A Doll's House
A Doll¡¦s House
My initial thought of Nora Helmer, the main character in ¡§A Dolls House¡¨, was that she was a self-centered brat. Her character annoyed me, even after I started to feel sorry for her. I understand that her husband, Torvald sheltered her and treated her like a child that needed to be coddled. I understand her situation, moving straight from her father¡¦s house into her husband¡¦s and her need to address it; and no, she wasn¡¦t treated as an equal in her marriage, she was an ornament. Truthfully, though, she seemed to enjoy the relationship she had with her husband. She flirted and played the part of the cute little wife, the ¡§little squirrel¡¨. She seemed to love Torvald, but the marriage had no depth whatsoever. She knew the power she held over him and she used it to its fullest extent. She believed she had him where she wanted him, until she realized he would not do anything for her. He wouldn¡¦t give up his honor for her. There were some instances where the reader starts to feel a small amount of pity for the way Nora is treated by her husband; for example, when Torvald calls her ideas ¡§frivolous¡¨, when she speaks about money. And he speaks about her as if she isn¡¦t in front of him, ¡§My pretty little pet is very sweet, but it runs away with an awful lot of money. It¡¦s incredible how expensive it is for a man to keep such a pet.¡¨ Nora shows her self-centeredness more often than not throughout the play. When her school friend, who has just become a widow, comes to visit, Nora is humming away as if she hasn¡¦t a care in the world. Meanwhile her friend is practically begging her for a
job. I know what it¡¦s like to be in that place where everything is exactly as it should be and there¡¦s nothing to do but sing and danceº, but a person has to show restraint at times like this. Again, her self-centeredness shows when...
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