Comparing Enemy of the People and A Doll House - Essay Example

On the other hand, Torvald’s refusal to sacrifice his own integrity has also led Nora to declaim and assert in Act Three, “hundreds of thousands of women have.” And this sacrifice was manifested during the time when the ailing Torvald had to go to abroad in order to treat his illness. She illegally loaned money despite the fact that it is illegal for a woman to obtain a loan without her husband’s permission. She had to lie from her husband that the money came from her father. And despite the fact that Nora is the more economically privileged as compared to the other women characters, she has nevertheless led a difficult life as society dictates that her husband Torvald be the marriage’s dominant partner.

And as the less empowered better half, she constantly bears the condescending attitude of her husband. She had to keep her illegal loan a secret because of the fact that Torvald could never accept the idea that any woman, even his wife, must save his life. On the other side of the coin, Krostad, the man who helped her forged her father’s signature, has been blackmailing her to get a higher post in the bank where Torvald is one of his bosses. Such act leaves Nora so much vulnerable from blackmail and deception.

When Torvald found out the truth, of the illegal loan, he uttered “From now on, forget happiness. Now it’s just about saving the remains, the wreckage, the appearance.” With such indignation, Torvald has now revealed his true self. He is primarily attracted to his wife mainly because of her beauty, nothing more, nothing less. This was further worsened by the fact that Torvald is much more obsessed with “looking” dignified and respectable to his colleagues from the bank as well as shedding a true image of a man who value “the appearance of happiness” rather than true happiness itself.

Seeing clearly that her husband