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Response to The Doll's House Henrik Ibsen's play Dolls House is commonly referred to as one of the finest examples of feminist literature of 19 th century. The theme of womens liberation is clearly present in it, although we cannot find an irrational aggressiveness in it, which we usually associate with feminism. Partially, this is due to the fact that play was written by a man, who did not have an identity crisis, while being simply interested in portraying women in realistic manner. Plays story line is not overly complicated. Nora Helmer is a married woman, who helped her husband once by borrowing a large sum of money with the mean of forging signature. Towland Helmer is completely unaware of it.
He is shown as loving husband, who treats Nora as lovely but inferior being. After he discovers the truth, Towland becomes enraged over his wifes presumed infidelity, which opens Nora's eyes on the fact that she was being loyal to an unworthy man, for whom the social customs meant more than his wifes happiness. It is not but a pure chance that the profession of bank clerk is held in contempt by many people. This is because this profession is very mechanistic, which results in situation when many bank clerks are both: pretentiously moralistic and spiritually shallow, which can serve as an exact description of Towland as person. At first, he appears to be as the respectable head of the household; however, as play progresses, we get to realize that he is nothing but a shmo, who does not appreciate his wife the way she deserves, even though that she had saved his health by taking him to Italy.
One of plays most important features is the fact that characters appearance does not relate to their essence as human beings. At first, Nora is shown to us as very naive woman who takes a great pleasure in lightweight pursuits, such as decorating Christmas tree. Therefore, we cannot think of her as being more than just a regular housewife, who is not overburdened by intelligence. It is only gradually that we begin to realize her personal qualities. At the end of the play, Nora reveals her true self by coming up with powerful statements, which her husband cannot effectively address: I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald. Thats how Ive survived.
You wanted it like that. You and Papa have done me a great wrong. Its because of you Ive made nothing of my life (Ibsen). In Dolls House author does not pursue any political agenda. His main objective was to show that women are quite capable of grasping the essence of abstract ideals, such as freedom, even though that it was being assumed otherwise, at the time.
Ibsen is very clear that raising children and looking after the house is absolutely natural to women, which does not allow us to suggest that he had any revolutionary ideas, in regards to womens liberation. Nora is portrayed as being quite happy with her housewifes routine, before she decides to leave Towland. She thinks of happiness in the context of family settings: Free. To be free, absolutely free.
To spend time playing with the children. To have a clean, beautiful house, the way Towland likes it (Ibsen). It appears that the real reason for the conflict between Nora and Towland to occur in the first place is the fact that Towland did not posses necessary qualities that would allow him to enjoy the status of undisputed head of family. In other words, we can say that Nora was able to perfectly fit into the role of housewife, while Towland was not man enough to deserve the love of such an exceptional woman as Nora.
This is why Dolls House actually promotes the idea of genders as having a different biological destiny. The idea of equality between genders, according to Ibsen, is not based on feminists wishful thinking, but on the fact that men and women cannot realize their potential, as social beings, without each other. Thus, it appears that much of modern criticism, in regards to Dolls House, is based on wrong assumption that Ibsen wanted to see women wearing pants. This, of course, is absolutely wrong. Ibsen strived to promote fairness in relations between genders, but he was also able to observe that peoples biological quality is becoming increasingly undermined. That is the real reason why some men would be much better off wearing skirts and other way around.
Therefore, Dolls House is better discussed in terms of mens biological inadequacy, rather then in terms of womens liberation. Womens submissive social role comes as a result of men embracing the duty of provider. This duty implies mans ability to be able to step over the notions of conventional morality, when necessary, in order to save family. Marriage is nothing but a form of social contract. When man fails to live up to his duty for whatever reason (in Towland's case it was his conformism), wife gets a legitimate excuse to break the contract. This is exactly what Nora does: Listen, Torvald.
I have heard that when a wife deserts her husband's house, as I am doing now, he is legally freed from all obligations towards her. In any case, I set you free from all your obligations (Ibsen). Still, it is only logical to suggest that Nora is not going to become one of those feminists, whose hormonal abnormality transforms itself into political activity. Nora achieves a freedom, at the end of the play, but this freedom consists in possibility to find another man, with whom she might want to sign a new social contract. Towland proved to be unable to see the broader horizons than just holding on to his pathetic job, while making pseudo-philosophical statements about the importance of saving money.
But the worst thing of all, he betrayed his wifes trust. Women are known to have a better understanding of essence of social processes, because the anomalistic side of their psyche is more developed then mens. This is why the notions of conventional morality are rarely taken by them literally. The abstract notions of justice, standards of proper behavior and principles of politics can only be applied when we discuss global issues. Yet, in the case of conflict, described in Ibsen's play, Nora's position appears to be absolutely rational, because breaking the rules of social conduct is often necessary, when it comes to saving persons life. Nora forged signatures, which essentially is victimless crime.
By doing this, she was able to save Towland's health and possibly life. Her ungrateful husband, on the other hand, brought it against her, because his limited intellect did not allow him to appreciate what Nora did for him. We can only wonder about why Nora did not realize her husbands worthlessness earlier. But it is very easy to assume that this is because she was highly idealistic person.
Ibsen's play did not loose its literary value even today. In fact, the topics raised in Dolls House became even more acute. It is not a secret that more and more men in Western countries are becoming effeminate, while more women are getting involved in manly pursuits, such as becoming police officers. This might lead to achieving higher gender equality, but it is very doubtful whether this trend can result in increasing the level of understanding between men and women. Towland can be compared to typical White yuppie, for which making career is a point of life.
Just as Towland, this yuppie likes to moralize a lot, but he is afraid to go out on the street, after it gets dark. He tries to move his family into respected neighborhood, while being afraid to admit even to himself that he does it not because there is less crime and schools are safer, but because he simply does not want to live with Blacks and Hispanics. The reason why character of Towland is so despicable is because his morals are superficial. He is nothing but a robot, who wants everybody to accept his way of life as something absolutely natural. Numerous Bible thumper's who strive to introduce us togo news have also a lot in common with the character of Towland. Just like him, they want people to respect their way of life, without realizing that it is impossible in principle, since they do not have lives in the first place.
Thus, we cannot consider Dolls House as merely literary work. Ibsen's play contains a powerful philosophical message Whatever is natural is automatically moral. Christianity cannot remain as valid basis, upon which social ethics are based. Men and women have their own unique roles, but this does not suggest that they are biologically equal. The marriage is not Gods blessing but a form of social contract, which can be broken any time, when it proves its ineffectiveness.
Bibliography: Feminism. 2007. Wikipedia. 21 Apr. 2007. web Ibsen, Henrik Dolls House. 2001. Project Guttenberg. 21 Apr. 2007.
web Gaunlett, David Media, Gender and Identity. 2002. Gender and Identity Web Site. 21 Apr. 2007. web Abstract: This paper represents my personal response to Henrik Ibsen's play Dolls House Outline: Introduction p. 1 Main part Pp. 2 - 4 Conclusion p. 4
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