A Dolls House: Emblematic of the Struggle for Feminist Equality of Women During the Victorian Period - Research Paper Example

Section/# A Doll’s House: Emblematic of the Struggle for Feminist Equality and the Hopeless Plight of Women Duringthe Victorian Period Many characters of plays experience a growth and development as a function of the unique set of experiences and subsequent realizations theses characters develop as a result. However, this character development is plainly and clearly manifest in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Ibsen masterfully casts Nora as the type of character which engenders many of the societal, cultural, and feminine norms and mores of the time while at the same time using her character as a vehicle of nuance in escaping from the rigid constraints that society of the given time had placed on women as mothers and wives. Although such a topic was far ahead of Ibsen’s time, he is able to discover the unique and identifiable methods of what constitutes the hopeless and constrained lifestyle that Nora, and so many other women during the period, experienced as a means of the culture and times in which they lived. In this way, the author of this brief analysis will work to distinctively prove that Ibsen related to the reader a female character who tasted of the power and control that was a fixture of the male-dominated aspects of her society; as such, once this was experienced, she began to wish to exercise her will to power within the context of her own actions. Though many scholars who have analyzed the play have argued over the meaning and interpretation of the actions that Nora chooses to pursue, the fact remains that the driving forces of these actions are abundantly clear and up for little debate (Gilmore 23). This brief analysis will review and analyze three distinct fields of character development which set in motion Nora’s abandonment of her given situation and family. These distinct areas include: Nora’s attempt at social/political action/interaction, Nora’s domestic isolation, and the objectification that she experiences as a female member of Victorian society. The first of these elements of course relates to the “political” intrigue or societal interaction that Nora is thrust into the midst of. Although she does not willfully seek out this factor, it has a powerful effect on her development throughout the plot as she is liberated from the norms/mores of what women were traditionally involved with. Rather than engage in meaningless idle chatter, Nora is thrust into the center of a very stressful issue that encourages her to use her powers of coercion, sex appeal, feminine charm, and cunning. The reader is left to understand that this is a first for Nora as the stress of these actions helps to define her character throughout the novel; through this, Nora experiences a sense of liberation. Although this liberation is born out of the experience in general and culminates in her slamming the door at the end of the play and abandoning her family, it clearly develops as a function of her realization that she is truly capable of handling the same complex set of demands that society has previously entrusted to the males (Austin 24). An obvious parallel to this type of political/social emancipation that Nora unwittingly engages is the fact that it bears a striking similarity to the story of Adam and Eve as it relates to the Garden of Eden and the forbidden fruit. The forbidden fruit in this story is of course in regards to a wife entering into the complex dynamics and intrigue that previously defined the “man’s world”. In this way, Nora is experiencing a character development through a similar mechanism. By realizing that she too, at least on a subconscious level, wants to be considered equal to that of her husband, Nora is experiencing the same types of thoughts that are described in the Biblical story of Eve wanting to have the same knowledge as God. Naturally, the second barrier that serves to restrain Nora and further adds to her own character development throughout the play is in regards to the domestic isolation she experiences on a daily basis. From the very outset of the play, the reader is led to understand that Nora’s life is one that is constrained by duty and function within the home. For instance, the very opening lines relate how a domineering husband seeks to instruct his wife as to how to curtail her shopping habits to more appropriately reflect the financial considerations he has planned for. Says her husband, "Bought, did you say? All these things? Has my little spendthrift been wasting money again" (Doll Act 1)? Although the obvious plot device is to show the clueless nature and uninformed supposition under which her husband lives, the alternative meaning depicts a broken and domineering relationship that is defined by a woman’s domestic life that is unable to achieve any level or degree of freedom (Tilghman 340). Even when she purchases gifts for the family’s Christmas, her unrelenting and self-centered husband seeks an account of what was spent and why. This theme is further expanded upon when Nora entertains the question of love when speaking with Mrs. Linde. Questions Nora, “Tell me, is it really true that you did not love your husband? Why did you marry him” (Doll Act 1)? Her curiosity with respect to love develops as she tacitly understands that what she shares with Torvald is quite a far cry from the emotions that can be defined as love itself. Later in the play, Nora lays out a golden fleece with reference to Torvald’s affections. States Nora, "Nonsense! Trying to frighten me like that!--I am not so silly as he thinks. […] And yet--? No, it's impossible! I did it for love's sake" (Doll Act 1). Nora soon finds that her litmus test with respect to the level of affection she believes her husband to possess is a false belief. Similarly, what serves as the symbolic coup de grace for Nora’s character is her realization that her place in life can be attributed to nothing more than that of an object of her husband’s occasional desire. Earlier in the play, Nora had entertained loftier aspirations regarding her role as a wife and the needs this espoused with relation to making her husband happy (Schideler 277). Says Nora of her supposed duties to her husband, “I mean, of course, a time will come when Torvald is not as devoted to me, not quite so happy when I dance for him, and dress for him, and play with him” (Doll Act 1). Nora juxtaposes her feelings of love and devotion with the realization that a time is coming, perhaps soon, when these emotions will mean nothing. Whereas earlier in the play Nora had affirmed, “’You know how devotedly, how inexpressibly deeply Torvald loves me; he would never for a moment hesitate to give his life for me’", she was now fully convinced that the emotions and feelings were shifting away from what she had previously believed (Doll Act II). However, this sense of duty that Nora attributed to her objectification changes rapidly as a function of time. Later in the play Nora has the following to say to her erstwhile love, “I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald. That’s how I’ve survived. You wanted it like that. You and Papa have done me a great wrong. It’s because of you I’ve made nothing of my life (Doll Act III). In this, the reader can pick up on the obvious overtones of disgust and exhaustion with the current state of affairs that Nora relates. Similarly, Torvald sees Nora’s duties in a different way. Once returning home from a dance Torvald tells Nora how desirable he found her while she was performing a particular dance. However, Nora exhibits a key element of her newfound freedom by telling him, “Go away Torvald! Leave me alone. I won’t have it (Doll Act III). However, Torvald responds angrily and demands, “Aren’t I your husband” (Doll Act III)? In this terse exchange a level of understanding is passed between these two key actors as they both demand certain gender roles be fulfilled by the other. Of course the most demanding of these is Torvald. Similarly, Nora’s newfound independence means that she will not be called to please her husband as he so desires it. In the end, it is not any one factor that encourages Nora to walk out the door and abandon the constraining and oppressive life she had led for years. Rather, it was the combined influence of the three factors that this essay has mentioned. Ibsen works to masterfully incorporate these elements into the story as a way to explore some of the current constraints that the Victorian Period unnaturally placed on women. Of particular interest is the way in which Nora’s character was allowed to develop throughout the course of the play. Rather than being discontent with her station in life from the start, Ibsen introduced a seemingly one-dimensional character that merely had a secret. By the time the story ends, a dynamic and powerful woman has emerged who is willing and ready to grasp the reins of her own fate and steer it accordingly. In this way, the analysis that Ibsen provides through the development of Nora’s character is forward thinking and imaginative for a time which such thoughts were not even considered. Works Cited Austin, Gayle. "Creating A Feminist Theatre Environment: The Feminist Theory Play." Studies In The Literary Imagination 24.2 (1991): 49. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. Gilmore, Alec. "The Gospel According To Ibsen." Journal Of European Baptist Studies 10.2 (2010): 22-36. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. New York: Dover Publications, 1992. Shideler, Ross. "Ibsen And The Name-Of-The-Father." Scandinavian Studies 69.3 (1997): 277. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. Tilghman, Carolyn. "Staging Sufrage: Women, Politics, And The Edwardian Theater." Comparative Drama 45.4 (2011): 339-360. Academic Search Complete. Web. 21 Oct. 2012. Read More