A doll's house essays

Summery of play:

Summary: Summarizes the Henrik Ibsen play, A Doll's House. Focuses on how the Norwegian playwright depicts the character of Nora. Discusses Nora's transformation in the play.

Throughout the play A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen portrays Nora, the main character, as a young, confused woman, who is in the transition from dependency to independent. There are three main factors that are very important in this play. First the letter that Nora's husband received from Krogstad; which would reveal all her secrets, second would be husband reaction to the letter. The third main point was that Nora's husband Torvald treats her as if she were his child. These events and emotions influence Nora's decisions immensely. Mrs. Linden was a close companion of Nora's she could sway her in a certain directions. In the end of the play her gains overtake the losses.
For starters the letter that Krogstad delivered to Torvald would change Nora's married life forever. Concealed within the letter was every secret she had been keeping from Torvald. When Torvald was sick Nora desperately needed money to take care of him, and Krogstad distinctly remembers saying to her, "When your husband was ill, you came to me to borrow twelve hundred dollars." Which was true indeed, Nora promised to find the money, but once again Krogstad remembers her saying, "I promise to fin you the money under certain conditions . . . . . . . in exchange for a note of hand which I drew up." Nora then was caught forging her fathers signature because she said, " My father died on 29th of September." But she had signed the document October 2nd. With the delivery of the letter, Nora had to come clean with her past actions. Mrs. Linden her dear friend encouraged her and eventually convinced her it was the right thing to do. The guilt was eating away at Nora everyday, and upon the arrival of the letter, she was forced to tell everything. This was a huge turning point in Nora's life.

The reaction that Torvald had to the letter was another main factor that alters the play. Torvald initial reaction was way over exaggerated. He was so furious he said, " Wretched women! What have you done"" With his immediate anger he bursts out, " I say all your fathers dishonesty you have inherited... and you reward me like this." Torvald takes his anger out not only on Nora, but on her deceased father as well. Not to shortly after he calms down and realizes, " You loved me as a wife should love her husband...Nora- I swear I have forgiven you." As soon as Nora feels the forgiveness is genuine she realizes that his isn't what she wants anymore. This was the turning point of her dependency on him and finding her independency with herself.

One of the main points that made Nora realize that she wasn't happy anymore was the way that Torvald always treated her as his possession and his child. A lot of the time in the story he would always be joking and playing around with her, never would the sit ad have a serious conversation. "During eight whole years and more-ever since the day we first met- we have never exchanged one serious word about serious things." Torvald would always refer to Nora as, "My sacred little song-bird" as if she were his pet. She had never held a job before or been on her own and now she feels she is ready for that change." I must try to gain experience, Torvald." Was Nora's response to him not believing she could survive on her own. Torvald desperately trying to get her to say exclaimed, " You talk like a child. You don't understand the society in which you live." No matter how hard he tried Nora had made her decision she was leaving him. Without further discussion Nora had left her home, family, and belongings and was on a new path to independence. Even as she was leaving Torvald said, " I must help you if you need it." Her response was, " No, I say. I take nothing from strangers." This statement said that she had finally made the transition of being independent and making her own decisions. Even though by the last few lines of the play she left Torvald saying, Nora, Nora. Empty, she's gone. Ah! The miracles of miracles"" They both accepted it for what it was. The end result was that the losses where painful for some but her gains where the better. The gains outweighed the losses. Throughout the whole play Nora developed into a stronger, more confident, independent women