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...portrays the shackles of the society of the time, and in doing so he imposes the message upon individuals that one cannot truly be free unless they fulfil the obligation we all have to ourselves, and break away from the rest of the conforming society so as to achieve a life of independence. Although the idea of freedom seems to go hand in hand with happiness, Ibsen proves through Nora's actions that this is not always the case, yet it is still necessary to fight for your own freedom despite what you have to give up.
A Doll house was inspired by a woman by the name of Laura Kieler, a women who secretly borrowed some money to pay for a trip to a warmer climate that doctors recommended for her husband, who was ill at the time. She secretly worked to pay off her debt but when her husband found out, he demanded a divorce. Laura suffered a nervous breakdown and was later committed to a mental asylum. A Doll house is set in a tastefully but not expensively furnished' Bloomsbury drawing room, in the house of Torvald and Nora Helmer, and their three doll' children. Torvald is the recently appointed bank manager, who loves Nora dearly but in a paternal manner, as he feels as a husband and a man it is his obligation to protect, and make decisions for Nora because he feels she is incapable of doing so. Nora however seems aware of this, as she plays along, "I never get anywhere without your help" , to her this is the only way she can penetrate his rigorous middle-class code of proper conduct'. As Nora is based on Laura Kieler, in the same circumstances as Laura, Nora took out a loan, forging her father's signature as women could not take out a loan without her husband or father's permission. The only person who knows, Krogstad, uses her secret as blackmail in order for him to keep his job. Nora fights to keep this a secret but when Torvald finds out, instead of Nora's...
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