Torvald Helmer Essays

Torvald Helmer Essays Torvald Helmer Paper Torvald Helmer Paper As soon as Nora speaks those words, she transforms into an independent woman, quite different from the doll (Ibsen 1017) that Torvald has made her out to be. Torvald, too, cannot escape his own reality. Torvald. Through most of the exposition, seems like a loving, devoted husband and father. He seems to be strong, virtuous, ambitions, and a man of integrity. After the party, Torvald makes a show of his devotion, telling Nora that he has wished [Nora] was in some terrible danger, just so [he] could stake [his] life and soul and everything for [her] sake. (Ibsen 1011) This illusion of devotion is quickly dissipated, however, after he gains news of Noras folly. His demeanor switches entirely from the loving husband to a cold, petulant man who cares only for his social image. He laughs at the possibility of losing his reputation to save Nora, saying that theres no one who gives up honor for love. (Ibsen 1017) Torvald, like Nora, is not the strong husband he was made out to be. Rather, he is a puny, egotistical man bound by the conventions of the society to which he belongs. Yet another character not to be taken at face value is the purported family friend, Dr. Rank. A kindly old friend of the family, Dr. Rank seems to be a wise, trustworthy advisor to Nora. He knows his place in the house, as a trusted companion to Nora. With knowledge of his impending death he even goes so far to say that [Mrs. Linde] will be my successor here in the house. (Ibsen 995) Despite his place in the household as a dependable friend, Rank is hiding something much more sinister. Rank has an ulterior motive in his frequent visits to the Helmer household. The lonely old doctor is too lonely for his own good. So lonely, in fact, that he lusts after Nora. He admits to her that [hes] loved [her] just as deeply as somebody else. (Ibsen 996) Dr. Rank, the supposed comrade and compatriot, is nothing more than a covetous false suitor, trying to steal Nora away from Torvald. Though the script calls for three actors to play Rank, Torvald, and Nora, it may have been more appropriate to call for six, one for each of their guises, and one for their realities. The three characters had ulterior motives abound. They were false to others, and to themselves, which is not unlike modern society. Today, there is still a mentality of publicly smiling while privately frowning that has only grown since the publishing of A Dolls House. It is a shame, really, that more people have not taken the advice Ibsen has given through Dr. Rank and Nora and Torvald Helmer.