A Doll's House

In A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, Nora clearly represents the doll of the house, and Torvald's dehumanization of her is flagrant throughout the story. He relentlessly refers to his wife through the use of pet names such as "my little skylark" and "my helpless little squirrel." Worth mentioning in a research paper the fact that Torvald uses the possessive "my" often to reflect the notion that she belongs solely to him. She is his plaything, his toy, and his possession. Torvald even states to Nora that it was "quite expensive for him to keep such a pet." Once Torvald becomes aware of his wife's transgressions he reduces even her further calling her a miserable creature and a heedless child. Nora was completely dependent on Torvald and he adored that fact. He noted that her dependence on him made her more alluring; she becomes both wife and child to him. He does not see her as his equal as women were typically not viewed as equal partners. He sees her only as his possession, a young, vibrant Nora, magnificent for only him, for him to show off at his will, and to signify his manhood. It is possible that he was much older and it was admired among men to seek out a young woman for marriage, they were more malleable and up to the task of bearing their children.

The sense that women were helpless creatures seemed to echo in the society around them. It appears that most women were not considered for work or allowed to educate themselves. Torvald viewed Nora as a frail creature, child like and completely helpless yet influential and responsible for the morality of the family. Nora's character seemed to represent the way women were more or less held captive in their homes just as they were in society. This dependent role for woman has to be emphasized in an essay on A Doll's House, when Mrs. Linde spoke of her life being empty and that she had no one to care for. Wife and mother were the most important roles that women played and without them they felt unworthy. As the walls crumbled from the dollhouse, Nora set herself free from the societal limitations.