Nora and the "New Woman": Analysis of "A Doll's House" - English

“Women have a much better time than men in this world; there are far more things forbidden to them.” To quote Oscar Wilde, women in the 19th century had to follow certain social rules that were very restricting. Young women were expected to be graceful and feminine so they could woo a potential husband. Whereas, those who were married spent their days comforting their husbands and raising their children. The book, A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen first premiered on December 21, 1879, with an audience that largely believed in these social rules. In contrast to today’s society, there is a constant effort into women\’s rights and equality. Therefore this essay will compare the different perceptions of a 19th-century audience and a modern-day audience on the portrayal of gender roles seen through Nora, Ms. Linde, and Helmer.

Nora is the main character of A Doll’s House, a married woman of the upper-class society who leaves her husband and children. Whether or not her actions are perceived as favorable, depend on the audience. For a 19th-century audience, Nora would be seen as scandalous and unacceptable for going against social norms. With increasing industrialization during the 1830s men progressed to working in larger cities far away from home. Men became the main source of income to the family while women stayed at home cleaning, cooking and taking care of their children. A woman who showed any sign of wanting a higher education was looked down upon and called the derogatory term “blue-stocking”. Doctors advised against school because it could cause damaging effects to ovaries making them unmarriageable. Therefore, Nora abandoning her duties as a wife and mother by leaving her children to be raised by their governess would be seen as a disgrace. Her actions would both be shocking and appalling to society, consequently leading to Nora being perceived negatively. On the other hand, Nora’s actions are perceived as inspiring to a twenty-first-century audience. Leaving her household, Nora escaped a restraining life of motherhood and domineering marriage. In doing so, she fought for her human rights, therefore aligning herself with the feminist movement that demands equality for women. Throughout the play, it is demonstrated that Nora had knowledge of business and the capability to make deals involving finances. This comes to no surprise as women earned more than half of bachelor’s degrees(57.3%), master’s degrees (59,4%), and doctorate degrees(53.3%) between 2016-2017 in the United

States. Moreover, radical feminism seeks to liberate females from patriarchy, advocating that women should be free to decide their own fate and not succumb to traditional gender roles. Another aspect women should be independent of men and auto sufficient. Nora is therefore simply choosing to identify herself consequently leading her to be perceived positively.

Mrs. Linde was Nora’s childhood friend who works in bookkeeping for Torvald at the bank. Through the book, we have seen that she has been through many challenges in her life such as taking care of her sick parents and the death of her husband. When Mrs. Linde and Krogstad talk about getting back together Krogstad asks that Mrs. Linde give up her job for him, she refuses to do saying that she could be the one to support the family. In the 19th century, Men were supposed to be the financial support of the family and so her refusal to give up her position would be seen as surprising and offensive to the audience. This would be surprising because society believed that women were content to find rich husbands who would work while they stayed at home raising the children. The audience would have trouble understanding her decision since to them it was natural that given the choice a woman would want to stay at home. The arrival of Mrs. Linde can be seen to encourage Nora to choose a solitary life as both of them discuss their lives. Talking with Mrs. Linde, Nora quickly realizes her lack of experience in life and later decides to find her identity. Therefore, for a 19th-century audience, this would lead Mrs. Linde to be perceived as a radical who spread her bad influence on other women. Contrary to this perception, for a modern-day audience, Mrs. Linde is a role model, a strong and independent woman who doesn’t need the support of a man. A woman having a job would come to no surprise to a modern-day audience as the women’s labor force participation rate is 48.5% globally in 2018. Mrs. Linde also aligns herself with femenism when she refuses to give up her job, choosing to be independant. Because she helped her father with his illness without her brothers and has a respectable job that supports her own way of life. She shows that women can be responsible and independent making her a role model for feminists who believe in the same values.

For a 19th-century audience, Torvald is a perfect example of a loving husband. Helmer has a high paying job in a bank, he earns large sums of money and supports his family’s upper-class lifestyle. The occupation of a potential husband was important in the Victorian era as women searched for men with the best financial support. Therefore, the audience would think of Torvald as a suitable husband because men were seen as worthy dependent on the amount of money they made. They would not understand why Nora would leave Helmer a very suitable man according to social standards. In their eyes, Helmer is a gentle and loving husband who enjoys spending time with his wife whom he cherishes very much. His way of teasing her would be seen as complements that encourage playfulness between wife and husband. On the other hand, to a modern-day audience, Torvald’s teasing is degrading because he makes her beg like a dog for money. Because women in today’s society have worked to be recognized as individuals, the audience would perceive his actions as disgusting because he doesn’t see his wife as an individual but as a possession. At the end of the book, when Nora reveals that she took a loan in order to save him from illness Torvald is ashamed of his wife’s actions. His immeadiate reaction is how this would affect his reputation in society. To a modern-day reader, this cannot be overlooked as it shows that he cares more about his image than his wife’s actions to save his life. This would lead to Torvald being perceived as an egocentric overbearing husband who treats his wife with little to no respect.

In conclusion, a 19th-century and modern-day audience would have very opposing ideas on what women and male roles were in society. The 19th-century would have more traditional views that women should be caring mothers and serving wives and men as money earning supporters. Therefore, Nora and Mrs. Linde go against traditional family values for their own selfish needs and poor Helmer is left without a wife and mother of his children. On the other hand, modern feminists see women as advocates for their own rights and equal to men. A modern-day individual would see Nora and Mrs. Linde are feminists who break from restrictive stereotypes represented by Helmer, showing that women are capable of choosing their own fate. In the end, the social norms of the time dictate whether or not the actions of the characters follow the consensus of society.

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Nora and the “New Woman”: Analysis of “A Doll’s House”