Critical Analysis of Theories: A Doll's House - Literature Essay Sample

A doll's house is a drama that was based on the experiences of Nora Helmer and Torvalds, her husband. She was forging her father's signature, to acquire funds for a trip that was presumed to promote the restoration of his spouse's health. The drama reveals the relationship between Nora and her husband and the social place of a woman as shown in society through the play. Her husband assumes that she is a careless and childlike and for this reason he nicknames Nora his doll. The society has placed a limited expectation on women since they are assumed not worthy for serious responsibilities. As the play concludes, Nora realizes her value and leaves her husband for he was not worthy her love, which forms the climax of the play. This peak shifts away from the conventional way of attaining climax without a problem. Ibsen indicates that Nora asserted for independence which was also contrary to the societies expectation on women reactions towards their husbands. Through such occurrences and another unfolding in the play, various theories have been developed, for instance, feminism. The paper shall dwell in uncovering different theories as revealed in the drama a dolls house by Ibsen.

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Formalist criticism

This literary theory is also known as new criticism, where a close reading of the work is emphasized. A keen focus on the text with the deep analysis is exemplified. It centers on what a text is telling the audience and in the manner, it says it. During the analysis, the neo-critic focuses on mainly the text to come up with their contextual meaning. The drama "a doll's house," various text have been selected for analysis for the accomplishment of this task. The text "indiscreet" have been used on page 54 of the play, to show that Nora had some things secretly with his husbands knowledge and the situation turned to be a big lie contributing to their break-up. Krogstad has given Nora a loan and both parties agreed to be discreet about it although it is known later it was for a good course. "Damned" is another text that has been used in the drama as it was employed by Nora who is also the protagonist. She used the term about what she wished to her husband. She said he could go to hell, revealing her character as hypocritical towards people, as shown on page 59. The mask is another text that was applied in the play in page 70, revealing that there was a lie between Torvalds and his wife. The mask hides their real feelings towards each other, Nora does not find it offensive wearing the mask and lying about the whole situation of borrowing money despite being for a good reason. The text "beautiful" has been applied to page 73, which reveal the expectations by the society of what women should be. Terms prim, pretty, and sleek have been used to emphasize on the usage of the term. The text also elaborates the gender role, and that woman has a role in maintaining their beauty. Another text on page 79 is "strength," which is meant to show what men should be. On an in-depth analysis, the text referred to the emotional strength that despite all that Nora had done to Torvalds, he was supposed to take all that weight and forgive her. Also, this situation is a great manifestation of the gender role which has been constructed by the society. Men are viewed as stronger than women. "Respect" is a term revealed on page 86 and is meant to show what people expect from the society. Its the role of women to show respect to men and not women expecting it back from men.

Marxist theory

Karl Max was one of the significant influence of the Marxism theory. Max wrote that when companies invested the profits in the expansion of businesses than investing in the employees, the workers would become destitute. In his Communist Manifesto, Max noted that the society is structured in a hierarchical manner with oppressors and those facing the oppression. He defined capitalism where a nation's political and economic systems where a countries business activities are owned by private citizens and not the state. In this system, the working class is also named as the poor, who sell they labor to make a living. The socialistic nations are those in the process of transitioning from capitalism to communism. In the play, the Marxism theory has been revealed through various relations that show the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Torvalds and Nora, Krogstad and Mrs. Linde are such good example. Throughout the play, it's clear that Nora relied on every provision from her husband. The husband is in control of the resources being shared and the same case applies to a Krogstad. Krogstad is not in control of his job and Torvalds threatens to fire him from his position. From the play, it is revealed how hard Krogstad has worked hard to keep his name clean and rise in position but failed as the richer Torvalds secure, the higher position he was aiming. His recent record of the scandal that he had been part of denies him the chance of achieving his dream. His theory suggests that the proletariat is willing to do all they can to achieve the success they desire. To avoid being fired which may derail his dreams of becoming rich as Torvalds, he is willing to disclose the secret of the transaction he had with Nora. Upon realization that Torvalds had been using her as a doll, Nora plans to rebel, which is a consistent situation in the Marxist theory, which suggest that proletariat will feel oppressed by the bourgeoisie and tend to rebel. In page 67, Nora is shown complaining how she has not been happy and that Torvalds has been using her like a doll.

Feminism

This is a form of structuralism, where concepts of underlying structural significance are considered. The importance is manifested through practices with actions which are meaningful. The play was created during the error where women from bourgeoisie societies were dealing with various anxieties arising from their lives. These women had a concern since the governing law was through patriarchal. Nora is the character in the play that reveals the tyranny in the society where men oppress women, by reducing them to a little doll. She has accepted the idea of a doll which remains in the house to promote family stability, as she lives under a patriarchal roof. The females in this environment have been likened to second sex as defined by Simone who was French writer. The play depicts the woman as second to a man, and that she can never exist as a separate entity and a person is required to add the value of a female. Nora complains that she used to be treated like a doll by her father and its status quo for her after being married to Torvalds. She feels like she is just an object being handed from one person to another. Nora said that handed father her to Torvalds, which makes her feel like a bigger who barely get something to eat. Nora has lived all her live as a child, as seen in the situation where she is told by her husband not to eat macaroons. Similarly, Torvalds makes her dance and recite for him like a young girl. The woman in the play is also used as a sexual object as Torvalds have sexual fantasies about her. As the play is about to be concluded, Nora has feels empowered suddenly and desires to regain her status after an extended period of submission to men. She is interested in the exploration of her feminine side and decided to break up with her husband.

Gender

The society has constructed gender into a male who is dominant and weak female. Men are considered intelligent while female stands for capricious and many other descriptions. Nora and Torvalds have been revealed in the play to show the differences between men and women. Towards the end, the authors show that strength and weakness are part of being a human being and not a depiction of gender. In the Victorian error, life deepened on the stability of the gender roles. During this error, women were considered weak in all manner, which includes moral, physical, and emotionally among other areas. Torvalds view Nora as a possession to induce amusement and not an equal. Towards the beginning of the play, he referred to Nora as his squirrel. He uses such demining nicknames referring to Nora which reflects the place she held as a woman in the society. In the Victorian times, a woman was not expected to make an initiative of borrowing money without her husbands consent. The society has conditioned women to think that their gender should be attributed to the perceived weakness.

Pro analytic criticism

This theory has two approaches, where the first focus on the text while the second one concentrates on the person who composed the text. The first view suggests that reading and the interpretation of the text focuses only on the works, which understood by an emphasis on the characters, symbols and other elements. In the first Act page 25, the doctor tells Krogstad that he is suffering from a diseased moral character. This shows he was corrupt based on the scandals that he had involved himself.

In conclusion, the play addresses various issues that women used to encounter during the Victorian age and continue to face to date. The society have still stereotyped gender, making women to look like the weak. The dreams utilized various theoretical approaches which include feminism, Formalist criticism, gender, and Pro analytic criticism among others. In the end, Nora shows that women should wake up from their slumber and stand against mal-treatments based on their gender.

Work cited

Ibsen, Henrik, and Non Worrall. A doll's house. A&C Black, 2008.