The symbols that revealed the deterioration of
Nora and Torvald’s marriage
Total Word Count: 1500
In Henrik Ibsen’s Doll’s House the stylistic symbols used enhanced the play and added a complexity that makes it a memorable work of literature that has survived through the ages. These symbols are placed throughout the play to show the deterioration of Nora and Torvald’s marriage, the changes that caused the marriage to end as it did and as well as the potential for it become a real marriage. This can be seen with the use of New Years Day, the Tarantella costume and the Doll House that is their home together, being used throughout Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.
New Years Day is initially anticipated in the Helmer household, Torvald will begin his “secure, respectable position” at the bank (Ibsen, page 2). With it the moral and financial stature that Torvald craves. Nora will soon be a truly carefree woman without debt. With Torvald’s new job, she will be able to achieve her definition of freedom, and become an even happier person with the debt no longer weighing upon her. So, New Years for both main characters symbolizes the beginning of a happier phase of the “Sunlight” (Ibsen 91) that is their life together. However, as the play progresses, the anticipation of New Years and what it means for each character. New Years slowly becomes less about the renewal of a marriage, and more about a complete recreation of who they are as individuals. After Nora’s discovery of Krogstad’s letter, this recreation was supposed to be that Torvald would come to her aid and as a result something “glorious would happen” (Ibsen, page 106). This would be an extension of Torvald that she loves. According to Nora this belief was based on the man that was completely devoted to her. New Years day rather showed a new personality of both Torvald and Nora. Torvald was seen as a selfish, domineering man, and Nora, an intelligent and independent woman. It is with these seemingly new characters that New Years Day shines a light on how Nora and Torvald have out grown each other. These sudden changes lead to the end of their marriage, and it lead to Nora realizing that she needed to go on her own to find her path to independence. This sudden change also leads to Torvald beginning a re-examination of that type of husband he needed to be for Nora. The New Years day shed light on their marriage as well as the flaws that needed to be addressed.
Henrik Ibsen brilliantly used Nora’s Tarantella costume as one of the symbols of Nora and Torvald’s marriage. Initially one can imagine the costume as beautiful and new like Nora and Torvald’s marriage when the costume was made for Nora. The first reference to the Tarantella costume is when Nora is bringing her costume out of its box. Upon seeing it in its realistic form and what it has become, Nora does not view it as beautiful at all. Rather, Nora is so appalled by its imperfections that she wants to “rip [it] up into a hundred thousand pieces” (Ibsen, page 42). She begins to realize that the costume no longer fits her. Likewise, when Nora is confronted with what her marriage has really become she is so appalled that she actually “rips” (Ibsen 42) all ties she has to Torvald. Henrik Ibsen also used the Tarantella costume to show the neglect and lack of respect that Nora and Torvald had towards their relationship. Like the costume their marriage could be “mended” (Ibsen 45), however they would have to be willing to make changes to themselves.
Ms. Linde is the one that fixes the dress, because she is the catalyst to, one of the problems in Nora and Torvald’s marriage being mended. That is there is no real form of communication. This begins when Ms. Linde says to Krogstad that the “two of them must be honest” (Ibsen 80) and have a real conversation about their marriage, and allows Krogstad’s letter to be discovered. Which it does and this also allows the opening of the way to a further mending of their relationship
The most continuous symbol used by Ibsen would be that of Nora and Torvald’s “Doll House”. It symbolizes two different things in their relationship. That Torvald claims complete ownership over their home and the condition of their marriage.
The Helmer household is supposed to be the home and sanctuary for both Nora and Torvald. However, the home that they have is entirely Torvald’s house. From the outset of the play, Henrik Ibsen shows that Torvald obviously supplies the money to spend on the house. Though Nora is the one that is going out and making the purchases, in charge of the household, we learn that she is in fact not in charge of anything. As Nora later explains that “everything according to [Torvald’s] taste” (Ibsen 99) is put into the home, essentially giving Torvald complete and total control over the house. This can also be perceived in the way that Torvald speaks of the house. He consistently refers to it as “my home” (Ibsen 86), “my drawing room” (Ibsen 69) and “my study”. The entire domain of the house is exclusively Torvald’s. Only once did Ibsen have Torvald say “our home” (Ibsen), in desperation to cover over the awful things Torvald had previously said. It was only after Torvald realizes that the bonds of their home were no longer able to contain Nora, did he try to appear to relinquish the control he had in the home. The ownership, shown by his language, which Torvald has over their home is indicative of how Torvald views his own marriage. He believes that he deserves complete ownership over it. As well as Nora’s actions, as after he learned of her debt he said she would have to “stay in the house” to keep up appearances. This shows that Torvald can use their home as he pleases, as a sanctuary or dungeon. Like in the home, Torvald is considered the only one that can make decision for their marriage. Their home becoming a dungeon for Nora reflected the condition of their marriage as a prison for both partners. Nora leaving the physical home was representative of her leaving their marriage. The second manner in which the home of Nora and Torvald is a symbolic representation of their marriage is through the atmosphere and the effect it has on Nora and Torvald. The atmosphere of their home from the very beginning of the play is one filled with secrecy. And an “atmosphere of lies… poisons the whole life of a home (Ibsen41). This atmosphere is the slow poisoning of their marriage; the more time it stays hidden the more detrimental it is to the wellbeing of their relationship. As well the atmosphere of their home was one of a “playroom” (Ibsen 99). This is a theme that is carried from cover to cover. This is because their entire marriage is Torvald loving to have a doll that did as he told a “doll-wife” (Ibsen, page 99) that he could play with (Ibsen, page 99), and he could do what ever he liked with it. This is a clear reflection of the power roles in their relationship as well as its greatest flaw. This is that neither one has respect for their marriage, as they view their marriage as a big make belief game. This atmosphere and the breaking of its effect with Torvald’s outburst measured out the course of their marriage. Though it is the greatest symbol of their marriage, unlike the others, this gives no indication of whether or not the Helmers will ever be able to have a home, not just a doll house.
In summary, the use of new Years Day, the Tarantella costume and the Doll House used throughout Ibsen’s a Doll’s House shows the deterioration of Nora and Torvald’s marriage, the changes that caused the marriage to end, and as the potential for it become a real marriage. The perception of the meaning of New Years is altered, as is the outcome of what occurs on that day. The clarity brought to their relationship, but and the end to their marriage as they know it. However the New Year brought a degree of optimism that they could change enough to make their “marriage that could become a life together” (Ibsen, page106). The symbol of the costume showed the deterioration of their marriage over time due to their lack of care and respect. The dress was fixed by Ms. Linde, who later acts as a catalyst to the rectification of their marriage. As well, the costume was a representation of the potential of their relationship, in that if changes were made there is a chance they can have something beautiful together. And lastly through the using a home that is a Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen shed light on the dynamics of their relationship and the greatest flaw in their marriage, that it’s like one big Doll House.
Works Cited
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. Trans. Frank McGuinness. New York: Faber and Faber, Inc., 1996. Print
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