A Doll's House

A lot was going through my mind after I read A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen.  I wasn't really sure what to expect when we did out class discussion of what a "doll house" could mean. I didn't know if I should expect a child playing with dolls or if the dolls came to life--I never expected a real house being like a doll house with a puppet master. Never ever. First, I pitied Nora because I thought she was in a rough relationship because she had to hide her "macaroons." Technically, we could say she is in a tough relationship because she can't be fully open with Torvald. LIGHTBULB! The macaroons that she has to hide parallels to Nora and Torvald's relationship!! The macaroons have to be kept secret just like how Nora committed forgery and borrowed money without Torvald's consent is a secret!! Wow. How did I not catch that earlier?? Okay getting off the tangent--second, I had trouble deciding whether or not I like Torvald or not. I feel bad for him because Nora did keep this HUGE secret from him that could have ruined him and his career. However, I totally disliked him after he threw himself a little pitty party because he thought his life was over. No. Think about your wife. Think about what she sacrificed to save YOU you selfish-little-stinker. In the end, I sided with Nora--hmmm I wonder if it has to do with gender.... When we read the second ending Ibsen wrote, I hated it. It completely defeated the entire purpose of the entire play!! Nora is not supposed to give into staying with Torvald to fulfill her motherly and wifely duties. No, she is supposed to go and take care of herself! Ibsen didn't write A Doll's House to talk about how women can be manipulative, and lie, and deceitful and then have them exposed and then they come right back to where they started to fulfill the motherly role. No. That is not at ALL what he was trying to say. When Nora leaves, it's because she has discovered her own independence that she never thought she had. As she grew up, either her father or Torvald always had to take care of her or shoulder the burden for anything. Now she has learned that she can handle things. She does not need a man to always take care of her. On a completely different note, what would have happened if Krogstad had gotten the letter back and Torvald never got to read it? Would Nora claim to be happy still? Or would she realize that she might not have ever been happy and tell Torvald herself to break the chains?? There is an endless amount of possibilities for their situation.