Nora’s Character - A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

A Doll’s House

Henrik Ibsen

Nora’s Character

Nora Helmer is the heroine of the play, A Doll’s House. She is married to Torvald Helmer and has three children. At the beginning of the play, she is bubbly and careless, excited about Christmas and her husband’s recent promotions. Although he believes other characters are frustrated that he's "expensive", he doesn't really think so, and happily plays with Torvald's pet names, including "Skylark", "Song Bird," "Squirrel," and "Pets. Torvalds also mentions him regularly and treats him as a child, for example, forbidding him from eating macaroni, despite the promise of his full allegiance to him, which he does not do. Reflects and suggests that her husband does not think of her as a proper adult because she is a woman.

Nora seems to be quite happy at the beginning of this Dolls House. She responds affectionately to Torvald's teasing, talks enthusiastically about the extra money her new job will pay, and rejoices with her children and friends. He will not think of his doll-like existence, where he is coded, imperfect, and patronized.

As the play progresses, Nora reveals that she's not just a "stupid girl" because Torvalds called her. The business description related to the loan he took out to take out a loan to protect Torvald's health, he understands that he is more capable than an intelligent and free-spirited wife. The account of his many years of secret labor to repay the loan shows his intense determination and ambition. The fact that he was willing to break the law to additionally ensure Torvald's health also shows his courage.

Krogstad’s blackmail and subsequent trauma do not change the nature of Nora; They open their eyes to his incomplete and unrefined possibilities. “Torvald I’ve been strategizing for you,” he said during his climatic face-to-face fight with him. Nora realized that in addition to her literal dance and singing techniques, she was carrying on a show throughout her wedding. Torvald, his father, and he pretended to be someone to fulfill his huge role in society.

Torvald's intense and selfish response to learning Nora's deception and fraud was the ultimate catalyst for Nora's awakening. But even in the first performance, Nora shows that she is not completely unaware that her life is in conflict with her true personality. He denies Torvald in a small meaningful way by eating macaron and then lying to him. He swears, apparently, for the joy he derives from petty rebellion against the social norms. When the play is published, and as Nora's awareness of the truth about her life grows, her need for rebellion begins to grow and she begins to walk on her husband and children to gain freedom.

However, it is noteworthy that at the beginning of her marriage she secretly borrowed money from Neil Krogstad and forged her father's signature to travel to Italy, which was necessary to save Torvald's life. After learning about Torvald's debt and failing to forgive her until her reputation was secured, Nora realized that her understanding of herself, her husband, her marriage, and even her society was all wrong. She decided that she could no longer be happy in her life and marriage and decided to leave Torvald and her home to get her own idea and learn about the world. Thus, the final image of Nora's play is with the courage of an illustrated but sophisticated, intelligent and newly empowered woman. He has escaped from the clutches of his old life.

*****

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