Ibsen Wants to Show That Gender Roles Are Quite Unfair and Can Lead to Unhappiness Henrik Ibsen in “The Dollhouse,”shows the inequality of gender roles in the 19th century This inequality led women to make sacrifices. Women are different now from what they were then. Parental Obligations were fixed during the Victorian Age for both men and women in their gender roles. In “The Dollhouse,” Torvald makes a black and white decision not realizing that he and Nora have a more complex situation of difficulty. Ibsen wants to show that gender roles are quite unfair and can lead to unhappiness. Nora in her role as wife to Torvald and mother to three children had to sacrifice many freedoms. She sacrificed as a mother to stay at home and help raise her children. In addition, she danced around like a doll for Torvald to entertain and please him. To maintain her expected role Nora did just what Torvald had asked. This seemed to be to her the only life she knew because she grew up being a doll to her father and was arranged to be a doll for her husband just the same. Eventually, this fixed role as a woman led Nora to unhappiness. Nora eventually asks Torvald to sacrifice his honor for her and when he wouldn’t do it she brings out a realistic point that “thousands of women have.” (quote) Then she brings up a question of why Torvald can’t do so. Nora had enough of sacrificing and decide d that she needed to start a life where she could learn about the world on her own and not be spoon-fed everything. So she decides to leave and says, “For that a most wonderful miracle of all would have to happen. We’d both change so much that – Oh, Torvald, I’ve stopped believing in miracles. That our life together would be a true marriage. Goodbye.” Nora from that moment on decides she is done sacrificing herself to what was considered her most sacred duty, packs her suitcase and then leaves. Torvald as husband plays the role of the controlling “father” never really having to sacrifice anything. He looks at Nora as if she is crazy when she decides to leave. He even actually commands her to stay there with him but Nora doesn’t listen. Nora’s parental obligations come into consideration when Nora decides to leave. That’s when Torvald says, “But to desert your home, your husband, and your children! And aren’t you concerned about what people will say?” (Act III. Last Scene. 15-16, 950) This quote truly shows that Torvald was a strong believer in his morals and the way of the Victiorian Age. He believed that the Queen was right in setting her example and the duties of women should be remembered first and foremost. That’s just about when Torvald says, “This is outrageous! You’re just going to walk away from your most sacred duties?” (Act III. Last Scene. 19-20. 950) Of course Nora replies defensively explaining, “I have other duties just as sacred.” (Act III. Last Scene. 26.950) This truly shows that there was a lack of maturity to work through this difficulty from both spouses. Kristine is a third wonderful character in the story and drama of “The Dollhouse.” In contrast, Kristine looked to sacrifice. She also had sacrificed much in order to provide and take care of her family. She actually had to give up a wonderful relationship with Krogstad to marry a man with money to help provide for her family. She eventually went back to Krogstad after her husband dies and decides she wants to be a sacrificial mother again. Unlike Nora, Kristine had a big heart yet and wanted to help Krogstad and his family that his wife left behind. Krogstad accuses Kristine of being selfish and says, “ What was there to understand, except what the whole world could see—a heartless woman drops a man when a better catch comes along?” (Act III. Scene. 3-4. 936) Then a quote from Krogstad says “That may be so but you had no right to case me aside for anyone else’s sake.” Kristine replies and says, “I don’t know if I did or not. Many times I’ve asked myself if I had the right.” (Act III. Scene. 21-23. 936) Eventually Kristine apologizes for the past and sacrifices again because it’s the only things she’s known. Kristine then says, “Well, I’m like a shipwrecked woman clinging to a piece of wreckage, with no one to mourn for and no one to care for.”(Act III. Scene. 41-42. 936) That’s when she asks Krogstad to be a wife and a mother again. This clearly shows that Kristine had strong morals and felt attached to the ordinary way of things then unlike Nora. The introduction of a “Doll’s House” on enotes.com says that Ibsen’s play came out with a new genre of modern drama. Ibsen showed the gender inequality very modernly with a drama set out with a new venture of realism. This venture of realism depicted the fact that women had to sacrifice several times as their role as a wife and mother. “ Indeed, Torvald addresses her as he might a child.” (Enotes.com) In order to make a marriage work there has to be enough maturity from both spouses. We see a fine example set by Kristine when she goes back to Krogstad so that she felt value in herself to sacrifice and work for someone again. Naturally, you also have to work through situations of difficulty. There was a lack of sympathy from Torvald and he was too one-sighted for Nora. Nora was immature in her decision-making and made a bad choice by not consulting Torvald before borrowing money. Torvald reminded her all too much of her father. Although Torvald was a very smart lawyer and had very good ethics there was some immaturity when he sought that anybody who made a mistake was unfit and had to take the punishment awaiting them. He lacked a sense of human understanding that things weren’t always perfect even though he was a perfectionist. Af first, Nora started out responsibly when she borrowed money when they went to Italy to cure Torvald. Things went tragically wrong though when the mishap happened and Krogstad was going to be fired and decided to blackmail the Helmer family. Nora was the type of wife who couldn’t hardly bear the sight of disappointing Torvald for years. She also showed small signs of immaturity which foreshadowed that there was a time she was going to be eventually unhappy just being treated like Torvald’s little squirrel. Although, her personality was young she showed signs of immaturity just as Torvald did in his black-and-white analysis of decision making. Works Cited Ibsen, Henrik. “The Doll House.” X.J. Kennedy, Dana Gioia. Backpack Literature. New York: Pearson, 2010. 891-953. Enotes.com. Enotes.com. 2010. 4 October 2010 http://www.enotes.com/doll-house.