World Literature: Written Commentary
The passage takes place in the last act of Henrik Ibsens play, Dolls House. Before the passage, Helmer had just discovered Noras past actions of saving Helmers life by getting a loan from Krogstad and taking Helmer to Italy. When Helmer finds out about Noras action, he is, at first, infuriated at Nora, as Krogstad had threatened to ruin Helmers reputation by suing Nora. However, when Helmer later finds out that Krogstad is not going to sue Nora, he suddenly approves of Noras action. When Nora observes Helmers sudden change of behavior, she tells Helmer that she will be leaving Helmer and the conversation that ensues is the passage. Throughout the passage, Ibsen utilizes various languages to reinforce the theme of stereotype toward woman. Plus, through the use of diction and literary devices, he also successfully characterizes Nora and Helmer as Helmers characteristic of arrogance is emphasized while Noras sudden change in character is highlighted.
Throughout the passage, Helmers gender-biased view and self-centered nature is stressed. As Nora tells Helmer that she expected Helmer to take the responsibility of Noras action by take all the blame, Helmer replies that no man would sacrifice his honour for the one he loves. Here, Helmer refuses to take any blame for Noras actions, eventhough her actions were motivated by his sickness. He believes that no man should ever sacrifice his integrity for love. This shows arrogance and stereotypical characteristics of Helmer. It is clear that Noras decision and loan money from Krogstad and forge her fathers signature was purely to save Helmers life and that she didnt use the money to her personal pleasure at all. Still, Helmer thinks he had nothing to do with Noras deed and refuses to make a similar sacrifice for Nora, implying that males status should never be sacrificed for woman. Furthermore, he clearly states that Nora is before anything else, a wife and a mother. This again shows Helmers stereotypical view of woman, as he believes that womans role should be always restricted to wife and mother.
Helmers degrading attitude toward Nora is also seen throughout the passage through his diction. As he listens to Noras epiphany about her life, he refuses to acknowledge Noras opinion. He repeatedly tries to deny Noras belief, claiming that she is talking like a child and that [Nora is] ill. He also asserts that Nora is thinking like a stupid child, and that she [doesnt] understand the world [she] live in. Helmers demeaning diction and similes showcases his character once again. In the passage, Noras has experienced epiphany about her life and wishes to maturely explain to Helmer about her realization. Nevertheless, Helmer declines to take Nora seriously and repetitively make an excuse for Noras sudden increase in maturity. Helmers refusal to accept Noras maturity highlights both his state of mind and his characteristics. The fact that Helmer keep denying Noras change seem to show that Helmer is also trying to tricking himself into thinking that Nora is still his submissive wife. He is clearly having a difficult time trying to grasp the change is Nora. Additionally, his sense of superiority is again shown. His firm view that woman should always be inferior to man is emphasized as he continues to degrade Nora, in hopes of taking Nora back to her immature state. Throughout the passage, Helmers trait of stereotypical ideal about gender and his sense of superiority are underlined.
Noras sudden change of character is successfully proved through the passage. The first change of Nora occurs as Nora realizes the true characters of Helmer. Throughout the play, Nora is constantly caught up in a false expectation for Helmer. As Krogstad threatens to Nora to sue her for forgery, Nora refers to her miracle, expecting Helmer to take all the blame for her. However, as Helmer fails to meet Noras expectation of him, her view about Helmer changes significantly. As Noras perception of Helmer change, she refuses to even acknowledge Helmer as her husband anymore and she openly defies Helmer. When Helmer protests to Nora that a man cant give up his honor for a woman, Nora simply replies that hundreds of thousands of women [have]. She is referring to sacrifice made by Mrs. Linde and herself for the benefit of the man. Nora feels justified to hope that Helmer should take the blame since what she wants from Helmer is no more than what she has already given him. This is sharp contrast from the beginning of the play, when Nora doesnt dare to disobey Helmer. Throughout the play, she prefers to use her feminine way of speech to convince Helmer rather than reason with him. Noras defiance is seen again when she tells Helmer that [she] couldnt spend the night in a strange mans house. This defiance of Nora shows her changed attitude. Here she is showing her wish to be independent and make her own decisions for her life. By the end of the passage, Noras view about Helmer is so clear that she is able to state that she [doesnt] love [Helmer] anymore. Noras altered outlook of Helmer is effectively proved through her speech to Helmer.
Moreover, Noras change in her view about her life and her role in the society is established. Due to Helmers arrogant action, Nora starts to reflect upon her life and realizes that her whole life she has been nothing but a pleasant possession. Nora realizes that when she lived at home with Papa, he used to tell me his opinion about everything,... Then [when Nora] came to live in [Helmers] house, Helmer also thought of Nora as [his] songbird, [his] doll. Nora claims that her father had treated her like a doll too and she had to learn to not protest, and Helmer treated her no different from her father. When Helmer inquires about her intentions after leaving the house, Nora answers that she owes a duty to [herself]. Nora understands that since she has been treated as a child for her entire life, she is still very nave and need to grow up in order to take the responsibilities of an adult. She now sees that she is a human being before she is a wife and a mother, and that she owes it to herself to explore her personality, ambitions, and beliefs. This soliloquy by Nora is a major turning point of the passage as after this speech by Nora, the power has seem to shift from Helmer to Nora. Right after the soliloquy, Helmer finally admits, there truly is a gulf between [him and her]. This shift of power from Helmer to Nora reflects Noras attempt to break out of the expectation of the society: woman should be submissive to males. Noras change in perspective about her marriage and her life is reflected in the passage.
The passage reinforces the theme that has been presented throughout the whole play. The theme of sacrificial role of woman is heavily emphasized in the passage. During the conversation between Helmer and Nora, Helmer claim toward Nora that she is obliged by [her] religion to serve as a dutiful wife and a mother. This claim by Helmer very well outlines the restriction that applied to all the women by the society at the time. The plays female characters exemplify Noras assertion that even though men refuse to sacrifice their integrity, hundreds of thousands of women have. Noras action in the passage is characterized as highly unconventional as most women are stuck in their role to serve the man while Nora is attempting to break through the limitations set out by the society.
The passage carries much significance to the play. It effectively characterizes Torvald as a stereotypical and arrogant person, while highlighting Noras change in character. In addition, Ibsen also successfully reinforces the theme of sacrificial role of woman through the conversation between Nora and Helmer.
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