Premium Essay

Nora's Rebellion

Submitted By
Words 1034
Pages 5
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen describes a woman named Nora that is displayed as a child to her husband. She responds affectionately to Torvald’s, her husband teasing. Although, she is seen as a silly girl as the play progresses it shows she is not the child Torvald calls her. Until she does something that is not childlike behavior to save her husband but against the law. Forging her dad’s signature to save his life. She tries hard to keep it from getting back to her husband thus she takes matters into her on hands. Henrik Ibsen conveys three aspects of Nora’s character rebellion, bravery, and independence.
The critics view Nora as a childish woman who tries to make herself seems like the victim. When in actuality she went behind her husband’s back to save him, and it backfired. In the article by Joan Templeton he states, “She is accused as an irrational and lighthearted narcissist; an abnormal woman, a “hysteric”, a vain, unloving who abandons her family in a paroxysm or selfishness.” (Templeton, 29) This quote shows that he felt that Nora’s dramatic exit was one she put on herself by taking a loan her husband …show more content…
This quote shows that she would lie and do what she want behind Torvalds back. Secondly, she swears out loud loving the rebellious feeling even though her husband does not want foul words coming out of her mouth. In the play Nora states, “I should just love to say – Well, I’m damned! (Act 1, 939)” This shows that Nora’s laughter shows the reader how much she enjoys rebelling against her husband. Lastly, Nora taking out the loan is the biggest rebellious thing she has done. In the story Torvald states, “That is like a woman! But seriously, Nora, you know what I think about that. No debt, no borrowing. There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt. (Act 1, 928-29)” This shows that Torvald forbids to borrow money from anyone, but Nora does so

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Maturity in a Short Story

...Maturity in a short story It is strange how an author can make his or her characters in a story seem so real. In A Doll’s House, the protagonist, Nora seems as if she is actually human. In the play, she starts off as almost a childish person but then matures so much by then end; Just as most women and men are childish at the beginning of a marriage and by then end of it, they actually act like adults. Nora’s personality changes drastically throughout the play; at the beginning she is very happy and tolerates Torvald’s teasing ways, then she realizes that she is not a “silly girl” like her husband thinks and by the end of the play she is a very mature woman realizing her importance in life. At the first of the play Nora is so oblivious to the world and does not understand how her and her husband’s relationship is more of a father-daughter thing. Throughout the play Torvald calls her names such as a “squirrel,” and a “skylark.” He also restricts her from eating macaroons because he thinks they will mess up her teeth. Torvald definitely has the final and most of the time the only say so in most matters. Nora does go behind his back doing things he said not to, like eating macaroons and drawing out a loan to pay for a trip that she thinks is for her husband’s own health. Midway through the play, Nora finally realizes that she is not any of the things her husband calls her and that she should not be treated like a child by him. After taking out the loan, to “help” Torvald...

Words: 525 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

The Fall of Somerset Was Principally Due to the 1549 Rebellions.Docx Uploaded Successfully

...fall of Somerset was principally due to the 1549 rebellions.” Assess the validity of this view. During the final years of Henry VIII life he claimed that effective government should be carried out by council of 16 members. However, the last period of Henry VIII reign the reform faction were dominating and Edward Seymour managed to overthrow the regency council to become the ‘Protector’. Initially the rise of Somerset was a planned coup. But Somerset was arrogant and haughty which resulted in his fall from power in October 1549 after the rebellion against him throughout England. In this essay I am going to explore reasons behind Somerset’s fall, was it the rebellion or was there other factor that contributed to the fall. It can be said that the rebellion played a considerable part in Somerset’s downfall because the two main rebellions were due to his social and religious policies. The Western Rebellion ‘the prayer book rebellion’ was sparked by the reformation of religion. This was because the reformations of religions were radical and completely changed people’s experience of religion. Especially, as the prayer book was translated from Latin to English and the western rebellions often referred to the new prayer book as a ‘Christmas game’. The most radical change in religion came when the Elevation of host got abolished and the attack of images of saints sparked off the acts of iconoclasm. Not only were the Western rebellions angry about the religious reformations but there...

Words: 1364 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

The Underlying Truth of the Sons of Liberty

...The Underlying Truth of the Sons of Liberty In Todd Alan Kreamer’s article Sons of Liberty: Patriots or Terrorists, Kreamer delivers the reader with a simple yet complex question that leaves an individual questioning themselves. Were the Sons of Liberty, a group which we grew up being taught were passionate patriots rebelling against the oppressive British, terrorists instead? Perplexed with this question and delivered with facts from all different angles, I believe this group was an organization with deep patriotic roots that revolted and implored terrorism on both the British military and innocent individuals. Thusly I feel that the Sons of Liberty were indeed terrorists but also insurgents for they attacked military personnel as well as the innocent civilians. The author offers examples of attacks on the British and loyalists by the Sons of Liberty. Such as, their revolt against the established government through tarring the loyalists, breaking into and wrecking Fort George’s commander’s house, burning the governor’s coach, and burning down the lieutenant governor’s house. These acts were attacks and revolts upon the innocent people as well as the government and militants of Britain. Through these acts which frightened and scared the British and their supporters, this group of men expressed their form of “patriotism” in a very terrorizing manner. A terrorist is defined to be someone who uses violent acts to frighten innocent civilians as a way of trying to achieve a political...

Words: 465 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Tudor

...“English rebellions were far more successful than those in Ireland” - How far do you agree with this view of the period from 1485-1603? English rebellions were more successful than those in Ireland as, whilst being large in terms of scale and duration, Irish rebellions failed to garner national support due to strict English control. The stabilising effect of the Earl of Kildare’s role as the crown’s deputy lieutenants meant that there were no Irish rebellions during the first fifty years of this period. However, political issues became far more prominent from 1534 to 1603, as it was the main cause for five major rebellions during this period. Religious issues were also a factor as, following the break with Rome, the Irish resisted becoming a protestant country. English rebellions were more successful than those in Ireland as Irish rebellions never presented a serious challenge to English rule and did not result in any substantial change. By contrast, whilst not overwhelmingly successful, some English rebellions did bring about government policy changes. For example, as a result of the Yorkshire rebellion Henry VII agreed not to impose a fine on the rebels and decided not to collect the tax. Further success was achieved by the Amicable Grant rebellion, as no tax was enforced and benevolence (an occasional gift which helped the government deal with financial crisis) was not received. This resulted in permanent change as when Henry VII collected benevolences in the 1540s, he...

Words: 716 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Freesky

...The Westeam dukes ruled with a union held together by alchemists and the power they harnessed from the mysterious Aerogel. It was with this power that they built the first airships and rained death upon the bewildered Arya and the fierce Broncs. Armed with simple weapons and riding only horses, they were no match for Jraxido, the first Skyduke of the Empire. For five hundred years, the land learned to fear shadows in the sky. But just as it gave them control of the skies, Aerogel too brought the Empire into a dark age. With great pains they tried to hide it, but the Skydukes could not delay the inevitable any longer. After five hundred years, the secrets of the Aerogel were known to all. After half a millennium of oppression, the Rebellion was more than an irritating insect to be squashed at leisure. Harvesters were built, blueprints stolen, and the Aerogel War ravaged the land. The alchemists of the Iron Institute were given new liberties. In their dark laboratories, unspeakable experiments were performed without a care for consequences. Terrible weapons were developed with devastating...

Words: 439 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Key Issue 6 Essayhow Effectively Did Elizabeth and Her Government Deal with the Problems They Faced in the Later Years of Her Reign?

...Towards the end of Elizabeth’s reign she dealt less with problems of marriage and succession but more to do with rebellions that challenged her and her privy council’s rule, and financial and social issues. However her relationship with parliament was an issue throughout her entire reign. Elizabeth was somewhat effective when dealing with the social problems that occurred at the end of her reign. Elizabeth tried to prevent poor harvests which would gravely damage the economy and her popularity in the public with the ‘Book of Orders’ which attempted to prevent any poor harvests. This was ineffective in preventing the awful harvests in 1586-87 and in 1594-96. This led to riots in 1595. However, Elizabeth was then very effective in dealing with the riots as a consequence. In 1598 she passed a Poor Law act, which required all parishes to appoint overseers of the poor and provide relief, this also increased employment rates. This therefore increased her popularity and her relationship with parliament. Whilst Elizabeth was effective in dealing with the negative consequences involving the daily lives of her people, she as less effective at managing the financial problems, such as balancing her relationship with parliament to grant her subsidies and money spent during warfare. Elizabeth was less effective in dealing with finance. Due to the squashing of the rebellion in Ireland that cost £320,000 in 1600, Elizabeth had to resort to forms of increasing crown income that displeased...

Words: 671 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Rebellion In Just Lather And Nothing Else

...A rebel can be defined as an individual reluctant to listen or follow authority as well as, someone who supersedes normal morals of behaviour in society. They tend to make bold decisions without contemplating the future. There are three characters that established themselves as rebels, from the short story unit. Nick from ‘Let It Ride” by James K Hickel, the group of children from “Green Gulch” by Loren Eiseley, and Captain Torres from “Just Lather and Nothing Else” by Hernando Tellez. These characters refused to follow vital human morals, ethics and contradict political powers. Gambling carries a massive amount of thrill to humans that, it often results in rebellious behaviour in major areas of their lives. Many of these individuals, including the character of Nick in “Let it Ride”, dealt with disruptions in their psychological and social lives. Nick displayed rebellious behaviour as a result of being a thief. The author stated that: “A huge sum of money was missing from Nicks account at work. This bet was the last desperate chance to make up the funds, avoid being caught” (Hickel 1) To enumerate, he had been stealing money from work regularly for personal expenses and gambling. Nick stole one million seven hundred and fifty dollars, took the money to a casino and expected to win all the money back. So that he can avoid the consequences that would emerge in the future. This is extremely daring of him to engage in since theft can lead him in jail for more than 20 years. Furthermore...

Words: 793 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Rebellion In Cuckoo's Nest

...Fighting for Control: We Want to Choose our Destiny Rebellion comes in many forms. According to American historian, Howard Zinn, “Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience.” Too often the status quo overwhelms our daily lives, and suffocates our natural gravitation towards adventure and desire. In Ken Kesey’s, Cuckoo’s Nest, McMurphy is in a constant rebellion. He rebels against Nurse Ratched’s strict rules; regardless of the influence she has on his life in the ward. He undermines Dr. Spivey by convincing him he is mentally ill, even though he is a functional adult. He believes that he can save Cheswick, after undergoing electroshock therapy for him; as a self-proclaimed Christ figure. McMurphy’s character traits represent rebellion, deception, and arrogance; common traits of a teenager. There is a strong parallel between McMurphy’s character traits, being: rebellious, deceptive, and arrogant, and those which I exhibit throughout my life. Teenagers are naturally rebellious. Often, this is a...

Words: 971 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Rebellion in Persepolis

...many stories and struggles are presented, such as the Islamic revolution, issues with school, the war between Iran and Iraq, and Satrapi’s struggle with growing up. The strongest theme from all of these situations in the novel is rebellion. Rebellion is constantly seen, in many different shapes and forms, all throughout this book. In the beginning of the book (page 3) it became obligatory to wear the veil at school. The panel at the bottom of the page shows the children rebelling against the veil by using not wearing the veil properly. They make a mockery of the situation because they didn’t understand why they had to wear the veil. This rebellion against the rules and the veil repeats several times throughout the novel when it mentions and illustrates the women wearing veils with some of their hair showing, which is not how it is supposed to be worn. Marjane’s mother later gets insulted by fundamentalists because she wasn’t wearing the veil. However Marjane’s mother would continue wearing the veil in public like all the other woman but wouldn’t wear at home. The people in Iran obey and don’t rebel for example (on page 75) Marjane’s neighbors change by wearing a chador and mouth washing every time they utter the word “alcohol.” Another example of rebellion comes later in the novel (page 128) when Satrapi’s parents are trying to bring her something special back into Iran from their trip to Turkey. Before their trip, Satrapi asked for some posters and her parents made sure that they...

Words: 617 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Non Violent Resistance Movement

...Nonviolent resistance essay Allover the world people try to prove their point; some of the ways that they do that is by getting noticed. There are lots of ways that people try to be noticed some are violent ways and some are non-violent. Personally I think that non-violent resistance is the best method because nobody gets hurt and the resistors gain respect. One example of a successful non-violent resistance movement was the bus boycott. Rosa Parks was sitting in the front of the bus, while she was sitting there a white man told her to go to the back of the bus. Rosa Parks refused and she was arrested for not listening to the man. In return all of the African Americans quit riding the buses and walked to school and work. The bus companies struggled financially because a large number of their customers were black. Eventually the bus companies gained respect for the African Americans. Another good example of a successful non-violent resistance movement was the EPHS teacher strike. The teacher strike was successful because it gave the community awareness on what was happening in the school system. The teachers simply didn’t go to work and they stood on the streets and protested. The school board realized that what the teachers wanted would benefit our education so the teachers and the school board compromised. Another good example of a good non-violent resistance movement was John Lennon’s, “in bed for peace”. John and his newly wed wife were against the Vietnam War so...

Words: 377 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Productive and Counterproductive Behavior

...Running Header: PRODUCTIVE AND COUNTERPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR Productive and Counterproductive Behavior University of Phoenix Julie McLeod Jenkins July 26, 2010 Dr. Marie Tiemann What is Productive and Counterproductive Behavior Productive behavior can be defined as when a person/employee acts in a specific way that produces an effectual behavior that in turn has a positive outcome. Counterproductive behavior is when a person/employee acts in a way that goes against the ideas and goals of a group or organization. Both types of behavior can have an enormous impact on any organization, both negative and positive. Whether the effect is positive or negative depends completely upon the person or persons and the specific organization. The outcomes of both productive and counterproductive behavior can, however, are manipulated into all around positive effects with certain strategies. Productive and Counterproductive Behaviors In an organization or group there will always be people who will have either one of two behaviors. They can either be a productive or a counterproductive behavior type. Those who obtain a productive behavior are likely to have a positive effect on an organization. For example, there are two employees in a clothing store with similarities in their sale figures and they sell the same amount of a certain piece of clothing each month. The only difference in these two employees is that employee A works ten hours each day and employee...

Words: 839 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Greasy Lake

...wrecked others’ properties, watched people make out by the lake, and “didn’t give a shit about anything” as they drove recklessly. The author portrays Greasy Lake as “fetid and murky” with its banks “glittering with broken glass and strewn with beer cans and the charred remains of bonfires” . This image of destruction parallels with and supports the main characters’ violent behaviour, thus explaining why they to Greasy Lake. As the teenagers rebel, they allow their primal instincts to govern themselves. Dictions including “snuff”, “howl”, and “primeval susurrus” imitate their animalistic behaviour as they inch towards what they perceived as “nature” then, which is to rebel. The main characters’ wish to seek adventure also determines their rebellion. They are shown to have “cruised the strip sixty-seven times” to search thrill within a small, isolated area around Greasy Lake. The repetition of their activities reflects their dissatisfaction of the lack of excitement within the region. The personification “winked” further demonstrates how something with only a tinge of...

Words: 1148 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

60's Essay

...The Sixties Essay The 60’s began a period of innocence and hope. However, it soon began to behold like a time of anger and violence. Many protested to demand an end to the immoral treatment of blacks, protested to demand an end to the war in Vietnam, And protested to demand full equality for women. Many controversial issues came up rapidly. The rebellion and violence afflicted the youth of America. The effect was especially bad because of the time period in which they had developed. By the middle 1950s, most of the youth’s parents had jobs that paid well. And they were very satisfied with their lives. They educated their children with what were known as "middle class" ethics. These contained a knowledge in God, hard work, and service to their country. Eventually, much of the youth in America began to question these beliefs. They felt that their parents' values were not enough to help them with the social hardships of the 1960s. They rebelled by against their prior ways by letting their hair grow long, and wearing odd clothing. Their anger was strongly communicated through music. Rock-and-roll music had become very prominent in America in the 1960s. Many people did not approve of it because they thought it was too sexual and demeaning, and they found the words inappropriate and harmful. The beatles came out with a protest song called “Revolution”. A revolution defined is, a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system.” This song was mainly about...

Words: 606 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

A&P Contrast

...“A&P” and “Gryphon” have two very unique story plots yet they seem to resemble one interesting characteristic that develops throughout the story leading to an interesting turn of events. The stories are both told in first person narrative and have a sort of interesting rebellious appeal to them. It begins with the contrast between the stories plot development but leads to a troublesome “fork in the road” type scenario that puts an interesting twist onto the conclusion of the story. Some may see rebelliousness as acting against the norm but “John Updike” the author of A&P tells a tale of how two different sets of people both defy society and begin paving a way of change into the new generation. “Gryphon’s” story set is told from how a change in the way we think may leave us changing the way we live our lives. The stories may seem to have different alternatives overall but the way they are portrayed by the authors have a similar comparative aspect that can be looked at from both angles regardless of the storyline. When someone seems destined to choose a different path in life often times people may see this person as an outcast or indifferent to some. In A&P Sammy seems to not to be fulfilled with the way he spends his dull uneventful youth life ultimately leading to the defiance and betrayed to his boss over a deemed inappropriate act. “"Is it done?" he asks, the responsible married man finding his voice. I forgot to say he thinks he's going to be manager some sunny...

Words: 799 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Anti Hero in a Clockwork Orange

...Introduction It was the year of 1516 when Utopia was brought into being by Sir Thomas Moore, and from then on to the 19th century, utopian fiction has experienced a development and a dramatic turn into just the opposite tone, dystopian. These two distinctive streams in British literature, with a same distant source, contain totally different settings—if the utopian novels have demonstrated the perfectly idealized future society for mankind, then the dystopian ones describe the least ideal society, and it is usually considered that a dystopia is the vision of a society in which condition of life are miserable and characterized by poverty, oppression, war, violence, disease, pollution, nuclear fallout and/or the abridgement of human rights, resulting in widespread unhappiness, suffering, and other kinds of pain.1 As material civilization develops into a certain level and can be considered as more than sufficient, then the world is superior to spiritual civilization; however human spirit is the reflection and is controlled by the substances. So, in a highly-developed society with rich material life and high technology, human spirit indeed has no real freedom. Of course, flooding modernized technologies provide human beings a better living condition, but they are covering up an empty and weak spiritual world. Human beings are made to be squeezed to become the flat and instrumental existence surround by machines which makes them feel it is a perfect world. It is obvious...

Words: 1029 - Pages: 5