Personality Transformation

Personality Transformation

From the very beginning of the play in A Doll's House, the model of communication between Torvald and Nora is revealed to the readers. He treats her like a child, talking in a condescending manner to her. Traditionally, the wife’s role is confined to being a housewife and a mother of three children, while her husband considers her to be incompetent in all other spheres of life. In this context, the ways of commitment of a man and a woman in a marriage are different depending on social expectations. Thus, a wife is committed to be faithful to her husband, to raise children and maintain a household. It is not in her scope of interests to interfere in her husband’s business, she is just to support his ideas and plans. In contrast, a husband’s commitment is to provide money for the family and try to be as respected in society as possible. Readers can see the personal commitment between Nora and Torvald in the play.

When speaking about commitment, it is worth saying that there is a conflict between personal and social commitment between Nora and Torvald. In fact, this conflict is what leads their marriage to crash at the end of the play. Because Nora as a wife has a prescribed way of behavior, she feels imprisoned by the role. She breaks a standard stereotype of commitment by acting out of a more intimate commitment to her husband. For instance, a wife is obliged to tell the truth to her husband, while Nora breaks this rule for the sake of Torvald. When he falls seriously ill, she decides to save him by going to Italy for a year. This journey is quite expensive, and because her father refuses to provide money, she takes a desperate step. She takes a loan by illegally using her father’s signature. For the next few years, she has to pay this debt by cutting her own expenses but does not tell a single word to Torvald.

The question why Nora hides the truth from her husband lies in the scope of commitment and social roles as well. Torvald has...