The hero we all wish we could be - 1600 Words

The hero we all wish we could be. In the late eighteen hundreds the roles of genders were specific. Men were to work and provide for his family. While woman were to stay home and care for their household, children, and ultimately to satisfy their husbands desires. In the play A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen we see the character of Nora Helmer escape from this age’s common gender role by leaving her husband and children behind in search for her own happiness. While many could criticize Nora’s abandonment of her children and husband a cowardly and wrong thing to do. Nora could also be seen as heroic for challenging the power of a man during this time and escaping her unhappy life. We see Nora transform from her husband Torvald’s puppet to†¦show more content†¦Torvald also calls Nora various pet names such as, â€Å"my squirrel† and â€Å"my little skylark†. This really dehumanizes Nora and further reinforces Torvalds power. The symbol of money is a continuous struggle throughout Torvald and Nora’s marriage. Torvald belittles Nora for spending money the way that she does. Torvald calls Nora a spendthrift and says that she is very foolish with money. Torvald claims that Nora’s lack of responsibility with money is due to being a woman. Torvald gives Nora money to pay back a potter that they owed money to. And money to buy Christmas gifts for the children. When Nora returns and shows Torvald the things that she bought and tells him how much she paid the potter back. Torvald says â€Å"Nora, Nora, how like a woman!† (p852). This shows how greatly the impact of gender mattered to Torvald in their marriage. Due to this constant criticism and belittlement is shown by Torvald towards Nora over money throughout the play. Under the control of Torvald now and her father originally, a man has always controlled Nora’s life. Mary Wollstonecraft, author of the book A Vindication of the rights of woman states that from birth woman are taught to have softness of temper, outward obedience, scrupulous attention† (Wollstonecraft). While living under control of an overpowering male figure her entire life this is all that Nora has grownShow MoreRelatedOutlaw Heroes805 Words   |  4 Pages Second Draft of Paper #2 In The Thematic Paradigm, Robert Ray explains how there are two distinctly different heroes, the outlaw hero and the official hero. The official hero embraces common values and traditional beliefs, while the outlaw has a clear sense of right and wrong but operates above the law (Ray). Ray explains how the role of an outlaw hero has many traits. 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