Nora’s Character Development in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House
Nora’s Character Development in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House Ibsen’s character Nora in A Doll’s House, shows gradual development throughout the play to support his theme that above all else, you are human; even in marriage both parties should be given the equal opportunities, rights and respect. While Nora may at first seem happy with her life inside her “doll house”, she begins to recognize that she must find herself, and stop being a toy in the lives of men. Nora’s growth could be described as a subtle process. It is not until the end of the play that she even decides to leave and seek out the life experience she needs to develop her own thoughts, ideas and actions. However, there are definitely many small instances within the play that show Nora’s growth as a character and individual. In Act I of A Doll’s House, Ibsen portrays Nora as though her character is frivolous with money, and happy with the life she leads. In the beginning of the play, Helmer is patronizing Nora about her trip in to town and asking if she had been “indulging herself today”. Nora quickly says, “You know I could never act against your wishes” (1.1). Here, Nora shows us that she is devoted to her husband and abides by his rules. We also learn in Act I Nora’s secret of borrowing money behind her husband’s back in order to take him to Italy and save his life. In the ladder part of the act, Krogstad,
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lender of the money, shows up at Nora’s doorstep demanding she insure his job be kept at the bank, otherwise he will expose her secret of forgery to the police. This is where we begin to see conflict within Nora, and as Act 2 opens, she speaks with the Nurse and begins to question leaving her family to deal with her own burdens. Nora quickly brushes off her problems as though everything will be fine, and says, “No one will come. I just mustn’t think about it. Brush this muff. Pretty gloves, pretty gloves! Don’t think about it, don’t think about!” (2,1, ).
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lender of the money, shows up at Nora’s doorstep demanding she insure his job be kept at the bank, otherwise he will expose her secret of forgery to the police. This is where we begin to see conflict within Nora, and as Act 2 opens, she speaks with the Nurse and begins to question leaving her family to deal with her own burdens. Nora quickly brushes off her problems as though everything will be fine, and says, “No one will come. I just mustn’t think about it. Brush this muff. Pretty gloves, pretty gloves! Don’t think about it, don’t think about!” (2,1, ).
Cited: Page Henrik, Ibsen. "A Doll 's House". Stages of Drama 5th Edition. Boston, MA: Bedford/St Martin 's, 2003.