A DOLL’S HOUSE
The author of this play “ADoll’s House,” Isben, trying to describe a clear picture of the role held by the women of all economic classes in the society. Generally, the female character in the play is represented by Nora clearly shown in chapter three where there is an indication that men are difficult to sacrifice their integrity. The play also tries to explain the importance of parental duties and responsibilities, especially to their children. For instance, a character by the name Dr Rank in the play is believed to have a disease which is as a result of his fathers’ immorality, and he also passed the same disease to his son there causing them to undergo sufferings because of his fathers’ misdeeds.
The play also gives a brief explanation of the obligation of children to take care of their parents in society. In simple terms, the writer describes that role and responsibilities in families are like reciprocal. Another clear idea in the play is the issue of unreliable appearance. Different characters are shown to have different characteristics in the course of the A dolls play. In this play, many aspects were involved. However, some are principal performers, and others are antagonists. (Bradford, Wade.2009)
Nora appears first as the main character in the play. She is also the wife of Helmer. In the genesis of the story, the writer describes Nora’s role as being playful like somebody who does not have any worldly experience. But in the course of the play, she is however seen to gain intelligence which helps her to be free from being oppressed. Torvald Helmer who happened to be the husband to Nora is a character in the same play ”A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, is a husband whose ”doll’s house” is torn apart at the end of the show. The character is far beyond from ideal — but upon seeing a production of Henrik Ibsen’s. A Doll’s House, spectators are left with an essential question: Should we feel sorry for Torvald Helmer? At the play’s end his wife, Nora Helmer, abandons him, leaving behind her three young children. She claims that she does not love him. She can no longer be his wife. He begs her to stay, yet Nora denies him, walking off in the middle of the winter night, slamming the door behind her. (Ibsen, H. 2014).As curtains close upon a pathetic, defeated husband, some viewers find that Torvald has received his comeuppance. Torvald’s demeaning personality and his hypocritical deeds justify Nora’s harsh decision to leave.
Torvald Helmer possesses many obvious character flaw. He is a former attorney, is a man who strives hard to maintain the reputation of a respectable businessman. He has an excellent job reputation, stylish house, a loving wife, and three pretty children.
Him from the very first sight, Helmer seems to be an ideal man who cares the most about his family. Moreover, later in the story, it becomes evident that the one thing he bothers about is his reputation and image in society. Torvald is a self-confident person and endlessly is giving others lessons on how they should act. Helmer pretends to be smarter than those who are around him.
Torvald looks himself as the emotional and intellectual superior of the household. To him, Nora is a “child-wife,” a person to watch over, to instruct, nurture and discipline. He never recognised her as not an equal partner in the relationship and Ibsen uses his play in challenging this status quo.
He is a hypocrite; Perhaps his most dislikeable quality is his blatant hypocrisy. Many times throughout the play, Torvald criticises the morality of characters. He also trashes the reputation of Krogstad, one of his lesser workers. He speculates that Krogstad’s corruption probably began at home. Torvald believes that when the mother of a household is not honest, then surely the children will be morally infected. Torvald Helmer complains about Nora’s late father. At a point when Torvald learns that Nora has committed forgery, he blames her crime on her father’s weak morals. The condition, for all his self-righteousness, Torvald Helmer is a hypocrite. At the start beginning of chapter three of the play, after dancing and having a lovely time at a holiday party, Helmer tells his wife Nora how much indeed he cares for her. Torvald finds the letter showing how Nora created scandals. This makes him not to trust her, and he even shouted words at her saying that Nora her wife will not be allowed to bring up their children.
Hypocrisy may also be explained in his desire to fire Krogstad. It becomes evident that all his actions throughout the play are dictated by his desire to have a flawless reputation.
Even more, Torvald has never seen the real feelings and concerns of his wife. When everything is alright, he seems to be a loving husband who is tender to his wife. However, when something puts his reputation at risk, he immediately shows his real face and, forgetting about the feelings of others, he starts to care only for himself. Despite his many flaws, at the end of the play, some readers and audience members still feel tremendous sympathy for Torvald. When the game first was performed in Germany and America, the ending changed. However, the author does not spare poor Torvald from his lowliness.
Helmer is also disappointed when her wife suggested that they should talk to each other as partners. But she refused feeling like her husband helmer is a stranger. This situation places Torvald in despair; he asks for the last hope that could make them be united as wife and husband again. He continuously talks down to his wife Nora by calling her the following names.
“My little skylark.”
“My little squirrel.”
Examining the complexity of Nora, To Torvald’s credit, Nora is a willing participant in their dysfunctional relationship. She understands that her husband sees her as an innocent, child-like persona, and she struggles to maintain the façade. Nora uses the pet names whenever she tries to persuade her husband: “If a little squirrel were to ask every so nicely?
Nora also carefully hides her activities from her husband. She puts away her sewing needles and unfinished dress because she knows that her husband does not wish to see a woman toiling away. He prefers to see only the final, beautiful product. Also, Nora keeps secrets from her husband. She goes behind his back to obtain her ill-gotten loan. Torvald is too stubborn ever to borrow money, even at the cost of his own life. Essentially, Nora saves Torvald by lending the money so that they can travel to Italy until her husband’s health improves.
Throughout the play, he is oblivious to his wife’s craftiness and her compassion. When he discovers the truth, in the end, he is outraged when indeed he should humble himself.
He is assured that he is much more intelligent than his wife and as a result, he believes that he should decide for herself. Therefore, Torvald endlessly points Nora on what she should do and leads her like a doll. (Rahman, R., & Gul, H.2014).
Finally, he was arrogant in that it is his behaviour and his egoism that lead to the crash of the “Dollhouse” and the tragedy the entire family experience at the end of the play when Nora told him that ”Both you and I would have to change to the point where…oh, Torvald, I don’t believe in miracles anymore and so Goodbye!”.
References
Bradford, Wade. “”A Doll’s House” Character Study: Torvald Helmer.” ThoughtCo, Jan. 14, 2019, thoughtco.com/dolls-house-character-study-torvald-helmer-2713016.
Hanssen, E. F. (2015). A Doll’s House and the Performance of Gender in American Silent Cinema. Screening the Past.
Ibsen, H. (2014). Ibsen Plays: 2: A Doll’s House; An Enemy of the People; Hedda Gabler. A&C Black.
Rahman, R., & Gul, H. (2014). Conversation Analysis: Speech Acts in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. The Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 22(1), 67.