Torvald And Nora Comparison

Societal expectations then compared to now are drastically different, some would also call them backwards; societal norms for relationships are no exception to this. For this reason, Torvald and Nora’s 1800s era marriage, is no where near typical by today’s standards and morals. The first drastic difference between Torvad and Nora’s relationship and today’s relationships is that their relationship was more like a father-daughter relationship than a husband-wife one because of their power imbalance. Both parties acknowledge this imbalance. Torvald literally refers to Nora as a child when he says, “The child [Nora] will have her way” (2.385) as if addressing a whining and persistent child. This sort of derogatory belittlement would not be acceptable
In the Hemlers’ time, a father performing any child care duties would be considered preposterous let alone managing children while the wife is at work. When the nurse comes into the same room as Torvald with the children, he motions for Mrs. Linde to leave saying exclaiming, “…the place will only be bearable for a mother now” (1.303-1.305). The final reason why the Hemlers’ relationship would not compare to today’s morals is how they view women’s independence. Women today are at one of their heights of independence; working full-time, not having kids, not marrying and living carefree despite misogynistic ideals. This is heavily contrasted to the circumstances women of the 1800s were subject to where Mrs. Linde, “had to provide for [her] two younger brothers” (1.136-37) and she did not think she was “justified in refusing” (1.137) her husband’s offer for marriage. Similarly, Nora was conflicted because had to care for her children, but she could not bear it any longer and left Torvald in the end. In conclusion, power imbalance, the lack of men’s household responsibility and absence of women’s independence demonstrate the disconnect between then and today’s