break from society was when she decided to borrow money to pay for herhusbands treatment. By doing this, she not only broke the legality but she stepped away from the rolewomen play in her society. She was suppose to be helpless and completely dependent uponTorvald.         &n bspNoras second break from society was shown by her decision to leave Torvald and herchildren. She was suppose to be under her husband. This is shown in the way Torvald spokedown to her. He would say things like, "worries that you couldnt possibly help me with," and,"Nora, Nora, just like a woman." She is almost considered to be property of his. By walking outon her family, she takes a position equal to her husband and brakes the rules of society. Noraalso brakes societys expectations of staying in a marriage since divorce was unheard of duringthat era. Her decision was a separation from all expectations put on a woman and a wife bysociety.     Nora knew the consequences her decisions. They were very deliberate and thought out.She knew what society expected of her and continued to do what she felt is right. I think Ibsenwas sympathetic to Nora. Her examples of defying the stereo type of women were used Ibsen toshow faults of society. In the first example, Ibsen shows that even though Nora did the rightthing, it was deemed wrong and not allowed by society because she was a woman. Ibsen iscritical of societys expectations of a marriage. He does this by screening how Nora is forced to bea wife, than be herself and this eventually deteriorates the marriage. Throughout the play Nora islooked down upon and treated as a possession by her husband.