At what moment in the play do you understand why it is called A Doll’s House?
Although this question was placed under the Act 1 section of questions, I feel that only hints of the true meaning of the title appear in Act 1. In my opinion, I never fully understand why it is called A Doll’s House until Nora gives her own interpretation and analysis of her role as a “doll” to both her father and her husband Torvald. Leading up to this point, however, the play gradually reveals the meaning through Nora’s short anecdotes of her father and through the reader’s perception of Nora and Torvald’s relationship.
From Torvald’s very first line in the play to his last conversation with Nora, Torvald treats her as an inferior—almost as a child—and essentially treats her like a doll on display in a dollhouse. Not only does he use demeaning nicknames such as “my little sky-lark” or “my little squirrel” but he also interacts with her as if she is a silly girl, playfully chastising her for eating candy that day. Through these daily interactions between Torvald and Nora, one begins to grasp the meaning of the title. Furthermore, the collection of Nora’s comments about her with her father also helps in painting the picture of the title’s significance. The reader can draw from her stories that her father treated her and saw her in the same way Torvald does.
Most significantly, however, is when Nora comes to the realization of how devoid her life was of independence and self-accomplishment. I believe that this is the moment at which the reader is able to have a true understanding of why the play is called A Doll’s House. Nora acknowledges that her father, “used to call [her] his baby doll, and he played with [her] as [she] used to play with [her] dolls” (pg. 1730). Again Nora interprets her life to be like a doll when looking at her life with Torvald: “[O]ur house has never been anything but a play-room. I have been your doll wife, just as at home I was Daddy’s doll child” (pg. 1730). By the end of the play Nora is able to make a mature observation about her life despite her upbringing to be a naïve and ignorant woman. It is through this observation, that the true significance of the title becomes whole. (399)
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5 comments:
Devin,
I applaud you for choosing this question because it can be a fairly complicated yet crucial question (at least it was for me). I was also confused as you were by seeing the question in the "Act 1 Questions" section. Anyway, I thought your answer made a lot of sense, and I agree: Nora is manipulated (like a doll) by both her husband and her father. In the end, she finally steps out of the doll house to discover herself, a discovery that she partially understands and reveals in the play's final moments.
Devin,
I could not agree more. Alot of your points were right on topic with my blog post. This whole relationship is manipulation and it is sickening at least in my opinion. I enjoyed reading your blog. Good Job!
I just read the play. Don't know if posting a comment three years after your blog post is a bit too late, lol. In the very beginning, Nora talks about the gifts she's purchased for the children and I believe one gift is a doll house, which kind of had me looking for the symbolism right from the start.
This is coming 3 years after you original post but when you do post quote correctly her father did not call her his "baby doll" but his "doll child" and it stated the house being a "play pen' not a "play room".
Is this whole title?
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