A doll's house themes
... mother. All she did was what the male-dominant society expected. Under the "protection" of her father and husband, Nora became a delicate, childish and "care free" housewife. She even seemed to be happy with her husband calling her with animals' names. However, Nora is not a "perfect doll". She had a thoughtful reservation far exceeding that of a child bride. At the beginning of the play, Nora rebelled against Torvald by eating the "forbidden" macaroons. Then, without Torvald knowing it, Nora had forged her father's signature to borrow money so that she and her husband could spend a year in Italy. This trip to a warm climate was important to preserve her husband's life. Therefore, Nora considered the success as something as something she can be "proud of". In order to repay Krogstad, Nora worked as a copier. Instead of being tired of it, she thought that it was fun and that made her like a man. Her wishes for money from Torvald to repay Krogstad and flirt with Dr. Rank also reveals that she is not as naive as she seemed to be. Shafer thought that according to Ibsen a woman cannot be herself in modern society. It is an exclusively male society, with laws made by men and with prosecutors and judges who assess female conduct from a male point of view. Feminine is created by men because female are inferior to male in the patriarchal social hierarchy. Women are considered to be less intelligent, less career-interested, more appearance conscious and emotional insight than men. This is exactly what Nora performed to the social audience. In the Victorian era, women were judged in terms of purity and domesticity. The clinging-vine personality in women prevailed in the so...