Ibsen made a very controversial act, by having Nora leave her husband and her family. After first reading this play I thought that what Nora did was the right thing to do. But after thinking about it I now realize that departing wasn’t the right thing to do. Yes, Torvald was not the best husband in the world, but Nora should have considered that before she married him. To turn your back on your spouse is one thing, but to turn your back on your children is another. Nora was around in an era were women were looked down upon, not considered equal to men, so it would be hard for her to find a job.
If Nora were to leave Torvald she would have no where to go. Nora was a doll all of her life, first to her father then to Torvald, if she were to leave more then likely she would just become someone else’s doll. Torvald was not the best husband in the world, but Nora chose to marry him. Nora never really got a chance to know Torvald. Torvald had his eye on Nora from the beginning. So he helped her father and for that Nora was grateful, and thus became Mr. And Mrs. Helmer. It sounds like a very romantic story, but little did Nora know what would be in store for her.
Torvald treated Nora like she was his child; I guess that is because he took no part in raising his children that they had together. If Nora had taken the time to find out if Torvald was the one for her, then maybe it wouldn’t have taken her eight years to realize that she never loved him. I feel if your unhappy in your home then you shouldn’t leave your spouse because to break up a family is the worst thing you could do to your child. Even though Nora never really spent much time with her children she loved them to death.
When she finally decided to turn her back on her husband, she abandoned her children as well. This might not affect the children right away, but I conclude it will have a serious influence on them. Lastly, if Nora tried to enter back into her children’s lives in the future, they might have some resentment towards her. Another reason why Nora shouldn’t leave her children is because Torvald may one day decide to remarry.
“She needs to be more to her children than an empty figurehead. ” (Child Development. m) The children’s new mother might try to take the place of Nora. If she were to succeed, the children might not remember Nora. I feel it would be really hard to take the place of the kid’s birth mother in their minds. Nora was around at a time when women weren’t considered equal to men, so it would be hard for her to get a job, if she could find one at all.
If Nora were to look for a job she would probably hear a sexist remark like, “shouldn’t you be at home raising the children. ” ” Ibsen saw women’s proper role as motherhood, and motherhood only. Frank Magil, 1572) It is hard enough in the new millennium for a woman to get a good job to support herself, let alone in 1879, when this story took place. Another reason that she would not be able to get a job is her only skill is sewing. That probably would not land her a job at that time though because many women were able to sew around this period. Sewing was considered a women’s job, so that meant most of the women that went out looking for jobs more than likely ended up with sewing jobs.
Since there were so many women that knew how to sew, that meant that there was not a demand for them and less pay. If Nora were to leave Torvald, she would more than likely become someone else’s doll. Nora was a doll all her life, first to her father then to Torvald. Nora knew of nothing else but being a doll. She would act like a child to get what she needed.
She would allow Torvald to call her pet names like “squirrel”, “Is that my squirrel rummaging around” (Ibsen), “lark”, “Spendthrift”, and “little bird. Nora was definitely a care free women, just like a lark, and Torvald refers to her as such. ” (Gladstone, Gladstone. uoregon. edu) Lastly, I perceive that even though Nora might have felt that she was making the right decision in leaving Torvald, there were things she should have out into consideration. Instead of just leaving she should of relaxed so she can have a chance to weigh her options. I feel when people are mad they do things out if haste. When she left, she will probably realized what all she had done, and possibly asked Torvald to take her back.
