The Role Of a Woman In Society Today

A society in which a woman is equal to a man is not a foreign concept in today’s world; however, this was not the case in the time of A Doll’s House author Henrik Ibsen. In this realist drama, Ibsen examines a woman’s struggle for independence in her marriage and her severance from societal norms. He portrays his animosity towards the doll-like role that women played in society during his lifetime and Ibsen uses the theme of spousal and filial obligations, as well as the symbol of the Christmas tree, to convey this idea.

Ibsen uses the Christmas tree to symbolize the fight for independence within Nora, as well as the decline of Nora and Helmer’s marriage. Ibsen, a Norwegian citizen, wished to inform his audience the importance of traditional gender roles to a Norwegian family of his time. Ibsen was a humanist, who emphasized the importance of the individual, rather than the importance of a collective whole.

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The dominant ideal present in society during Ibsen’s time was that women were subservient to men; Ibsen attempts to display this traditional feminine role in society, and women’s growth to independence, by drawing a parallel between Nora’s character and the Christmas tree; Ibsen uses the Christmas tree to symbolize the decorative purpose that Nora has in her home, Nora’s constantly degrading web of lies, and the humanist undertones that Ibsen utilizes to display role of a women in society today.

Nora’s ability to be able to break away from the traditional gender roles present in her society was unheard of during Ibsen’s time.

However, to do so, she committed an act which was extremely frowned upon by nearly every person in society; she left her husband. In A Doll’s House, the importance of spousal obligation is prominent throughout the course of the story. In today’s society, divorce runs rampant in many relationships, and it is not uncommon; however, in Ibsen’s society, a woman leaving her husband was unheard of and extremely taboo. To keep a marriage intact, a husband and wife must hold onto certain traits essential to a healthy relationship: faith, fidelity, communication, and admiration. Nora and Torvald's relationship lacks these characteristics, and their relationship appears to be based on a form of love; however, this was not a love that both Nora or Torvald grew into. The “love” present in their relationship is one of immaturity, as Torvald appears to truly only think of Nora as a child. This ritualistic form of thinking, this childlike appearance that Torvald holds of Nora, is what allows a comparison to be drawn between Nora and the Christmas tree. From the very onset of the piece, Nora’s introduction corresponds with that of the Christmas tree: “Nora enters… we can see the delivery boy… He is holding a Christmas tree and a basket”. The first act of the play displays the Christmas tree as being beautiful and decorated just as Nora is; she puts on airs to impress Torvald and uphold her reputation in her community. Nora’s submissive behavior towards her husband is reflective of the expectation of a wife during 19th century Norway; this obedience is prominent as she decorates the tree with flowers and candles, all the while promising to “do everything [she] can to please” Torvald. This highlights the disparity between man and woman, and establishes a correlation between the Christmas tree and Nora’s function in her household. A Christmas tree, much like Nora in all practicality, serves no real purpose aside from being merely decorative or ornamental.

Despite the Christmas tree and Nora having an association and correlation by purely the sense of character alone, Ibsen craftily utilizes the symbol of the Christmas tree to convey many other ideas throughout the play. For example, Nora’s web of lies and deceit towards Torvald associates with the Christmas tree as the story progresses. From the beginning of the play, we are able to observe that Nora clearly has a multi-sided personality from the way she engages in conversation with Torvald. As the Christmas tree is dolled up and decorated for show, so is Nora. As Nora’s sanity drains when Krogstad threatens to expose all of her lies, the Christmas tree does as well, as it becomes weathered and the decorations slowly fade away. When Ibsen utilizes the Christmas tree to resemble deceit, this parallel becomes apparent when Krogstad first begins blackmailing Nora. Torvald says he will “literally feel physically sick in the presence of such people”, meaning those who lie for their own benefit. Just after the events of Nora and Torvald’s conversation, Nora is “visibly uncomfortable”; therefore, in the corner, the Christmas tree is also in disarray: “The Christmas tree is now in the corner by the piano, stripped of its ornaments and with burned-down candles on its somewhat tattered branches”. Nora instantly becomes a woman who has disgraced her family when her deceit is uncovered, and ultimately due to her action in leaving Torvald, she will be shunned by society. Nora’s Christmas tree depicts an object that is created with a falsified beauty through decoration, but then becomes something that needs to be thrown away. This is a correlation between Nora’s web of deceit and the Christmas tree. Nora is the perfect wife if, and only if, she decides to suppress who she really is; when Nora decides to allow her real self to shine through, she becomes worthless in society’s eyes. Each subsequent lie that Nora tells is another decoration added to her tree; each lie is another story she must remember and uphold in order to attain her perfect doll-like appearance and not anger Torvald.

Although Christmas trees may wither and die, Ibsen’s intent is to show that this is not necessarily a negative idea. Humanism, or the ethical stance that values human beings, wishes to shed the world of dogma and stigma to allow humans to be truly free and equal. Ibsen’s ambition in creating this play was to bridge the gap between the stage and his audience in order to deliver a message. Ibsen, throughout the course of the story, allows the reader or viewer to make several how women's roles were defined during his time. As the play commences, Nora’s subservience is akin to many women of her time. She did anything and everything her husband told her to, and she took all orders in stride without a complaint or whine. Towards the beginning of the play, she was the picture-perfect wife according to the unspoken laws of society. In general, we as readers observe Nora’s role being the complete opposite of that of Torvald. Ibsen intended to hold a mirror up to society in the hopes that the women of his time would begin to question exactly why they were considered inferior to men. His idea to spark the prospect of Enlightened ideas amongst all women was a radical one for his time, but it allowed his audience to beg the question of if they were content with how their lives had become. Nora’s character development and growth to independence, with her multi-sided personality ranging from naive liar to independent woman, is directly paralleled by the Christmas tree. Ibsen is able to utilize the symbolic meaning of decorations and creating something beautiful on the outside, yet unhappy on the inside, to help inspire the women of his time to rise to independence and break free from society’s grasp. Ibsen’s humanist beliefs are prominent throughout the play with Nora’s realization of her, “duty to [herself]” . The Christmas tree symbol, with Ibsen’s broad usage, allows him to define and exemplify his own beliefs throughout the tale, and bridge the gap between the reader and the radical ideas behind the pages of his novel.

In summation, the many meanings of what the Christmas tree represents allow for a deeper contextual understanding of the piece. Each person in A Doll’s House, whether they be man or woman, each have a specific role to play within their society. Getting married to a man she did not love was one of the many sacrifices Nora was expected to make simply because she is a woman and was expected to do so. Nora’s departure from her marriage was one that defied all norms and roles present in her society; she left both her children and her husband behind. Truly, this text inspires a wonder of which societal norms affect us today in yet unseen ways. Will another A Doll’s House wake us from our societal slumber, or will the abused be able to stand up for themselves despite these pressures?