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A Doll’s House Reflective Statement

Michael Yates

Candidate Number: 000442-0092

Prompt: How was your understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work

developed through the interactive oral?

Work used: ​A Doll’s House

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When the play ​A Doll’s House was written, there was a very large emphasis on

humanism and realism. These two concepts essentially emphasize literary works, especially

plays, being more realistic and relatable. While the play generally fits these themes, there are a

few interruptions, particularly Nora’s inner monologue about what she is to do. She initially

seems to be unsure of what to do, and eventually concludes that suicide, or potential suicide by

leaving Torvald, is the only answer. This seems to be an unrealistic situation in a play that is

supposed to have realistic influences.

However, when the context and culture of the play is taken into consideration, this

decision makes much more sense and seems realistic. During this time, women had few personal

rights and leaving a husband was a death sentence. Divorcing marked the woman as an outcast

and condemned her to a life of exile. Nora is certain that Torvald is going to be so upset with her

for accumulating debt that he will divorce her immediately. So, Nora decides that suicide will

save them both the time and grievances of getting a divorce and her slowly dying in exile.

However, if he contemplating suicide does not sound reasonable or realistic, more

context provides the knowledge that it was common for husbands to send their wives away to an

asylum against their will to get rid of them in a form of pseudo-divorce, and since the role of a
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woman was to be subservient, they could not fight back. Being sent to an asylum to slowly die is

a realistic fate Nora faces, so she contemplates suicide.

When this context and culture is taken into account, Nora’s thought process seems much

more realistic and fits in with the play. While her consideration of suicide might seem rash at

first, the context informs us that it is actually the most desirable of her likely fates.

Words: 318
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Michael Yates

Candidate Number: 000442-0092

How Nora Effectively Indicates the Prominence of Gender Roles During the Time in Which ​A

Doll’s House Was Written

Nora is the main character of the play ​A Doll’s House, and her overall sense of

helplessness coupled with her decisions that seem rash at first glance but become more

reasonable after context and culture are taken into account enables her to become a character that

effectively portrays how important and prominent gender roles were during the Victorian era in

Norway. An example of her helplessness is how she has to turn to multiple people for help

regarding a bank loan that she took out and how she is subservient to Torvald in every way. She

has to ask Torvald for permission to do seemingly everything in her day-to-day life, indicating

the prominence of gender roles and men being in control. It is important to note that this aspect

of the play is present because during this time period, there was an increased emphasis on

realism. Realism is essentially the concept of making literary works and theatrical performances

more realistic and relatable. This contextual information brings light to the reality of Nora’s

subservience and the prominence of gender roles during this time period.

To begin, it is made apparent that Nora and Torvald’s marriage is not what an ideal one

would be by today’s standards. They are relatively distant and it actually seems to be more of a

father-daughter relationship than a marriage. They are distant because they do not talk very

much, and most of their conservations consist of events such as Nora asking to borrow some

money from Torvald so she can shop, and Torvald scolding her for being a “spendthrift” (Ibsen

2). While they are seen as a trophy couple with Nora being beautiful and Torvald being a
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powerful banker, their relationship is actually rather superficial and fake. Torvald is very

controlling, essentially acting as Nora’s puppeteer rather than a husband. This aspect of a wife

living with her husband that acts as more of a servant or helper rather than an actual wife in a

play that is meant to be relatable to the average person indicates how a woman’s role was to

essentially be subservient to her husband.

Furthermore, Torvald is very controlling over Nora. He constantly belittles her and even

gives her an allowance, as if she is his child. He belittles her by calling her names such as “my

little spendthrift”, “my little featherbrain”, and “my little lark” (Ibsen 2). These names certainly

connotate a very belittling and even dehumanizing nature to their relationship. Their relationship

fairly characterizes how during this time period, males were often seen as superior to females.

This belittling characterization of Torvald is very crucial because it offers insight as to what his

relationship with Nora is like due to gender roles. Not only does Torvald control her status in

society, he also controls every aspect of what Nora can do with her free time. Torvald is very

informed and Nora can only associate with people he knows personally. Throughout the play,

Nora is only able to associate with other high-ranking officials such as Mr. Krogstad, who is

presumably a wealthy individual given the fact that he lends Nora money, and Doctor Rank. This

aspect of only being able to spend time with other people that Torvald finds suitable is another

indication of the gender roles that are present in the play. This aspect of not being able to be

self-governing indicates that it was a male’s job to make sure his wife behaved in society,

essentially objectifying a wife.

Finally, it is made apparent that Nora has little to no role outside her own house. The only

time it is made apparent that Nora has left her house during the play for something Torvald
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approves of is when she goes to the market for things such as clothes and food, revealed by Nora

stating, “When Torvald gave me money for clothes, and so on, I never spent more than half of it;

I always bought the simplest and cheapest things” (Ibsen 7). This shows that even when she is

not in the house with Torvald, and would presumably have free reign, she is still controlled by

Torvald. She only buys the simplest and cheapest clothing out of fear of angering Torvald. This

is in line with the gender roles given the fact that women were subservient. Given the fact that

Nora has no choice in if she can stay with Torvald and live, or leave him and face certain death

also alludes to the fact that women of this time period were controlled by their husbands. Even

when she is not physically Torvald, she is under his control.

However, it is important to note that this play is heavily inspired by the fact that time

period in which it is set is in a Norwegian town in 1879. When the play was written, there was a

very large emphasis on humanism and realism, which were prominent theatrical movements of

the time. These two things emphasis literary works being more realistic and relatable. The play

generally fits these themes, but there is a few instances that can seem unrealistic, particularly

Nora contemplating suicide, if context and culture are not taken into account.

When the context and culture of this play is taken into consideration, her decision to

commit suicide makes much more sense and seems realistic. During this time period, leaving a

husband was a death sentence for a wife due to gender roles giving women very few personal

rights. If a woman was divorced, she was outcast as an exile and faced certain fact by not being

able to provide for herself. Nora is certain that Torvald will be upset with her for accumulating

debt and he will divorce her. Therefore, she decides committing suicide will save them both the

trouble.
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Even though contemplating suicide over a divorce does not sound particularly reasonable,

even more context makes it apparent that her only other option in life is equally as dark. During

this time period, husbands could send their wives to an asylum against their will, and since they

were subservient, they could not detest. This was a way for husbands to get rid of their wives in a

form of pseudo-divorce. This would not only save the husband time and energy, it would save

their reputation that might be soiled if they were seen as heartless and unable to maintain a

marriage. Being sent to an asylum to slowly die in solitude is a realistic fate for Nora, so she

contemplates killing herself by drowning, as indicated by Krogstad saying. “Down into the cold,

black water? And next spring to come up again, ugly, hairless, unrecognisable -” (Ibsen 29).

With this context and culture taken into account, it is very important that gender roles

make Nora not only controlled by Torvald physically, he also controls his future as well due to

all of the grim outcomes that will likely happen to Nora if she was to leave. This demonstrates

that Nora, like all women during this time, does not have a real choice in her life, even if she was

not happy during her marriage. She is forced to live under the control of Torvald, and she cannot

realistically change that.

With all of this context and culture as well as evidence from the play itself, it is very

certain that Nora plays a very significant role in demonstrating the prominence of gender roles

during the Victorian era in Norway. The play itself is named ​A Doll’s House, and Nora is the doll

the title is referring to. While Torvald has control over her and is essentially the reason she is the

way that she is, Nora exemplifies the meaning through her restricted life and the way she acts.

She is moulded to be perfect in Torvald’s eyes, like a doll. With all of this taken into account, a

very clear central theme is formed. The theme alludes to the prominence of gender roles during
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the time period in which the play was written, which made women have very little to no free

will, and the problems that arose from this. This is predictable, given that Henrik Ibsen’s works

generally emphasize equality. Much like most women of this time, Nora has no choice in her

own actions. Also, her husband is controlling and she has little freedom outside of the house.

Finally, she is made to live out a life that is perfect and suits Torvald, like a doll. While there is

more visible action on Torvald’s part, Nora is the character that conveys the prominence of

gender roles. While Torvald seems to be the cause of the theme, Nora conveys it by acting as his

doll. With all of this evidence, it is very certain that Nora conveys the prominence of gender

roles by acting as the doll in ​A Doll’s House.

Words: 1474
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Works Cited

Ibsen, Henrik. ​A Doll's House. New York, N.Y: MGM/UA, 1981.