Feminism is recognized as advocacy of female rights in politics, economy, and education that requires equality with male rights in all fields. In the past, men were perceived as superior gender compared to women, and, therefore, females struggled in fighting for their rights. Ibsen wrote A Doll’s House at times of significant changes regarding women’s rights enabling them to control their funds and enter higher educational establishments. By and whole, Ibsen presented the female suffering in the battle for equality with men in the face of Nora who was portrayed as a true feminist role model.
Ibsen includes in his book the evident norms of the patriarchal society. To be more exact, the main female character, Nora, is given her roles, such as daughter, wife, and mother, by men that surround her daily. In addition, the name of the book, A Doll’s House, implies the place that she was trapped in while being married to her husband (Meyer 1257). Furthermore, Nora sees herself as a doll manipulated by Torvald, who does not let her leave this dollhouse.
However, Nora realizes her self-worth and starts fighting for her rights as her husband claims that her duties are only to him and his children, “I have other duties just as sacred … to myself” (Ibsen, 2020, p. 314). Consequently, she decides to leave the house and her family due to her being tired of such an attitude (Meyer 1259). By and whole, this part of the story is the beginning of Nora’s feminism journey and the battle for earning respect from men.
Furthermore, the norms of the patriarchal society are included in Torvald’s attitude to Nora. Nora’s husband does not consider her to be his equal and, therefore, dehumanizes her by calling his wife various pet names, “Is it my little squirrel bustling about?” (Ibsen, 2020, p. 9; Meyer 1262). In addition, Nora is surrounded by females who sacrificed their selves to follow society’s norms. For instance, her nanny abandoned her husband and children to care for her to earn money for providing for her loved ones.
Similarly, Nora unconsciously replicates the stories of her female examples as she also does not protect her own desires and wishes and puts all her effort into marriage and motherhood. Nevertheless, Torvald does not recognize Nora as a fit person to teach his children, “I shall not allow you to bring up the children; I dare not trust them to you” (Ibsen, 2020, p. 242). To conclude, by presenting Nora in this way, Ibsen portrays feminism through her while her husband, Torvald, is recognized as a follower of patriarchic social norms.
Moreover, Nora’s primary wish is freedom: from titles, obligations, and stereotypes. Therefore, she seeks her true self away from her home and family. Still, she has a strong character since she decides to save her husband without judging him for his attitude. Nora aims to express her opinion regarding the same rights and abilities that women have when caring for family and children. She rejects the social norm of females being only mothers and wives, which obviously requires bravery and confidence. As a result, it seems that Nora is a true example of a strong feminist woman who is not afraid to protect herself against men and thrives to become the person she truly is (Meyer 1266). By and whole, the main female character represents the traits that women need to acquire in order to be equal with men.
To sum up, A Doll’s House presents the harsh life of the mother and wife, Nora, who is trapped with her husband with no choices and goals. Her community and society blindly follow the social norms of men being superior, smarter, and more robust. However, Nora finds her strength to battle such stereotypes and be her true self away from home and family. Overall, Nora is portrayed with the vital traits that help her overcome this inequality and shows people nowadays the real struggles of females and how they should behave to earn their freedom.
Works Cited
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2020.
Meyer, Michael. “A Critical Case Study: Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, 7th ed., Boston, Saint Martin’s Press, 2006, pp. 1257–1267.