Torvald’s insistence on calling Nora by affectionately diminutive names evokes her helplessness and her dependence on him. He does not not only asserts his power over Nora but also dehumanizes her to a degree. When he implies that Nora is comparable to the “little birds that like to fritter money,” Nora is like Torvald’s dol she even decorates his home and pleases him by being a dependent figure with whose emotions he can toy.In addition to being something of a doll to Torvald, Nora is also like a child to him. He shows himself to be competing with Nora’s dead father for Nora’s loyalty. In a sense, by keeping Nora dependent upon and subservient to him, 5.
These stories, "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen and "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin both depict women who carry a lot of emotion from the beginning to the end of the story. They all react to a time when women in their day should not act in the way that they reacted. The carry the stigma that women is to be obedient to their husbands, or their father if they were unmarried. Nora and Mrs. Mallard reacted to their separate situations in a rational, but independent choice; even if society seemed to disapprove of the way they lived their lives. In the story, “A Doll’s House”, we have Nora living with a secret and trying not to let her husband, Torvald Helmer know.
Julia Wynands English 1705 EL05 Dr. Gary MacCoubrey 9 February 2013 The Characterization of Nora Helmer in A Doll’s House The protagonist in Henrik Isben’s “A Doll’s House”, Nora Helmer, is characterized through many different methods throughout the play. Her character is established primarily through her interactions with the other characters in the play, her actions, and her personal identity. Throughout the play, is it shown that Nora is quite child-like and very selfish, but eventually it is revealed that she has made great sacrifices in her life for the sake of others. Many of Nora’s character traits, such as her child-like behavior and need to please, are presented through her many interactions with her husband, Torvald Helmer, and her old friend, Mrs. Linde. Torvald refers to Nora by her real name only while scolding her, calling her by childish nicknames such as “my squirrel” and “my little skylark” (Ibsen 793).
Alcee Arobin is a lady’s man who has many affairs with different women and intends to make Edna another one of his affairs. But Edna doesn’t let Alcee take control of the relationship; she writes him when she wants and decides when they should go out. Being in control is a reverse role for Edna, but she knows it is really who she is, and it is what she wants. Alcee plays along and lets Edna take control, and Edna discovers the satisfaction of using a man the way men usually use women. Although Edna has taken control of her own life, she is still not happy with her life because of the many different types of love she has experienced.
The ugliness of the yellow wallpaper can be compared to the ugliness of her life at the time of the story, the way her husband doubts her illness and her not being able to break free from his grip. The nursery symbolizes how women were seen on the same level as children. A woman’s role during this time was one of confinement and the barred windows are symbols of this. The narrator tearing down the yellow wallpaper to find the woman represents her attempt to regain her sanity. The wallpaper is her confinement and by tearing it down she frees herself.
The presence of guilt has clearly and undeniably manifested itself into the nature of family relationships within both plays. In A Doll's House, Nora's guilt in regards to the crime she committed has accumulated so much so that she is almost 'afraid' of displeasing Torvald over even the smallest of issues. Ibsen has made this evident with the continual reinforcement of the theme of secrecy, which indicates the extent of things Nora keeps hidden from her husband in order to be free of his criticisms. One notable example is the motif of macaroons, in which Nora eats them on various instances but 'stuffs' them away as soon as Torvald arrives. Ibsen further hints towards secrecy within the household when Nora plays hide and seek with her children just before Krogstad, the truthbearer of the play, pays a visit.
He doesn't care that Nora did this because she loves him very much, but he declares that he can not lose his honor and reputation over her love. Only when he finds out that Nora won't be charged, he forgives her, and tries to keep her. But it is not going to help him because Nora realized that Torvald doesn't love her. Once Nora recognized the truth about her marriage, she understood that she can no longer stay in the strange man's house. She decides that she has to leave her house and resolve her bewildered, true
In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet’s father is a controlling, brutal and selfish person. Despite his concern about her happiness, he forces her to agree to the important decisions he makes for her, without considering her opinion. For example, when Juliet refuses Capulet’s decision for her to marry Paris, he responds very cruelly. He starts talking to her in a very harsh way, calling her names like “disobedient wretch,” “baggage,” and “hilding” (lll, v, 160-169). He also mentions that he feels like hitting her.
A Comparison between“A Doll’s House” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” The drama plays “A Doll’s House” and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” are depictions of the married couple as the central characters.Both plays involve conflict in marriage as a central plot event, but portray the events and characters differently, to contrasting effect. One point of contrast is the character relationship within the couple.As the play is introduced, the reader receives a first impression of the couple’s marriage situation.Superficially, the interaction between husband and wife in “A Doll’s House” is puerile in a way with affectionate nicknaming involved. However, Nora’s subversion of hiding the macaroons and the contract that let her borrow from Krogstad indicate the lack of transparency in the marriage and suggests the instability of such a relationship.On the other hand, the marriage between George and Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” is also convoluted except with storytelling and deliberate humiliation openly directed towards each other. Conflict is a prevalent idea in both novels, but is depicted differently in each.In “A Doll’s House”, the character conflict is primarily that of principle. Helmer believes that “an atmosphere of lies infects and poisons the whole life of a home”.
Here, Kingshaw’s mother is trying to treat both the boys with equal respect.“I shall not make a favourite of my own child”, which is conveyed to the reader constantly as throughout the novel as her respect for her own child declines as her feelings for Mr Hooper increases . Hooper’s hatred for his own Mother peaks when he thinks to himself “He wished she were dead instead of his father” The phrase, “wish she were dead” conveys the fact that Kingshaw’s hatred for her is an extreme one, this is because he feels that he has been forgotten in place of Mr Hooper and Hooper . Also, the fact that he wants her to be replaced by his father, a person who he has never thoroughly met emphasises that he hates his mother who is suppose to be loving and caring more than anyone he has known. A point that is later made when in his mind Kingshaw exclaims, “he hated her more than Hooper now”. This exaggerates his hate for his mother even more as Hooper is Kingshaw’s worst enemy, this suggests that Kingshaw’s worst relationship is with his mother, potentially implying she is the reason for his death.