Research paper on "A Doll's House" by Ibsen.

Essay by icey27College, UndergraduateB, August 2005

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"A Doll's House" by Ibsen is quite an interesting play if one is able to expose the various hidden characteristics of the characters in the play. The protagonist of the play, Nora, is the most interesting. Nora hides many things, not only a loan, but who she really is on the inside. Nora's husband Torvald is another character that disguises who he really is. Krogstad, an employee of Torvald, is a man who is full of deceit, he has forged many a time, and is also quite good at committing blackmail. The major characters in the play to some extent all mask their inner selves, and come to a change within them.

First, there is Nora Helmer. Nora is a child she may look like a woman, and posses enough years to be a woman, but she is still at heart a child. "Her childishness creates her charm, her danger, and her destiny" (Salome 68).

Nora allows her husband to treat her as though she actually is a child. Torvald commonly refers to her as his little "lark" or his "squirrel". "Is that my little lark twittering out there?" (1131) Torvald continues "Is that my squirrel rummaging around?" (1131) Nora allows this treatment, which greatly resembles how a father would talk to his daughter. Nora and Torvald do not posses an equal marriage what they really have is a father-daughter relationship. Through Nora's acceptance of this treatment, Nora hides who she really is. Nora is stronger than she lets on. Nora forged a loan with her deceased father's signature, and no mere child would have the bravery do perform such a crime. This crime took courage; she was also fueled by the love she held for her husband she would not sit idly by and allow her...