Introduction
“A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen explores several themes that affect the social well-being of people and are prevalent in modern society. Henrik Ibsen utilizes several literal styles to present the main themes in the play and exposes how the subject matter affects people’s lives. The choice of characters also conforms with the main themes in the play because each character plays a unique role in supporting the play’s central themes. The theme of gender bias is significantly embedded in feminism and is more prevalent in Nora Helmer than in any other female character in the play (Azam 13). While some people may negate the feministic role of Nora by pointing out her submissiveness, she epitomizes women’s liberation through confronting her husband, abandoning the pet treatment, empowering her female friends, and even saving men’s lives.
Nora is Indeed a Feminist
Confronting Her Husband
When the play nears the end, Nora experiences a turning point and confronts her husband. Previously, Nora followed and adhered to Helmer’s orders, including partaking in house chores such as taking care of children and cooking for him. According to Helmer, Nora constituted a figure meant to work and please him whenever needed. However, in the end, Nora acknowledges the vital roles she can have by being a woman and exercising the talents designated to her as a female (Azam 14). This realization makes her call a meeting with her husband to have a serious discussion, which Helmer has never convened since they married. Nora asks Helmer when their last meeting was during the meeting, but Helmer fails to remember. This failure shows that men in this society did not include women in important issues, including seminars and talks about social matters. For Nora, she realizes she needs to be inclusive in those essential discussions that men conserve for themselves, showing the feministic uprising in Nora.
Abandoning the Pet Treatment
The abandonment of the pet treatment Nora receives from her husband shows how Nora fostered women’s liberation. At the beginning of the play, Helmer refers to pet names such as ‘song bird,’ ‘little lark,’ and ‘little squirrel’ (Azam 15). For instance, when Helmer realizes that Nora is lying about eating the macaroons, he says, “My little songbird must never do that again” (Ørjasæter 20). These pet names show how insignificant Nora is to Helmer. Additionally, the pet names portray Helmer’s authoritative position and sternness in the family. This patronizing role of Helmer means that he can give Nora orders, which she must adhere to despite the consequences (Ørjasæter 25). Nevertheless, Nora realizes and objects to the pet treatment and demands to be treated with respect like other men who interact with Helmer (Azam 15). The awareness is depicted towards the end of the play when Nora convenes a discussion with Helmer.
Empowering Her Female Friends
Nora empowers Mrs. Linde to work and earn money alone instead of depending on men. When Mrs. Linde visits Nora’s house, the two ladies converse, making Nora understand how life had taken Mrs. Linde since they last met. During the conversation, Mrs. Linde pinpointed that her husband, who used to provide for her died. As a result, Mrs. Linde states that she has nothing left for her, including children, money, and businesses (Hossain 138). Additionally, Mrs. Linde feels she lacks power as a woman, which dulls her mood while at Helmers. However, Nora pities her friend and informs her that she will ask her husband whether there can be a vacancy in the bank for Mrs. Linde to occupy (Templeton 29). The fact that Nora exposes her fellow lady to job opportunities portrays how Nora promotes women’s empowerment (Hossain 140). Nora approaches her husband and notifies him about Mrs. Linde, and it is at this point that Helmer evaluates the position that Mrs. Linde can assume at his bank (Templeton 31). Generally, empowering women by directing them to business opportunities confers Nora’s feminist label.
Saving Helmer’s Life Independently
Nora shows that a woman can save her husband while living in a patriarchal society. When Helmer started suffering from tuberculosis of the spine, which represented a diseased backbone, Nora took the initiative to save her husband’s life. During Helmer’s ailment, he could not work nor walk to cater to his medications and treatment in Italy. As a result, Nora was pushed to borrow a loan using her father’s signature to prevent Helmer from dying (Templeton 35). However, acquiring the signature was a fraudulent technique as a society could not easily give loans to women. Therefore, Nora decided to forge her father’s signature before his death while in the hospital. This loan catered for Helmer’s medical bills while in Italy for a whole year as the doctors prescribed a year-long therapy for Helmer’s full recovery (Templeton 33). This act shows that Nora believes women can perform exemplary works without the help of men. As a result, it shows the feminism in Nora as she overcomes the societal restrictions against women to access loans and even pay all the medical bills alone.
Objecting the Sex-Toy Treatment
Nora refuses to be treated as a sex doll by men who make a chauvinistic society. When Dr. Rank enters Helmer’s home, following Krogstad’s exit, Nora begins to converse with him. During the conversation, Nora decides to show her new stockings to Dr. Ranks as she feels comfortable sharing part of her private life with him. In the process, Nora starts to coquettishly flirt with him telling Dr. Rank how she will soon perform the tarantella in their neighbor’s house. Additionally, Nora prepares to ask for a favor while flirting with the doctor. Conversely, Dr. Rank gets mixed signals as he starts to eye Nora’s stockings sexually. In addition to sexually viewing Nora, he confesses his love for Nora, knowing that Nora is married and has children with Helmer (Templeton 34). This confession disturbs Nora, who even fails to state the favor she anticipated Dr. Rank would offer. Nora’s loyalty and fidelity to Helmer showcase her feministic character (Akter 79). She understands that a woman’s body is not meant to be shared by multiple men but is supposed to be preserved and respected.
Weaknesses in Nora’s Feminism Role
Nora’s Submissive Character
While Nora makes a perfect feminist from her actions, she also undermines her role as a suffragist. In the play, Nora follows everything Helmer orders, including people Nora can and cannot bring into their household. Additionally, Nora’s ability to decide what to do is inhibited as Helmer assumes the leading position in her home (Azam 17). Lack of self-made decisions prompts Nora to avoid doing things such as eating macaroons, which makes her happy (Akter 80). Typically, a feminist protects her capability to form and make decisions, but since Nora follows every settlement placed by her husband, some people consider her a non-feminist woman.
Conclusion
Through Nora, “A Doll’s House” portrays feminism and gender bias in European society. Nora’s feministic roles are performed when she confronts her husband, leaves the pet treatment, empowers her gender, saves her husband’s life independently, and when objects to being treated as a sex toy. During her husband’s confrontation, Nora indicates that women can be part of serious meetings that men hold in their absence. Nevertheless, Nora’s feminism is limited by her submissive character as it is rare to expect women libbers who adhere to everything, they are told without making their own decisions.
Works Cited
Akter, Saima. “Re-reading Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House: A Modern Feminist Perspective.” International Journal of English and Comparative Literary Studies, vol 2, no. 3, 2021, pp. 79-87.
Azam, Azmi. “Nora Helmer in Ibsen’s a Doll’s House: A Feminist Concern in English Literature.” Journal of English Language and Literature, vol. 1, no. 1, 2014, pp. 13–17. Web.
Hossain, Amir. “Re-thinking A Doll’s House: A Study of Post-Feminism.” Journal of Education Research and Behavioral Sciences, vol 3, no. 7, 2014, pp. 137-142.
Ørjasæter, Kristin. “Mother, Wife and Role Model: A Contextual Perspective on Feminism in A Doll’s House.” Ibsen Studies, vol. 5, no. 1, 2005, pp. 19-47.
Templeton, Joan. “The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen.” PMLA/Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, vol. 104, no. 1, 1989, pp. 28–40.