The relationship between gender
roles/equality is a strong theme of the play, which is analyzed through the way
Nora and Helmer interact. When the play was released the roles may have been
interpreted with Helmer being respected for his role as head-of-household and
Nora as the adored, obedient wife. On the other hand, it is now viewed as a
relationship between superior and inferior. Therefore, what is Ibsen ultimately
saying about the roles of men and women in society? He is saying that there is
inequality between men and women, and women should stand up for their rights
and independence.
At the beginning of Act III we discover
that while Mrs. Linde truly loved Krogstad, she had to choose a husband that
could provide support for her mother and brothers. Mrs. Linde took on what
would then be seen as the role of a man, by making sacrifices to provide for
her family. Krogstad exposes his weakness by stating that he was “a
half-drowned man” when Mrs. Linde left him. Here, we have evidence of weakness
from a man, showing that men are just as emotional of creatures as women. He
even asks Mrs. Linde to step down from the job at the bank. This reduces his
masculine ego by having to ask a favor of a woman. While Mrs. Linde is being
more uniform and succinct in her statements during their interaction, Krogstad
shows his feeble character. With this we begin to see that Ibsen feels as
though women can be the more powerful of the sexes.
Then, we are made to feel disdain
towards Helmer’s character by his actions towards Nora. First, he brings her
into the downstairs almost by force, which hints to domestic violence. Although
he does not actually use force, we are able to see how nonchalant this action
would be when he references it to Mrs. Linde. Helmer continuously demeans women
through his words and actions. He is overly concerned with how Nora appears to society,
providing her with backhanded compliments after her performance:
“She danced her tarantella and got a
Tumultuous hand ---- which was well
earned, although the
Performance may have been a bit too
naturalistic – I mean
It rather overstepped the properties of
art. But never
Mind – what’s important is, she made a success,
An overwhelming success.”
He even controls her in her
performance of the tarantella by taking her away at the end and presenting her
to the room, like a prize. This demonstrates how the man is the leader while
the woman is his prize to be adored by others. Helmer even mocks Nora’s
intelligence when she wants to discuss scientific research with Dr. Rank, with
an exclamatory remark of disbelief. Ibsen is providing the reader with an
outline of a controlling, egotistical male character.
Yet, women avail in the end.
Starting on line 561, we begin to see how the relationship that is set up
between Helmer and Nora was to display what women should stray from. The end of
Act III provides females with instructions on how they should be treated in
society, not just the household. Finally, we see Nora making declarative
statements to Helmer, whereas in Acts I and II we saw just the opposite. She
leaves Helmer and proclaims that she wants to be free, educate herself, and
explore the world, in sum. In lines 665-672, Nora blatantly says that she is a
human being, and her job is not just as housewife and mother. She has the
right, just like a man, to be her own person and make her own choices.
In the final lines of the play Nora
states that it would take the greatest miracle of all for her and Helmer to be
more than strangers: that their living together could be a true marriage. This can
be translated as a change in society that must occur where men and women live
in equal partnership.
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