A Doll House
Yes maybe sometime, years from now, when Im no longer so attractive. Dont laugh! I only mean when Torvald loves me less than now, when he stops enjoying my dancing and dressing up and reciting for him. Then it might be wise to have something in reserve [] Well, Kristine, what do you think of my big secret? Im capable of something too, hm? You can imagine, of course, how this thing hangs over me.
A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen, is a modern drama where the story takes place in an everyday-like setting. The story takes place in the Helmers house, where various characters come in and out. The main character, Nora, who is, and has been, treated like a cute little doll from her father and her husband, reveals her secret to her old friend Mrs. Kristine Linde, that she actually saved her husband Torvalds life by getting a loan from Krogstad, a low-level employee who now works for Torvald. After getting fired from Torvald, Krogstad tells Torvald about the loan and how Nora forged her fathers signature to get it. At the end, Krogstad is conformed with his past lover Mrs. Linde, and returns Noras forged documents which completely dismisses Torvalds anger, however, Nora leaves her husband and her family to free herself and find her true self because she had been treated like nothing more than a doll, the whole eight years in her marriage. Nora, who seems like a little nave daddys girl, is often viewed by other characters as a person with no capability of doing important things. In the paragraph quoted above, it is shown that Nora wants to prove that she is capable of something, while she is too, unconsciously aware of that her existence to her husband is meaningless without her beauty.
The relationship of this married couple, Nora and Torvald, is well shown even at the beginning of the story. Torvald always calls her my little lark or my squirrel, which are nicknames for a couple that started dating recently, or newlyweds. However, although it seems like this married couple is having a sweet relationship, Torvald does not treat Nora as a grown-up woman. Rather, his prejudiced mind is often depicted when he says things like Nora, Nora, how like a woman (1564). Torvald also brings up about Noras father and how they are similar in some qualities. He often judges her by how her father was like, because to him, Nora is exactly the way [her] father was (1565). The way Torvald sees Nora is nothing more than just a pretty doll to have around with.
Mrs. Linde also thinks of Nora as a child. When Nora and Mrs. Linde chats for the first time in ten years, Mrs. Linde still sees her as how she used to remember her ten years ago, and call her just a child (1569). Nora, feeling offended by her friends comment, decides to tell Mrs. Linde a secret because she wants to prove that she is also capable of doing important things. Nora says Ive also got something to be proud and happy for (1569), and tells her the biggest secret she have been concealing; she had actually loaned money to save her husbands life.
After revealing her secret to Mrs. Linde, Nora is asked if she will ever tell her husband about it. Sadly, her speech shows that she unconsciously knows that Torvald only loves her because of her appearance. Years from now, when Im no longer so attractive [] When Torvald loves me less than me now, when he stops enjoying my dancing and dressing up and reciting for him (1571). She is pretty much saying that all she can do to entertain Torvald is to dance, dress up and sing. Though women had much less rights back then than they do now and having no important duties other than raising children was expected for women as a norm, Noras departure at the end is foreshadowed in her speech.
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