A Fearful Doll
During the 1800 and early 1900 centuries, women had a more passive role in society and in decisions. More often than not, men would control women in almost every aspect of their lives. The realistic play A Doll’s House, by Henrik Ibsen, shows this through the main character’s emotions of fear and guilt. Nora shows these emotions due to her past actions and causes her to act in a frantic and nervous matter throughout most of the play. The emotions, caused mostly by; the time period, how men and women thought differently, and the relationship between her and Torvald, Ibsen creates a world that shows the truth of that time in history.
There are many ways to describe Nora and Torvald’s relationship, this includes abusive. The abuse…show more content… Ibsen explained, “In practical life the women is judged by man’s law, as though she were not a woman but a man” (Notes for A Doll’s House 1776). This is another reason why Nora feels guilty for what she thinks. She believes that going against the law of the land, men’s law, is wrong and doesn’t understand why she believes in a different set of rules than what “everyone else” believes. Similarly, the concept of gender roles also adds to the way she feels. Women are brought up to act, “relatively passive, loving, sensitive, and supportive in social relationships, especially in their family roles as wife and mother” (Psychology 361 -- Gender Roles and Gender Differences). Society creates this illusion that every women needs to act in a certain way, this is due to how parents raise their children, described in the play as, “He used to call me his doll-child, and he played with me the way I played with my dolls”. (Ibsen 1771-1772). Nora’s father raised her to become a doll, and she became one. Throughout life she acted how she was raised to act. She fears not belonging in the society, and doesn’t know what to do with herself. (Add