A Doll House

            
             A Doll House, written by Henrik Ibsen, is a play that focuses on the way women are seen, especially in the context of marriage and motherhood. Torvald, particularly, has a very clear and narrow definition of a woman's role. He believes that it is the sacred duty of a woman to be a good wife and mother. Moreover, he tells Nora that women are responsible for the morality of their children. In essence, he sees women as both childlike, helpless beings, detached from reality and influential moral forces responsible for the purity of the world through their influence in the home. .
             The perception of manliness is also discussed, though in a much more subtle way. Nora's description of Torvald suggests that she is partially aware of the lies inherent in the male role as much as that of the female. Torvald's conception of manliness is based on the value of total independence. He abhors the idea of financial or moral independence on anyone. Nora Helmer is the main character of the play. She has never lived alone, going immediately from the care of her father to that of her husband. She is inexperienced in the ways of the world as a result of this sheltering. Nora is impulsive and materialistic. This play questions the extent to which these are mere masks that Nora uses to negotiate the patriarchal oppression she faces every day. One major controversy that Nora faces is what she has done to save her husband's life. While Torvald was deathly ill in Italy, Nora was willing to do anything to save her husband's life, after all that is what a good wife would do. And so, Nora borrowed money, knowing that this was the only way that she could save her husband. She had never told anyone before until she encountered her old friend, Christine Linde. It is after Nora tells Christine that the reader realizes that Nora plays games just to keep her husband happy. It is evident within one line, "And, besides, how painful and humiliating would it be for Torvald, with his manly independence, to know that he owed me anything! It would upset our mutual relations altogether; our beautiful happy home would no longer be what it is now (Ibsen 13).