A Dolls House

Essay by shadokyr October 2014

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Howie Chong

Mr. Grazier

English Red 2

22 August 2014

Nora's Transition From Doll to Independent Woman

Nora makes an impressive spiritual transition from a Torvald's doll wife to an independent woman. In the play A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, Ibsen shows how much Nora has changed from the beginning through to the end of the story, using a few major symbols such as the family's Christmas tree, and Nora's performance of the Tarantella at the ball. At the beginning of the play, she acts playfully with her husband and lets him play with her as a doll. Torvald says, " Is it my little squirrel bustling about?" (Ibsen 2). She accepts him calling her pet names and de-humanizing her without defiance. As the story progresses, Nora becomes more and more rebellious against Torvald. "Hasn't Miss Sweet Tooth been breaking rules in town today?" (Ibsen 4) Torvald asks her if she had disobeyed him by eating macaroons behind his back and she respond with, "No, Torvald, I assure you, really..."

(Ibsen 4). She had lied to him on the fourth page of the play. This is her first, yet small, act of rebellion, though it slowly grows, until she finally walks out on Torvald. In Act 2, Nora says, "But don't you think it is nice of me, too, to do as you wish?" (Ibsen 33). Nora tries to use her feminism to get what she wants quite a few times in the story, and this is one account of it. This shows her growing defiance against Torvald. One of the symbols Ibsen uses to show Nora's change is the Tarantella. At the ball, she performs the famous Tarantella dance and pleases Torvald, making him desire her. The dance lets her express herself for once, and lets her...