The social expectations of men in the late nineteenth century was of a more patriarchal thought-line then it is today. The man of the house was expected to be the sole provider. This works best for the families of that time, because they believed that by natural design men alone were capable of managing money wisely and carefully.

n’s talents and abilities. Yet even though the weakest characteristics were attributed to women, great responsibility was put on them as regarding the raising of their children. It was commonly assumed that fatal flaws in the characters of men were adopted from some defect in the mother’s own character. Helmer comments on this fact and notes that “every lawyer is quite familiar with it (Ibsen 1587).” In this viscous cycle having anything close to resembling equality of the sexes is impossible. Yet through it all Nora is contented with things as they are. She is contented with herself and how she is, because she realizes that she is just what society wants from her (Boyesen 199-206). Boyesen writes that “Nora is the perfect wife, such as the poets and the masculine ideal of all ages have figured her; she is soft, sweet, impulsive, gentle, pouts when she is crossed, and can be cajoled back into good humor by a kiss (201).” Nora fits right along with Helmer for she, as well as he, has fit themselves perfectly into what society wants.

is happening. Ibsen also uses visual cues on stage to help the audience grasp the progression of the script. The Christmas tree that Nora is setting up in the first act is in its full glory before intermission, while the illusions of happiness are still in effect. When the curtain rises after intermission and the illusions are starting to crumble, the tree is standing in the background of the set with its candles burnt down, all the decorations removed, and the branches looking ragged and decrepit (Hornby 113). Ibsen masterfully uses all the instruments at his disposal to further get his point across. He uses the set, scenery, characters, and character interactions.

Ibsen wrote the characters of Helmer and Nora for a very particular reason. He made them the perfect models of a man and a young wife to point out a flaw that people could recognize. Ibsen points this flaw out to try to encourage thought and perhaps help people move in a direction of curing the problem (Boyesen 216). Ibsen does not offer the audience any solution to the problem. He demands of his audience that they think through the issue he has presented before them and to discover their own views of them. While he does hide his own views in the play itself, he does not force them upon the audience. “Ibsen’s office, as he has himself said, is to ask questions (and, as a rule, terribly hard ones), but he does not take it upon himself to answer them (Boyesen 200).” Though he won’t answer the questions in any of his plays, he does not hesitate to present the same problem and theme again in a different form. In fact, Ibsen often wrote about an individual fighting against!

When Nora is faced with the cold reality of the inner feelings of Helmer, she does not move into hysteria, but instead moves into calculated action to stand up f

Some topics in this essay:
Helmer Nora, Nora Nora, Doll’s House”, Ms Linde, Nora Helmer’s, Nora Helmer, Linde Boyesen, doll’s house”, social expectations, “a doll’s house”, “a doll’s, Henrik Ibsen’s, ms linde, save husband’s life, husband’s life, destroyed illusion, nora nora, father’s name, helmer nora, natural design, forged father’s name,