The Great Debators

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INTRODUCTION Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll 's House is a story of a superficial marriage in which the wife and husband do not know one another particularly well. In order for marriage successes those involved should have trust and know each other and view one another as equals. In Ibsen’s contemporaries, the ideal form of love is for a man to love his wife and for the wife to love her husband. Love should be total and unconditional in marriage. The struggle to harmonize with society’s norms and expectations is proven to destroy relationships. When someone strives to conform to the set regulations he is most likely bound to interact with the world as it appears rather than reality. This ultimately creates a harmful impact in the relationship.
HENRIK IBSEN’S IDEA OF MARRIAGE In “A Doll’s House”, Henrik Ibsen tries to demonstrate the notion of marriage through Torvald Helmer, a husband who dissipates his relationship with his wife Nora. This is solely due to his determination to bound to the moral code of the society’s expectations. Torvald stands for all the individuals denying social ills in the society. Henrik Ibsen emphatically stresses on the status of women how their roles is perceived in the context of the moral code, related to love and marriage. Torvald Helmer portrays his character by defining the roles of women, how they should behave and perform their duty as faithful wife and mother. Torvald and Nora Helmer live in a fantasylike world and reveal that they do not really know each other on a much deeper level as they should. This portrays their incestuous marriage. This drives home the loathsome qualities of Torvald by attributing to him a personal decadence. This Implies that Torvald considers Nora as an ornamented sex object, and how he maintains his amorous fantasies toward his wife. Torvald takes his wife as a piece for sex and encourages her to dance like a pretty doll in order to arouse his sexual passions. This ultimate touch of falsification portrays Torvald’s character systematically. Torvald does not in really trust his wife. His mistrust in Nora reflects upon her existence. It is evident that without trust in a marriage a strong foundation cannot be established (William L. Urban 97). Though divorce is allowed, it carried a stigma and very few people saw it as an option. This was the reason why Torvald chose to have a pretend marriage for the sake of appearances than an amicable parting. When Torvald reads Krogstad 's letter, he confronts Nora. Enraged, Torvald berates Nora, calling her a dishonest, unfaithful and immoral saying that she is unfit to raise their children. During the letter confrontation; Torvald says that their marriage is only a matter of appearances. The Helmer marriage appears to be loving, although it is based on lies and an unequal relationship. This evidently shows that their relationship dynamics are nothing short of disturbing (Törnqvist, Egil. 95). When Nora tells Torvald that she is leaving him, Torvald insists that she fulfills her marital duty as a wife and mother. This is because he was only concerned about the family reputation. Nora refutes his command and says that her first duties are to herself. She says that she cannot be a loving wife and mother without knowing to be more than a plaything. She realizes that Torvald is not the kind of person she had known him to be and that their marriage has always been based on fantasies and misunderstanding (Unwin, Stephen.97). Marriage is seen as a trap in another sense. This is portrayed when Christine tells Nora that she and Krogstad were in love before she married her late husband. Christine also told Krogstad that she married her husband because she had no means of supporting her sick mother and young siblings. She also told him that she has returned to offer him her love again. Christine believes that Krogstad would not have stooped to unethical behavior solely because he was devastated by her abandonment during his dire financial straits says Törnqvist, Egil. 95. Christine Linde and Krogstad’s relationship is an alternative model to Nora and Torvald’s marriage. Krogstad’s character is different from Torvald’s, different for the thought of him accepting his wife to work. This because Krogstad and Christine had come to an understanding, this seems to be a beneficial relationship. Krogstad and Christine Linde, both widowed, have more in common with each other, loved one another hence their relationship had the chance to succeed. Nora’s marriage is unsuccessful because she clings to romantic notions concerning love and marriage whereas Mrs. Linde,s relationship was successful because she has a more realistic understanding of marriage. Love is seen in the instance when Dr Rank who acts the role of friend to Torvald and Nora, is in love with Nora. Dr. Rank paid a visit to Helmer’s home where he reveals to Nora that he was terminally ill and that he has always been secretly in love with her. Nora tries to deny and she is disturbed by Dr Rank’s declaration of love. She clumsily tells him that she is not in love with him but loves him as a friend.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we have seen that the main message of A Doll 's House seems to be that a true marriage is a joining of equals. Henrik Ibsen’s idea of a true marriage is a union of equals which is portrayed when the Helmers marriage fell apart due the imbalance of power. This is because Helmers ' marriage was based on a veneer of male dominance. He centers on the dissolution of a marriage which does not meet the standards equality. Torvald treats Nora like a child or doll. He does not allow Nora to think for herself and lives her life to please him. Their marriage was based on Torvald’s domineering superiority. This unstable relationship eventually comes crashing down at the conclusion of the play; bricks of a building will not stand for long if not repaired or built upon a firm foundation .The Helmers seemed to be happy, but this changes when their imbalance becomes more and more apparent. By the end, the marriage breaks apart due to a complete lack of understanding between them. Nora believes that she can only be a loving, caring mother and wife if only she could be able to realize herself. This was the main reason she left. This shows that a successful marriage is when those who are in the wedlock should be capable of realizing who they are first as separate individuals.

REFERENCES
Dukore, Bernard F., ed. 1974. Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greeks to Grotowski. Florence, KY: Heinle & Heinle.
Innes, Christopher, ed. 2000. A Sourcebook on Naturalist Theatre. London and New York: Routledge.
Ibsen, Henrick (trans McLeish). A Doll 's House, Nick Hern Books, London, 1994
Moi, Toril. 2006. Henrik Ibsen and the Birth of Modernism: Art, Theater, Philosophy. Oxford and New York: Oxford UP.
Törnqvist, Egil. 1995. Ibsen, A Doll 's House. Plays in Performance ser. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
Worthen, W. B. 2004. The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama, 6e. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning. 666-691.
Unwin, Stephen. Ibsen 's A Doll 's House (Page to Stage Study Guide) Nick Hern Books, London, 1997
William L. Urban. "Parallels in A Doll 's House." Festschrift in Honor of Charles Speel. Ed. by Thomas J. Sienkewicz and James E. Betts. Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois, 1997.
"Nora and Torvald Helmer" 25 September 2012. Web. 22 October. 2012. http://www.academon.com/book-review/nora-and-torvald-helmer-151776/

References: Dukore, Bernard F., ed. 1974. Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greeks to Grotowski. Florence, KY: Heinle & Heinle. Innes, Christopher, ed. 2000. A Sourcebook on Naturalist Theatre. London and New York: Routledge. Ibsen, Henrick (trans McLeish). A Doll 's House, Nick Hern Books, London, 1994 Moi, Toril. 2006. Henrik Ibsen and the Birth of Modernism: Art, Theater, Philosophy. Oxford and New York: Oxford UP. Törnqvist, Egil. 1995. Ibsen, A Doll 's House. Plays in Performance ser. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. Worthen, W. B. 2004. The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama, 6e. Wadsworth: Cengage Learning. 666-691. Unwin, Stephen. Ibsen 's A Doll 's House (Page to Stage Study Guide) Nick Hern Books, London, 1997 William L. Urban. "Parallels in A Doll 's House." Festschrift in Honor of Charles Speel. Ed. by Thomas J. Sienkewicz and James E. Betts. Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois, 1997. "Nora and Torvald Helmer" 25 September 2012. Web. 22 October. 2012. http://www.academon.com/book-review/nora-and-torvald-helmer-151776/