A Doll's House

2 Pages 401 Words

In my opinion, of the three terms given for us

to define, feminism suits this play best. It applies to

the play only in the sense that Nora, the female figure in

the play, is oppressed. Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House shows

how a housewife is sent over the edge by her oppressed

position. The action she takes exposes a hideous side of

human nature. It takes the female character, Nora, and

uses her as the "doll" in which the house "belongs" to, but

she does not have any power over the house.

The society at the time of A Doll’s House was

driven almost exclusively by males. The man and wife had

clearly defined roles. The man was the provider who worked

during the day and rested at night. The wife had to run the

homestead. She was responsible for the children and the

house, but her influence on any major decisions was minimal.

In the play Nora is thrown into dire

circumstances. When her husband was sick she gathered a sum

of money to help finance a recuperating trip. She decided

to take the initiative of getting the funds, but her role in

society permitted her from attaining the cash. She was

dependent on a male to vouch for her, and instead of

bothering her dying father she forged his signature. This

act would definitely come back to haunt her.

The whole fiasco led Nora to question her position

within the household. She realizes that she is nothing more

than a “doll” for her father and her husband. Without their

status she cannot act alone. Her whole life has been for

other’s benefit and the only thing she can do to declare her

independence and to make the rest of the world acknowledge

her identity is to kill herself. That way she can overcome

the oppressive male or male characters.

In more recent times people have begun to become

aware of their position within society. When expe...