Writer's choice Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Writer's choice - Research Paper Example Ibsen’s knowledge of humanity is nowhere more obvious than in his portrayal of women. He amazes one by his painful introspection; he seems to know them better than they know themselves. Indeed, if one may say so of an eminently virile man, there is a curious admixture of the woman in his nature (Jacobus 131). As the play commences Nora is projected as a typically naive, openhearted woman basking in her husband’s love and affection where she continuously gives in to her husband’s views and opinions and curbs the desire to voice her own. As it is apparent from their mild argument over spending and loans when Torvald says, â€Å"A home that depends on loans and debts is not beautiful because it is not free† Nora finally acquiesces and says, â€Å"Everything as you wish, Torvald† (Act 1). The docility with which Nora accepts her husband’s point of view initially projects her to be a victim of a woman living a voiceless life. From a structural point of view Nora’s character develops over the course of the play as it is apparent from her first conversation with Mrs. Linde that initially she is projected to be childlike in her understanding of the world. Over the course of the play her character will develop in terms of education, maturation, and the shedding of her supposed naivetà ©. While Nora clings to the romantic notions about love and marriage, Mrs. Linde has a more realistic understanding of marriage, gained from her experience of being left with â€Å"not even an ounce of grief† (Act 1) after her husband’s death. Nora’s incredulity at Mrs. Linde’s remark indicates that Nora has live a sheltered life first under the protection of her father and then her husband. Feminist strains of independence begin to emerge towards the end of Act 1 as Nora’s character begins to unravel for the readers. Her rebellion of eating macaroons against her husband’s wish is