A Doll House

In A Doll House and Death and the Maiden, the husband betrays the wife. In a marriage, the husband and wife are constantly supposed to be there for each other. However, in A Doll House and Death and the Maiden, this is not always the case. A Doll House is a drama written by Henrik Ibsen portraying the relationships between a family and their acquaintances, as well as the events that affect these relationships. Death and the Maiden is a play about a woman's determination to seek revenge for the horrible acts committed to her many years ago. In both plays, the wives were mistreated by their husbands in their everyday lives, as well as in the climax of the story. In A Doll House and Death and the Maiden, the husband betrays the wife by not supporting her and not treating her fairly. In A Doll House and Death and the Maiden, the husband is condescending to the wife.

Title page in the manuscript of A Doll's House, pl...

English: Memorial for Torvald Fiskå in Fiskå, Ro...

English: Betty Hennings as Nora in Ibsen's "A Doll...

In A Doll House, Torvald Helmer is very patronizing to his wife, Nora, who he treats like a child. He believes she cannot do anything by herself as she is a "little helpless thing" (pg.91). At the end of the play when Nora is explaining her plans to leave, Torvald retorts, "Oh, you blind, incompetent child!" (pg. 110) He also tells her, "You think and talk like a silly child" (pg. 112). Torvald behaves in such a condescending manner towards her that she takes on the role of a child to him. She tells him, "You know I could never think of going against you," (pg. 47) and, "Yes, whatever you say, Torvald," (pg. 44) much like a child would tell his or her parent. Torvald does not treat Nora as an equal and is forever...