digital essay
Shelbie Carr
Mrs. Rutan
AP Literature and Composition
18 December 2014
Equal Footing
From the day you were born society has laid out this ideal general plan for your life and to be socially acceptable you are expected to follow it. This plan not only includes your required thirteen years of schooling, but it goes on to college, finding a successful job and then most importantly starting a family. It is expected out of us to have an ideal household:
loving spouse
wonderful children
and perfect house.
Then if it couldn’t get any better, we must abide by the stereotypical rules that are forced upon us. The wife will do the cooking and cleaning, she will remain very put together at all times and subjectify to her husband. On the other hand the husband will be the bacon earner, will remain very masculine and possessive and will be the head of the house. These roles are absolutely atrocious and unrealistic, but they are the everyday jobs of the main characters in Ibsen’s “The Doll House.”
Mrs. Rutan
AP Literature and Composition
18 December 2014
Equal Footing
From the day you were born society has laid out this ideal general plan for your life and to be socially acceptable you are expected to follow it. This plan not only includes your required thirteen years of schooling, but it goes on to college, finding a successful job and then most importantly starting a family. It is expected out of us to have an ideal household:
loving spouse
wonderful children
and perfect house.
Then if it couldn’t get any better, we must abide by the stereotypical rules that are forced upon us. The wife will do the cooking and cleaning, she will remain very put together at all times and subjectify to her husband. On the other hand the husband will be the bacon earner, will remain very masculine and possessive and will be the head of the house. These roles are absolutely atrocious and unrealistic, but they are the everyday jobs of the main characters in Ibsen’s “The Doll House.”
Within Ibsen’s play we see these dynamics play out in front of us and allows the reader’s curiosity to grow about how their marriage is equal if Torvald, the husband, is standing on a throne while Nora, the wife, is on the floor next to him. This old fashion stereotype of inequality between husband and wife is being taken into question in Henrik Ibsen’s “The Doll House.”
It is no longer an acceptable way to live and can only deteriorate a marriage.
From the very first page, we are granted the privilege of getting a glimpse of Torvald’s power when he insists on summoning Nora with the derogatory names of “squirrel” or “songbird” (1093). These little girl names that he so adores comes across as uncalled for when he is addressing an adult.
As the audience, we begin to see Torvald develop a father complex, which forces Nora to take on the child complex. This theme is very consistent throughout the play and the more he emphasizes his higher ground the more the relationship is unbalanced. We even see Nora adapted some of the childish behaviors when she "just can't wait till [Torvald] see[s]" how lovely she will look in her costume, but once Nora insists that she was just going along for the sake of Torvald he is quick to reply that she "didn't mean it that way" (1120).
It is no longer an acceptable way to live and can only deteriorate a marriage.
From the very first page, we are granted the privilege of getting a glimpse of Torvald’s power when he insists on summoning Nora with the derogatory names of “squirrel” or “songbird” (1093). These little girl names that he so adores comes across as uncalled for when he is addressing an adult.
As the audience, we begin to see Torvald develop a father complex, which forces Nora to take on the child complex. This theme is very consistent throughout the play and the more he emphasizes his higher ground the more the relationship is unbalanced. We even see Nora adapted some of the childish behaviors when she "just can't wait till [Torvald] see[s]" how lovely she will look in her costume, but once Nora insists that she was just going along for the sake of Torvald he is quick to reply that she "didn't mean it that way" (1120).
Then there is her insistence on him dressing her and performing for him, which reinforces their father-child relationship. Nora even involves herself in playtime with her children, but that seems to be the extent of her responsibilities. She doesn't take the time to dress them, feed them, or even care for them because that is the nurse’s job. This only interaction with the children helps us group both of their behaviors together:
it’s no longer mother and children, but just children.
Considering Nora’s forced role as a child, it seems to be that she has neglected her motherly responsibilities. Then to give them all separate identities would be a waste of time because in this marriage they are only there to reinforce the inequality of Torvald and Nora’s marriage. In a marriage, there must be equality with your spouse or this type of parent-child relationship is developed. Ibsen makes it quite obvious that this is what is going on in the play as we see Torvald’s treatment of Nora worsen.
The dynamics between these two characters could be categorized as dramatic. Ibsen made it a point to give Nora very long paragraphs that revolved around herself; for instance, as Nora was talking with Mrs. Linde she continuously turned the conversation towards Torvald's new job and the amount of money that was to come from it. After enduring Nora's rambling, Ibsen took a sudden turn when Nora's dialogue became very abrupt as soon as she was confronted; her blabbering statements were quickly reduced down to "I see" (1128) or "I don't" (1130), which only aided in the audience's development of the mentality that Nora is very childish and therefore justified Torvald's actions. As for Torvald, we see that Ibsen gave him a very sophisticated diction and this factor definitely helps portray his superior father role. Toward the end Ibsen changes it up and we see both of the characters being placed on equal ground.
At the end, Nora “no longer believe[s] in the wonderful”and Torvald clings to the last bit of hope that he will ever “again be more to [Nora] than a stranger” (1154). This is what brings into question whether a marriage is able to survive if both spouses are equal? For Nora and Torvald, it caused their marriage to come crashing down because their hidden flaws turned out to be too much; although, does this mean equality is an automatic death sentence for marriage?
Although Henrik Ibsen wrote “A Doll House” in 1879, it couldn’t be a more perfect fit for today’s society.
The relationship he unfolds before us clouds our minds with questions, but one thing is clear: equality within a marriage is essential for its survival. Whether you believe a man’s only job is to bring home the money and food and the woman’s is to do everything else or vice versa, be aware that the foundation of any marriage will never withstand if there isn’t equal footing between spouses because we all deserve to be treated equally by those we love.
Work Cited
Arp, Thomas R., Greg Johnson, and Laurence Perrine. "A Doll House." Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. N. pag. Print.
"Nora: A Short Film Responding to Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House."YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CY8s2MqPyM>.
"The Dramatist: HENRIK IBSEN." Henrik Ibsen Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <http://www.mnc.net/norway/Ibsen.htm>.
"The Ideal Family." Phil Ebersoles Blog. N.p., 16 May 2012. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <https://philebersole.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/the-ideal-family/>.
Srivathsan, A. "Debate Over Two 11th Century Chola Icons." The Hindu. N.p., 10 Sept. 2010. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Ftodays-paper%2Ftp-national%2Ftp-tamilnadu%2Fdebate-over-two-11th-century-chola-icons%2Farticle624357.ece>.
it’s no longer mother and children, but just children.
Considering Nora’s forced role as a child, it seems to be that she has neglected her motherly responsibilities. Then to give them all separate identities would be a waste of time because in this marriage they are only there to reinforce the inequality of Torvald and Nora’s marriage. In a marriage, there must be equality with your spouse or this type of parent-child relationship is developed. Ibsen makes it quite obvious that this is what is going on in the play as we see Torvald’s treatment of Nora worsen.
The dynamics between these two characters could be categorized as dramatic. Ibsen made it a point to give Nora very long paragraphs that revolved around herself; for instance, as Nora was talking with Mrs. Linde she continuously turned the conversation towards Torvald's new job and the amount of money that was to come from it. After enduring Nora's rambling, Ibsen took a sudden turn when Nora's dialogue became very abrupt as soon as she was confronted; her blabbering statements were quickly reduced down to "I see" (1128) or "I don't" (1130), which only aided in the audience's development of the mentality that Nora is very childish and therefore justified Torvald's actions. As for Torvald, we see that Ibsen gave him a very sophisticated diction and this factor definitely helps portray his superior father role. Toward the end Ibsen changes it up and we see both of the characters being placed on equal ground.
At the end, Nora “no longer believe[s] in the wonderful”and Torvald clings to the last bit of hope that he will ever “again be more to [Nora] than a stranger” (1154). This is what brings into question whether a marriage is able to survive if both spouses are equal? For Nora and Torvald, it caused their marriage to come crashing down because their hidden flaws turned out to be too much; although, does this mean equality is an automatic death sentence for marriage?
Although Henrik Ibsen wrote “A Doll House” in 1879, it couldn’t be a more perfect fit for today’s society.
The relationship he unfolds before us clouds our minds with questions, but one thing is clear: equality within a marriage is essential for its survival. Whether you believe a man’s only job is to bring home the money and food and the woman’s is to do everything else or vice versa, be aware that the foundation of any marriage will never withstand if there isn’t equal footing between spouses because we all deserve to be treated equally by those we love.
Work Cited
Arp, Thomas R., Greg Johnson, and Laurence Perrine. "A Doll House." Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. N. pag. Print.
"Nora: A Short Film Responding to Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House."YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CY8s2MqPyM>.
"The Dramatist: HENRIK IBSEN." Henrik Ibsen Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <http://www.mnc.net/norway/Ibsen.htm>.
"The Ideal Family." Phil Ebersoles Blog. N.p., 16 May 2012. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <https://philebersole.wordpress.com/2012/05/16/the-ideal-family/>.
Srivathsan, A. "Debate Over Two 11th Century Chola Icons." The Hindu. N.p., 10 Sept. 2010. Web. 17 Dec. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehindu.com%2Ftodays-paper%2Ftp-national%2Ftp-tamilnadu%2Fdebate-over-two-11th-century-chola-icons%2Farticle624357.ece>.