Character Analysis Of Nora In A Doll House

In Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll's House” the need for Nora to escape is necessary because Torvald always calls Nora by animal names, showing no respect for her individuality. When Nora was cleaning her mess for eating macaroons, Torvald enters yelling “Is that my little lark twittering out there… is that my squirrel rummaging around” (Ibsen 970). At the beginning of the play, Nora is showed as someone who is obedient to Torvald and Torvald has full authority over her. When Torvald calls Nora pet names like “my little lark” and “my squirrel,” it shows his power over her because Torvald can do anything to Nora to the point where he can change her identity from a human to an animal without caring about how she feels. Nora cannot even express herself and tell Torvald to treat her like him because it is a struggle to free herself from the strict gender role without leaving confinement. For the past 8 years, Nora has been doing everything that Torvald wants, not what she wants to do. The need to escape is necessary because Nora does not have to beg Torvald for what she wants to do.

Later on, Nora realizes that her relationship with Torvald is all for appearance and the need for her to escape is necessary. Nora is talking to Torvald about how she needs to go her own way because Torvald “arranged everything to [his] own taste, and so [she] got the same taste as [Torvald]...it seems as if [Nora] lived here like a beggar-just from hand to mouth. [Nora] lived by doing tricks for [Torvald]” (Ibsen 1015). Nora realizes that her relationship with Torvald is all for appearance and for the past 8 years, Nora “lived here like a beggar,” doing everything from “hand to mouth.” Nora has to beg Torvald for almost everything she wants to do, to the point where she has to beg for macaroon, a favorite cookie of hers. She has to beg from “hand to mouth to keep Torvald happy and to respect his masculine pride. Torvald dominant Nora and treats her like a doll because of the society he lives in. Additionally, Nora has to live up to Torvald’s expectation because he “arranged everything to [his] own taste.” Nora never gets to do what she wants because she “got the same taste” as Torvald, making her realize that society is stratified in a way where the household would be arranged in a way that Torvald wants, not the way she wants. Nora realizes that the need for her to escape confinement is necessary in order to live under her own expectations. Furthermore, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie supports the need for women to escape confinement in her Ted talks, stating, “imagine how much happier we would be… if we didn’t have the weight of gender expectation. Boys and girls are undeniably different biologically, but socialization exaggerates the difference” (Adichie). Men and women are “undeniably different” because of their different organs and reproductive way, but it is ridiculous for society to treat men in a better way because women have the ability to do the same work as men can do. Because Nora has to live under Torvald’s expectations, there is a “weight of gender expectation,” restricting Nora from doing what she wants to do. If there are no gender expectations, Nora would be much happier because she would have to not think twice before doing something of her choice. Also, the need to escape would not be necessary because there are no restrictions placed on her. Nora’s decision to leave Torvald is for her own sake and to make her happy. When Nora was first with Torvald, she thought it is fun to be bossed around, but now she realizes that there is no happiness around Torvald, there is only a burden.  

Nora realizes that living with Torvald gives her nothing but a burden because Torvald treats her like a doll, giving Nora minimal freedom and independence. When Torvald is telling Nora that her job is to take care of the household, Nora says that “there is another job I have to do first. I have to try to educate myself. You can’t help me with that. I’ve got to do it alone. And that’s why I’m leaving you” (Ibsen 1015). Nora concludes that living under Torvald’s expectation gives her nothing but a burden. Leaving Torvald, she can “educate” herself and leave behind the motherly work that she was not having fun doing. Obeying her own expectations, she will be much happier than obeying Torvald’s Victorian expectations because there will be no one telling her what to do and how her life should work. Although Nora is still like a child because when she was living with Torvald, Torvald did everything for her. Educating herself will give her more knowledge about the world and how it works. Torvald cannot educate Nora because he will do everything the Victorian way, which he always lives by. Also, Nora will not get independence if she is educated by Torvald. The need for Nora to escape from her home is necessary because Nora deserves to do what she wants without Torvald watching her. There should be no gender expectation because Nora has the ability to do what Torvald can do.