The Perfect Marriage or the Marriage from Hell?

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The Perfect Marriage or the Marriage from Hell? In “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, one might think that Nora and Torvald Helmer have the most perfect and carefree marriage. Nora is a stay at home wife and mother to her three small children. Nora has never lived alone; going instantaneously from the care of her father to that of her husband Torvald. Torvald has just been promoted as the manager of a bank. He has constructed his middle-class living through his own work and not from family money. He is hardworking and always willing to prove himself. Although we can decipher from the last act of the play that Torvald is very greatly in love with Nora, Torvald has a handful of controlling and disconcerting qualities. Torvald is exceptionally domineering, treating Nora more as of a pet rather than his spouse. He controls her eating habits. Torvald is also very possessive of the money supply. Nora’s decision at the end of the play is rightfully necessary for her self-preservation. Should Nora leave Torvald’s supervisory ways or strive for her own independence? Torvald Helmer treats his wife, Nora, more as a thing rather than a human being. He uses pet-like nicknames for her, completely disregarding the fact that she is his wife. “Is that my little lark twittering away out there?” ”Is that my little squirrel fussing about in there?” (1. 8-11). He has a habit of using the word “little” in front of animal names, causing us to grasp how he thinks of her as an immature child or as a pet. “Torvald feels like he must take charge and guide his destitute wife through life’s challenges. He thinks that Nora is just a little child, who does not know how to fend for herself or have her own ways of doing things. Nora is only a doll in his controlling eyes. Throughout the play, we know that Nora’s most favorite, delicious snack is macaroons. She has a few in her pocket, which
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