FREE ESSAY ON DOLL HOUSE

DOLL HOUSE

English:?Analysis?of?Drama
IN?THE?NAME?OF?THE?FATHER:
AN?ANALYSIS?OF?NORA, THE MEN IN HER LIFE,
AND?HER?NAVIGATATION?TO INDEPENDENCE
The?play,?A?Doll?House,?written?by?Henrik?Ibsen?in?1879,?is?considered?a?
landmark?in?drama?for?its?portrayal?of?realistic?people,?places,?and?situations.?Ibsen?
confines?his?story?to?the?middle?class.?He?writes?of?a?society?that?is limited?not
only?by?its?means?of?livelihood?but?also?its?outlook.?Ibsen?portrays?his characters ?
as?preoccupied?with?work?and?money, showing a reduction of values?in?and that lack of
quality persons with morals.?Ibsen?takes?this?realistic?story?and?invests?it?with?
universal?significance.?Wrapped?up?in?the?technique?of?this?well?constructed ?play,
Ibsen?is masterful?in?his?presentation?of?not?only?realism,?but he?holds?a?mirror?up?
to the?society?of his day by?using?the male?figures?as?catalysts?for?Nora's?ultimate?
knowledge?of?self-actualization.?He?accomplishes?this?with?such?precision 
that?the?audience?might?not?be?aware?all?the?subtleties?that?are?creating?their
theatrical?experience.??
In?A Doll House,?Nora?forges?the?name?of?her?father?and?risks?damaging?her?
husband's?good?name.??Henrik?Ibsen?offers?remarkable?insight?into?the?nineteenth?
century?preoccupation?with?the?family?and?the?role?of?the?father, and what role is
projected upon those who are subjugated to him.?This?play?takes?up?the?subject?of?
strong?women?and?weak?men within the plot. A?prominent?theme?within?this?drama?
is?the?deterioration?of?the?male,?who is aware?of?his?role?as?a?father?figure. This
decomposition is observed by the female protagonist (Nora). It is this descent that the
role of the father figure is shaped, while creating the?catalyst?for the catharsis 
or?change?in?Nora.?
?When?the?female?protagonist?challenges?patriarchal?authority,?she?does?so?
by?undermining?in?one?form?or?another?both?the?dominant?male?and?his?family?name.
The?following?analysis?focuses?on?Nora's?ultimate?realization?that?she?must?be?an?
emancipated?person?to?be?her?true?self.?Her?navigation?through?the?elements?of?
crises?are?focused?through?the?father-figures?in?her?life.?The?journey?towards?her?
self-actualization?and?rising?freedom?can be found?within?her?relationships?with?
the?men?in?her?life.?This?ultimately?identifies?the?relevant?thematic?elements?
that?are?pivotal?for?Nora's?character?development?from a vapid child posing as what ever
will get her through the day into a inquisitive woman. Nora develops her potential as a
true mature person with the experience and knowledge that she has a longer journey ahead
of her.
A Doll House?makes extensive use?of?the?father's?name,?and?the?
father figure.?Ibsen?subtly?unravels?the?family?as?a?male?dominated?society?almost?
fatally?preoccupied?with?its?own?masculine?image while trapping those who would believe
in the myth.?A Doll House?utilizes?the?father?as?a?complex?metaphor?
for?a?larger?social?problem?which?constrains?both?men?and?women.?Nora's?persona?
and?her?developing?maturity?are?completely?controlled?and?motivated?by,?
her?father's?name,?Torvald,?and?Dr.?Rank:?the father-figures?in?her?life.?
? ?The?opening?scenes?of?A Doll House?focus?on?Torvald?and?Nora?Helmer?
preparing?for?Christmas?with?the?children.?The?family's?economic?problems?establish
Nora's pending conflict,?along?with?Torvald's?position?of?authority. This?comes?
both from his economic dominance and?from?his?(and?Nora's)?belief?in?his?
superiority.?He?rules?Nora?and?his?children?like?a?parody?of?a?God.?He?creates?and
subjugates?through?the?animal?names,?lark,?and?squirrel, when he addresses Nora. For
example:
Is that my little lark twittering out there? / Is that my squirrel rummaging around? /
...the little lark's wings mustn't droop. 
(I.154-55)
By addressing Nora in such a derogatory manner Torvald is lessening her humanity. Nora,
in turn, as part of her daily persona mirrors his impression of her by self fulfilling
prophecy. She acts like the animal he has assigned her. She speaks quickly and perky like
a lark or is running around hiding things like a squirrel preparing for winter. 
Through?the?visit?of?friend?Mrs.?Linde,?we?discover?that?Nora?had?to?save?a?
very?sick?Torvald?by?borrowing?money?and?by?working?two?exclusively?masculine?
activities?usually?forbidden?to?women.?Assumption?of?these tasks?automatically?
undermine?Torvald's?authority.?The?plot?unfolds?into two?parallel?stories,?
both?of?them?hinging?on?strong?or?masculine?women?and?weak, "feminine,?
men.?(Paradoxically,?the?only?potentially?strong?male?is?Dr.?Rank,?family?friend?
and?secret?admirer?of?Nora,?who?is?dying.)
? The?flaw?within?this?patriarchal?framework?becomes?apparent?when?Nora?
discovers that?she?has?no?legitimate?name?of?her?own.?She?can?use?neither?
her?married?name?nor?her?maiden?name?to?borrow?money. She finds that she
cannot?appropriate?her?father's?name.?In?other?words,?as?a?married?woman?she?
has?neither?authority?nor?identity.?While Torvald's?authority?rests?on?his?assumption?
of?his?natural?and?presumably?divinely?bestowed?superiority.?Once?Nora?realizes?the?shallowness?of?Torvald's?position,?she?rejects?him?as?patriarch?and?herself?as?the?narrowly?defined?wife.?
When?she?leaves,?Nora?understands?that she?has?lived?her?life as only an 
unquestioning follower, or as a doll in a doll house. Never being able to choose or
express a hope, desire, thought, or wishes, without consideration of the dominant
authority in her life. That?authority is,?first,?the?father?who?has?literally?
died,?and,?second,?the?husband?who?has?proved?to?be?so?weak?that?he?has?died?
for?her?as?an?authority?figure.?Nora,?in?other?words,?finds?herself?embodying?a
?series?of?dead?or?weak?men.?When?she?closes?the?door?behind?her,?she?leaves?a?house?filled?with?dying?or
dead?patriarchal?figures.?A?house?in?which?the?father?as?
an?image?of?strength?and of?salvation?has?already?died. But it is only through 
the experiences with these men that Nora's comes to question her life. 
?Within?Nora's?interactions?with?the?men?in?her?life,?the?signature?of?dead?
father?comes?at the?beginning?of?the play.?In?this?sense,?Ibsen's?writing?becomes?
even?more?impressive?as?Nora's?actions?bring?forth?the?hidden?powers?
of?fathers?and?their?names.?Nora?realizes?that?the?name?of?her father?may?be?all?that?
remains?of?him.?She also arrives?at?a?basic?realization?about the Law. An
institution?which?she?turns to for salvation. Her?father's?name?represents?something?
from?which?she?always?has?been?and?always?will?be?separated.?It is through 
Torvald and Krogstad (the man she takes the loan from) that Nora realizes the nature of
her relationship with her father and what kind of man he was.
By?forging?her?father's?name,?Nora?tried?to?appropriate?the?name?of?
the?father.?But?as?a?married?woman?she?cannot?legally?assume?her?father's?name,?
Since?a?woman?changes?her?name?when?she?marries.?Ironically,?her?father's?name
has?little?real?or?symbolic?authority.?According?to?Torvald,?Nora's?father?
lacked?those?paternal?qualities?of?uprightness,?morality,?and?strength?that?
characterize?a?father?as?God. As shown when Torvald says to Nora:
All your father's flimsy values have come out in you. No religion, no morals, no sense of
duty.....(III.205)
?In?other?words,?the?name?Nora?wrote?signified?little?or?nothing?more?than?itself.?
Even?in?her father's name and its?near?meaninglessness,??and with her taking it in vain,
she begins the events that threaten her family with ruin. Nora's subjective view of the
circumstances force her to use?the?name?of?her?father?to?sign?
a?loan?to?save?her?sick?husband?her?forgery?lacks?validity.?She?cannot?
invoke?the?symbolic?law/father.?Nora?attempts?to?connect?the?father's?
name?with?signature.?Had?she?truly?gotten?her?father's?signature,?the?document?
would?have?been?legal,?because?the?father's?name?serves?as?guarantor.?But?since?the?signature?is?false,?and?it?is?written?by?a?woman,?it?signifies?nothing?but?the?
absence?of?the?father.?By?using?her?father's name ?to?sign?a legal document
(a?violation?of?the?fifth?commandment),?Nora?has?committed?a?kind?of?sacrilege.?Her?
subterfuge?makes?her?guilty?of?having?challenged?the?father. And in that act she has
questioned the law, her husband, and her position within her family and society as a
whole. This leads to her catharsis by forcing her to look at herself in a manner that she
had never planned or envisioned.
Ibsen?sustains?the?image?of?Nora's?exclusion?from?the?weakening?patriarchy?
Throughout the play and a series of letters and cards?reinforces?the real and
symbolic?deaths?of?the?father-figure.?Nora's?forged?signature?does?in?fact?allow?
her?to?borrow?money?and?save?her?sick?husband.?Although?she?publicly?tries?to?build?up?Torvald's?image?as?a?banker,?a?husband,?and?a?man,?she?comes
to a point where she cannot can
not?reinstate?in?him?the?mythological?authority?that?he?has always lacked and she (at one
time) never questioned.?
The?Name-of-the-Father?is?all?there?is. ?Dr.?Rank, a family friend,?the?only?
man with any strength of character has a fatal?illness??and?announces?his?withdrawal
from?life?by?leaving
a?card?marked?with?an?X.?This?note?symbolizing?Rank's?Good?-bye?has?no?meaning,?but?to?Nora?and?to?Rank?it?means?death.?In?contrast?to?Torvald,?the?Doctor?rejects?the?trappings?of?authority,?and?he?becomes?Nora's?best?friend.?Yet?by?expressing?his?love?for?her,?he
is?making?a?claim?on?her.?And in this action he
prevents?Nora?from?asking?for?his?help.?As?the?only father?figure?in?the?play?that?is?
not?a?father,?Rank?simply shrinks when it comes to the possibility of becoming savior to
Nora. ?As doctor?he?committed?himself?to?life,?xing?out,?his?own?name,
he?accepts?his?death. This gesture is symbolic to the audience as well as Nora's
character. By eliminating his signature, he is sealing the fate of Nora and insuring that
she becomes her own salvation.?When observing Torvald's reaction to the note Nora
questions (possibly for the first time) Torvald's reaction as inappropriate.?
At the climax of the play Torvald?tries?to?rekindle?Nora's?slave?spirit in an effort to
validate him and to reestablish his dominance over his environment. Helmer pleads with
Nora:
You?loved?me?the?way?a?wife?ought?to?love?her?husband.?
It's?simply?the?means?that?you?couldn't?judge.?But?you?think?
I?love?you?any?the?less?for?not?knowing?how?to?handle
? your?affairs??No,?no?just?lean?on?me;?I'll?guide?you?and?teach?you.?
I?wouldn't?be?a?man?if?this?feminine?helplessness?didn't?
make?you?twice?as?attractive?to?me.?(III.207)
Unconsciously,?Torvald?admits?in?the?last?line?that?he?would?not?be?a?man?if?
he?could?not?believe?in?feminine?helplessness.?Aroused?by?his?vision?of?Nora's?weak?
femininity,?he?again?invokes?his?male?strength?and?authority?by?returning?to?his
?masculine?vocabulary.?He longs for Nora?to become the?songbird?beneath?his?wide?
wings?and?a?hunted?dovethat?he?has?rescued that he has referred to in the past.?
?Torvald's?speech?assumes?a?godlike?role?by?claiming?both?motherhood?
and?fatherhood.?But?the?play?itself?has?now?undermined?Torvald's?masculine?powers.?
He?is?impotent?as?a?god?and?dead?as?a?male?authority?figure,?and?the?audience?and
Nora?realizes?it (only?Torvald?does?not.) 
In this final dialogue Nora is changed. Torvald does nothing with his insistence but
force Nora to truly see the quality of her life marriage and Torvald's character. And
she?makes?it?clear?that?she?does?not?blame?only?Torvald,?but?to?
the entire?patriarchal?system?that?passed?her?like?a?child?from?her?father's
house?to?Torvald's.?
Nora?has?already?tried?to?assert?her?own?identity and?authority?to?Krogstad.
When?she?denied?or?challenged?the?significance?of?the?name?of?the?father 
she was refusing to become what has always be forced onto her.?In?one sense,?at
the?play's?end?Nora?refuses?to?succumb?to?the?masculine identity?and?insists?
on?her?own ability. She declares her aspiration?to?become?a?person?who?names 
her signature?indicates.?In?her?closing?lines Nora declares:
I'm a human being no lees than you - or anyway I ought to become
one. .....I can't go on believing what the majority says, or what's written in books. I
have to think over these things myself and try to understand them. (III.209)
Nora?rejects?the?patriarchal?family?structure?that?denies?her?an?independent?
identity.?She?demands?a?transformation,?an?evolution?of relationships based on education
and equality.??By?rejecting?Torvald, and?by?denying?the?absent?and?
dead?father?whose? name?she?invoked?with?the?forged?signature, Nora has traveled the
distance. She has fostered the ability in herself to question the bogus conventions that
have held her in subjugation.?
?By?giving?Nora?the?right?to?walk?toward?her?own?identity, Ibsen has given
her?the?right?to?find her?own?language,?to?sign?her?own?name.?Nora's final?gesture?
declares?her?separation?from?the?fixed?role of?a?wife.?Nora?seems?to?stand as dominant
example of emancipation. Nora?insists?on?pulling?herself?away?
from?Torvald's?view?of?her?as?a?stereotypical?wife.?She?chooses?instead?to?see?
herself?as?someone?in?process,?in?a?state?of?becoming,?rather?than?of having?defined?
being.?Nora?discovers?that?because?her?own?signature?had?no?value,?she?had?to?take?
the?name?of?the?dead/absent?father. Eventually?realizing?that?she?cannot?escape?the?
ghost?or?the?name?of?the?absent?husband/father.??
Thus, through Nora's association and interaction with her father figures she, in a
broader sense,?hints?at?the possibility?of?a?new dynamic for the family 
and society as a whole. A time in which the person, no matter the gender, is allowed to
sign for him or herself rather, than use the name of an father. In?A Doll
House?Nora?discovers?herself?disenfranchised?and?disembodied?by?her?
father's/husband's?name.?This only occurs by virtue of her inner resolve and the 
inherit flaws Ibsen has given to the male characters of the play. She finally?rejects?
both her father and husband?and?affirms her ambition to?write?her?own?destiny.
Works Cited
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House . Drama: A HarperCollins Pocket Anthology. ed. R. S. Gwynn.
New York: HarperCollins. 1993. 153-212.