A doll's house quotes Flashcards
Nora! Just like a woman. Seriously though Nora, you know what I think about these things.No debts! Never borrow! There’s always something inhibited, something unpleasant, about a home built on credit and borrowed money.
Torvald
Torvald and Nora’s differing opinions reveal their contrasting views on borrowing money and debt. Torvald is conscious about over spending and sees borrowing as immoral. Nora believes there is nothing wrong with borrowing money and that torvald’s job is suffucient.
“Just like a woman” blatant misogyny sees women as irrational and untrustworthy when comes to spending money.
Highly ironic, as Nora has borrowed money and their financial ability and home is built on debt. Torvald doesn’t know, shows he has less control over his wife than he believes. FORESHADOWS THE UNPLEASANTNESS AND EVENTUAL DISINTEGRATION OF THEIR HOME LATER IN THE PLAY.
you know I could never act against your wishes.
- Plays the part of perfect wife - promising absolute obedience
- on one hand seems to show Nora’s love for Torvald and acceptance of gender roles, suggesting she is willing to give up autonomy and independence to make him happy
- however, she is really lying, she has already disobeyed him by minor act of eating macaroons, and major transgression of loan
-Nora has thus decieved him on two levels, first by disobeying him and then by lying about it
“never act” Hyperbole adds further tension to lie and suggests that the role Nora is trying to play is unrealistic and impossible, and therefore hints at her eventual refusal to play it.
“it was tremendous fun all the same, sitting there working and earning money like that, almost like being a man.”
- More selfless and mature side in contrast to side of her that was treated and behaved like a spoilt child.
- hints nora is unsatisfied with traditional role she has to play and the sphere she has been confined to
-shows how confining the gender roles were, working made you a man. - foreshadows later decision to give up comfortable lifestyle to gain autonomy and independence.
Nora… A fog of lies like that in a household, and it spreads disease and infection to every part of it. Every breath the children take in that kind of house is reeking evil germs.
- melodramatic language highlights contempt and how he sees lies as a poison that corrupts purity of domestic life.
-double meaning, ironic as nora has done the same thing as krogstad
-Semantic field of disease and ilness. links to scientific focus of 1800s, theory of evolution, hereditary
“when a poor girl’s been in trouble she must make the best of things.”
-emphasises how little freedom and power women had at time
-connects to mrs. linde’s predicament of having to marry for financial need and nora’s decision to forge signature of father. each woman was forced to act in a way they would never have chosen due to legal, economic and societal restrictions.
-all three choose to act selflessly and pragmatically, ibsen exposes inaccuracy of belief that women are irresponsible and foolish, icapable of making important decisions.
“You see Torvald is so terribly in love with me that he wants me all to himself…it made him jealous if I even so much as mentioned my old friends back home. so of course i stopped doing it.”
-though Nora justifies this by claiming it is because he “loves” her phrase “he wants me all to himself” suggests Torvald views her as a posession, foreshadowing later claim that he treats her “like a doll.” At this point she sees it as perfectly natural he should be jealous and she should give up friendships, shows strong desire to make him happy and conform to role of perfect wife even if at the expense of her own happiness.”
“a man’s better at coping with these things than a woman
on one hand considering going to Dr. Rank is reasonable as he is in a position much more powerful than hers, on the other shows internalisation of sexist idea women are unsuitable to handle serious matters, still convinced she needs a man’s help despite her managing to get the loan and pay back some of debt.
As long as the little woman gets her own stubborn way! Do you want me to make myself a laughing stock in the office?
Shows how cruel torvald can be to Nora, little respect for her
- diminuitive “little woman” brings to mind symbol of dool’s house and Nora as doll.
-Ibsen emphasises pressure on all characters to maintain appearnces in society, shows Torvald’s priority is reputation.
“you can’t frighten me! a precious little pampered thing like you…”
Echoes the way Torvald belittles Nora
“little thing” Krogstad too treats her like a doll,diminishing and objectifying her. “Pampered” reflects Mrs. Linde’s and Nurses gentler statements that Nora has been spared the harsh realities of outside world. Other characters think she is not capable of making decisions for herself both because she is a woman and has not been allowed to, and because she is rich and has not been forced to.
“tell me what to do- keep me right as you always do”
-behaviour is manipulative knows tarantella will get Torvald’s attention, claim to need his help shows her appeasing him by playing role of submissive wife who need saving by herooic husband - torvald’s fantasy
-could be genuine desire for Torvald to take care of her as she still loves him, as she grows increasingly frantic she remains unable to seek help and is left isolated and in turmoil.
But my dear darling Nora, you are dancing as though your life depended on it
it does
-prefigures later statement that she performed “tricks” for him
-dramatic irony, as her life really does depend on it
-dance is symbol of her trying to break away from the strict, repressive rules 18th century society has inflicted on her, she is shaking the poison out of her system -
-she ignores torvald’s instructions, foreshadowing later decision to leave
‘What else is there to understand, apart from the old, old story? A heartless woman throws a man over the moment something more profitable offers itself.”
-reflect stereotype of women as frivolous and materialistic - same way nora is a ‘spendthrift’ “old old story” implying common for women at time.However does not understand this was a selfless decision to help others and sacrifice her own happiness.
“There’s no pleasure in working only for yourself Nils, give me someone and something to work for.”
Shows women can want different things, she embodies traditional idea of caring for others, nora independence - either is up to individual’s choice and what makes the happy. Including Nora and Mrs. Linde’s differing attitudes toward this model of selfless womanhood, Ibsen shows that women do not have one single relationship to femininity and traditional values. The message of the play is not that all women should live independent, individualistic lives as Nora eventually decides to, but rather that women should be able to choose based on their own preferences.
His suffering and his loneliness seemed almost to provide a background of dark cloud to the sunshine of our lives.
Highlights cold-heartedness foreshadowing cruel later reaction.
-superficial,concerned with aesthetics and appearnaces. Vanity.
From now on, there can be no question of happiness. All we can do is save the bits and pieces from the wreck, preserve appearances…
even though he despises nora and believes they can never be happy, he is more concerned with society and keeping up their reputation, shallow and superficial
-although he says he will never love her again he traps her in marriage - deonstrates absolute power Torvald believes he has over Nora, and his rights as her husband.
“I wouldn’t be a true man if your feminine helplesseness did not make you doubly attractive in my eyes.
- as soon as he knows his reputation is safe
-shows the extent to which he will still desire her given she remains in a passive child-like role shows how normal it was for men to see their wives like children in 19th cent.
-highly discomforting notion of woman as “helpless” damsel in distress sexually appealing to men.
-The fact Torvald desires her for her feminine helplessness is reminiscent of his fantasy of wishing to save her to bolster his masculine ego.
“.For a man, there is something indescribably moving and very satisfying in knowing that he has forgiven his wife—forgiven her, completely and genuinely, from the depths of his heart…She has become his property in a double sense; she is now not only his wife but his child.”
Torvald makes use of patriarchal extreme, seeing himself as god-like
-he believes he will henceforth always enjoy a moral superiority and authority over nora.
-fully voices alarming feelings about her
Yes torvald (in everyday dress) ive changed
highly symbolic metaphor - rid herself of facade, now authentic independent self, even if minimal and unglamorous
I’ve been your doll wife, just as I used to be papa’s doll-child.”
“I passed from papa’s hands into your’s”
Nora acknowledges she has had pleasure in her doll life when torvald played with her such as beginning of play
nora has undergone transformation it is torvald’s fault that their entire marriage has been superficial he has never seen her as an autonomous person. Only values her because of control he has over her and appearnce to society
“i am first and foremost a human being,
- being a human being requires having autonomy and freedom, which nora has not had, thus she does not yet perceive herself as one, merely still in process of transforming from a doll.
Aligns with Ibsen’s philosophy as a humanist - the belief that individuality and freedom is the most important thing. Nora rejects societal roles as she did not initially get to make the choice to have them, they were simply given to her.
“My little skylark” “my little squirrel”
‘funny little creature’
“the squanderbird is a pretty creature but she gets through an awful lot of money. It’s incredible what an expensive pet she is for a man to keep.”
repetition of possesive determiner my implies posession followed by diminuitive nicknames of small, wild creatures, that should not be encaged yet can be. Helpless, fragile creatures.
reminiscent of Mary wollstoncraft’s vindication of the rights of women in which women are described as confined in a cage and the feathered race.
Pooh!
humming contentedly to herself
Nora’s simplistic, child-like vocab and mannerisms
Shows naivety and ignorance - perhaps due to her lack of education and opportunity to gain one.
-Sets up juxtaposition with later eloquence, showing her major development from a child-like wife with no experience to a mature, sophisticated woman.
You shouldn’t say that so patronisingly.
You’re like the rest. You all think im incapable of getting down to anything serious.
She can understand when she is infantilised and patronised, shows she is more intelligent and eloquent than what we’ve seen with Torvald dynamic. perhaps childishness is just an act for Torvald
she knows how everyone perceives her and is tired of being belittled and underestimated
“well really, you’re a child Nora!”
Mrs. Linde patronises and infantilises her in a different way, she outwardly criticises Nora’s behaviour whilst Torvald subtly yet constantly puts her down.
