Nora Helmer is a fictional character of Henrik Ibsen's 1879 play A Doll's House. She is introduced as a seemingly devoted wife and mother, living in a comfortable middle-class home with her husband Torvald, a recently promoted bank manager, and their three children. After committing forgery to pay for her husband's medical treatment without his knowledge, Nora attempts to deal with the consequences that threaten her marriage.
Nora's character sparked significant controversy upon the play's release, particularly due to her decision to abandon her domestic life, which challenged 19th-century gender norms. Over time, she has been reinterpreted as a feminist icon and a heroine symbolizing women's struggle for autonomy and self-determination. Her characterization inspired literary and political discussions worldwide, influencing debates on gender roles, marriage, and individual freedom, particularly in early feminist movements and 20th-century Chinese intellectual discourse.
Fictional character biography
Nora met her future husband, Torvald Helmer, whilst he was a civil servant investigating her father's business ventures.[1] She later married him and had three children.[2] Early into their marriage, Torvald became seriously ill, and doctors advise him to stay in a region with a warmer climate. Nora secretly borrows the money from Torvald's colleague, lawyer Nils Krogstad, in order to finance the family's one year stay in Italy, and forges her dying father's signature whilst doing so.[3][4] Nora saves the allowance she receives from her husband to pay back her debt to Krogstad.[3] Eight years later,[5] at the beginning of the play, Nora is presented as living a contented life as a housewife and mother, with Torvald having several affectionate pet names for her, including "skylark", "squirrel", and "little bird".[6] Nora and Torvald live a seemingly idyllic middle class life.[5] Torvald has recently gotten a promotion and is now the bank manager, to Nora's joy. Nora's childhood friend, Mrs. Linde, arrives at their house, requesting a job at Torvald's bank.[7] Nora persuades Torvald to give her a job, which he does, replacing Krogstad with her.[8]
Later, Krogstad arrives at the house, furious as he is now dismissed from his role at the bank in favour of Mrs. Linde. He threatens to tell Torvald about the deception unless he is allowed to keep his job. Nora falls into despair, however, is convinced that Torvald's love for her will lead him to take responsibility for her actions. Nora considers asking a family friend, Dr. Rank, for the money, however dismisses the idea after he confesses he is in love with her and tells her he will soon die from a terminal illness.[7] Nora attempts to distract Torvald from going to his letterbox and retrieving a letter sent by Krogstad exposing her by asking for his coaching while she practiced dancing the tarantella.[9] Following her performance of the dance at a friend's house, Mrs. Linde asks Krogstad to not withdraw the letter, forcing Nora to admit her crime to Torvald.[10] When Torvald discovers Nora's deception and the forgery through the letter, he is enraged, and blames her for damaging his reputation.[4] Soon after, Mrs. Linde, revealed to be Krogstad's former lover, convinces him to withdraw his threats. Although Torvald now forgives Nora and declares that they can continue to live together as usual, Nora realizes the realities of her marriage and decides to leave her husband and children.[7] The play ends with the door slamming behind her as she steps out.[11]
Ibsen's inspiration for the character of Nora Helmer was his close friend, journalist Laura Kieler.[12] Kieler secretly borrowed money to finance a journey to Italy, in order for her husband to recover from tuberculosis, with Ibsen claiming she forged a check whilst doing so.[12] On discovering the crime, Kieler's husband divorced her, and Kieler was put in a lunatic asylum.[13] Kieler later denied committing forgery, and asked Ibsen to publicly state such, which he declined.[14]
Reception and analysis
Nora Helmer received immense controversy upon the debut of the original play due to her leaving her husband and children at the end of the play.[15][16] In September 1911, the first Japanese staging of A Doll's House was conducted by Tsubouchi Shōyō's Literary Society in a small theatre. The same month, a feminist literary organization named Seitõsha was established, with journalists labelling the women in the organization as "Japanese Noras", dismissing them as frivolous and immature.[17] Sawada Bushõ for Fujin kurabu, a Japanese women's magazine, presented Nora as a warning rather than a role model, although he praised Ibsen for creating a sympathetic character.[18] He blamed individualism and education for creating "so many pitiful awakened women".[19] Several critics were unable to understand Nora's decision to leave her home, concluding that she was mistress to another man.[19] Asai Shõzõ, a dean at Japan Women's College, called the ending "dangerous" and dismissed it as a theatrical stunt.[19] The Japanese professor Ukita Kazutami[de] gave a lecture, later entitled "Nora and the Woman Problem", stating that Nora's decision to leave her family was radical and not within Japanese social norms, also arguing that men and women were both needed for society to function, and that Nora had "missed the whole point" by thinking she could survive on her own.[20]
Hiratsuka Raichō, founder of women's literary magazine Seitō, responded to Nora's character in a review titled "Dear Nora". She criticized Nora's lack of self-awareness and naivety, and believed that Nora had yet to awaken to her true self by the end of the play.[21] Katō Midori gave Nora a more positive review, believing Nora to be self aware from the beginning, choosing to hide it in front of Torvald.[22] Ueda Kimi in her article "Reading A Doll House" praised Nora's lack of agency and autonomy, stating "the beautiful Nora who was loved like a doll never had a chance to see her own self", believing that Nora found her true self by the end of the play.[23]
Nora's departure from her domestic life has been a focal point in feminist literary analysis, particularly regarding gender roles and society.[24] Her character has been described as a construction of the ideal woman serving the interests of a contemporary male society.[25] Joan Templeton, in her article "The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen," addresses the debates surrounding Nora's role as a feminist icon. Templeton discusses how some critics perceive Nora as inconsistent or unwomanly, while others view her as a symbol of women's emancipation.[26] Academic Arthur Ganz wrote of Nora, stating she was "consumed by the desire for love".[27] The metaphor of the 'doll' in relation to Nora's character has been explored to understand the constraints imposed upon her by societal norms, with analysis noting that the title reflects Nora's position within her marriage and society, symbolizing her lack of agency and autonomy.[28] Barbara Leavy in her book In Search of the Swan Maiden: A Narrative on Folklore and Gender noted that Nora appeared to have been modelled after the archetype of a swan maiden.[29] In the decades following the play's release, Nora Helmer has frequently been described as a heroine,[a] being referred to as a "feminist goddess" by Leavy.[30] Chinese scholar Hu Shih likened Nora to the "ultimate rebel" from her will to achieve liberation from oppression.[31]
Nora has been the subject to significant debates amongst critics on whether Nora's transformation throughout the play signifies a shift from a "female woman" to a "male woman", feminine qualities to masculine ones.[32][33]Tone Selboe[no] argued that Nora took a "male position" whilst committing forgery and borrowing money, and she played a "child-woman" role to conceal her crimes.[32] Nora leaving her house has been interpreted as a sign of individualism and liberation amongst women.[34] Michael Gelber proposed that Mrs. Linde giving up her independent life to be with Krogstad at the end of the play was symbolic of what Nora wanted, "a sense of self-fulfillment in love".[35] Nora has drawn frequent comparasions to Hedda Gabler from the eponymous play, also written by Ibsen.[36][37] Nora Helmer dancing the tarantella is one of the most discussed scenes of the play, depicting the climax of Nora's display of beauty.[38] In the play, Nora's performance is noted as being frantic, dancing "as if her life depended on it".[39] Robert Lambert for The English Journal saw Nora's "frenzied twitching" as a metaphor for death spasms following her intended suicide.[40]
Vicki Mahaffey for the South Central Review described the dance as "frenzied", and a metaphor for the internal struggles of Nora. The dance was noted as being wordless, an expression of Nora's fear.[41] Some critics, such as Daniel Haakonsen, saw the dance as an expression of playfulness and irresponsibility. Haakonsen saw no direct links between Nora's transformation and dance, with some critics such as Raymond Williams seeing it as a theatrical element.[42] Errol Durbach in A Doll's House: Ibsen's Myth of Transformation interpreted the dance as a "relinquishment and death to her doll-like existence". The tarantella has also been interpreted as Nora role-playing as a romantic heroine in European plays.[43] Nora Helmer's character inspired several other characters in Chinese theatre, novels, and short stories, mostly rebellious women yearning for freedom and leaving arranged marriages for free love.[44][34]
Nora Helmer sparked debates about gender roles across Europe, the United States, and Japan.[45] In China, the example of Nora fueled radical intellectuals and the discussion of women's roles in China.[46]A Doll's House was translated during the May Fourth Movement in the hope of accelerating liberation for Chinese women,[31] and was performed in Shanghai.[46] She later became a symbol for the movement.[31][47] Nora was known as "Nuola" in the country.[34] At the time, calls for women's emancipation had been growing, and was a symbolic hope for wider liberation.[31] Nora came to symbolize a refusal for "Confucian morality" and as a champion of individualism.[31][34] She was likened to a "monkey performing in an arena" in her relationship with Torvald.[31] In 1923, Nora was subject of the famed speech "what happens after Nora leaves home" by Chinese writer Lu Xun.[48] Lu focuses on Nora's economic and social fate after the play's end, comparing Nora to a "caged bird" and surmising that she would "go to the bad or return to her husband". Lu used Nora as a symbol for the oppressed Chinese women of the time.[49]
In 1935, the example of Nora was a theme in progressive intellectuals' response in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek's New Life Movement, in which women were called to return to the home as virtuous wives and good mothers.[50] When the actress who played Nora in one leftist theatre troupe's production was fired from the school where she worked, the retaliatory firing became known as the "Nora incident" and was discussed in the media and intellectual circles.[51] In 1942, the Chinese Communist Party published Guo Moruo's essay The Answer to Nora.[52] Guo's essay responded to Lu Xun's speech "what happens after Nora leaves home," stating, "Where should Nora go after she leaves the doll's house? She should study and acquire the skills to live independently; fight to achieve women's emancipation in the context of national liberation; take on women's responsibilities in national salvation; and not fear sacrificing her life to accomplish these tasks -- these are the right answers."[53]
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![Adelaide Johannesen [no] portraying Nora, from a cigarette card of c. 1880 - c. 1882 Adeleide Johannessen som Nora i "Et dukkehjem", Bergen (11286565955).jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Adeleide_Johannessen_som_Nora_i_%22Et_dukkehjem%22%2C_Bergen_%2811286565955%29.jpg/250px-Adeleide_Johannessen_som_Nora_i_%22Et_dukkehjem%22%2C_Bergen_%2811286565955%29.jpg)
![Julia Hakansson [sv] portraying Nora in the Royal Dramatic Theatre in 1886 Julia Hakansson, rollportratt - SMV - H4 154.tif](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a4/Julia_H%C3%A5kansson%2C_rollportr%C3%A4tt_-_SMV_-_H4_154.tif/lossy-page1-220px-Julia_H%C3%A5kansson%2C_rollportr%C3%A4tt_-_SMV_-_H4_154.tif.jpg)
