VanMaiNguyenThi

LIT2031:Assignment4
How would you alter the ending for a current audience? Explain your choice noting both what
you think the functions of the writer should be in our culture and what the nature of marriage
shouldbe.

Arguably one of the greatest plays of the nineteenth century, Henrik Ibsens
A Dolls
House shook the world with its bold opposition to the social norms at the time, revealing the
injustice and corruptionofthemaledominatedsystem.Theplayisaprecursorinshowcasingthe
lives of ordinary people, and breaking the taboo about the role of women in the society and the
discriminative nature of marriage. The author delves into sensitive issues of the time, and
assumes the role of a social criticwhoutilizeshisprosetohighlighttheprevalentinjusticeinthe
society. Through the character of Nora, Ibsen not only questions the prejudice against women,
but also talks about the need for every individual tofindwhotheyreallyareandseektobetheir
real selves. Reimagining the play in the contemporary context requires consideration of the
social relations and gender issues of the 21st century, particularly the status of women in the
modern society in terms of marriage, fulfilling parental responsibilities and freedom to pursue
theirgoalsforeveryoneregardlessoftheirgender.
The play takes place in thenineteenthcenturyNorway,andfocusesonthetypicalmiddle
class family. The writer portraysNoraasanaivewoman,whoispreoccupiedwithtakingcareof
the household, and knows little about life outside the confines of the home. On the other hand,
her husband, Torvald, is depicted as the head of the house who is in charge of making the
financial decisions. He provides for the family, and appears caring and understanding to Noras

childish actions and thoughtless spending. Through this contrasting portrayal, the writer
identifies the patriarchal society of his time reflective of the womensinsignificantrolesintheir
marriages and the perception of women as ignorant and incapable of making independent
decisions. This view isfurtherhighlightedbythewriters illustrationoftheconstraintsplacedon
women by the social structures and the law. Despitehernobleintentions,Noracouldnotlegally
borrowmoneytosaveherhusbandwithouttheconsentfromamalememberofherfamily.Inthe
final part of the play, she expresses her disagreement with the law: I find it impossible to
convince myselfthatthelawisright.Accordingtoitawomanhasnorighttospareherolddying
father, or to save her husband's life. (109) By thesocialnormsofthetimes,awomancouldnot
survive on her own in the male dominated society ruled by manmade standards. The author
further emphasizes this fact by showing Christines troubled life after she decided to marry a
man she did not love, only to lessen the burden on her sick mother and younger brothers. The
discrepant gender roles in the society are stronglyreflectedinthefamilyinteractionsthroughout
theplayandIbseneffectivelyintegratesthesenotionsinhisdescriptions.Theauthorscritiqueof
his society becomes more apparent at the end of the play with Noras realization of her
constrained life as Torvalds doll and her decision to liberate herself by seekinganalternative
path.
While Ibsens revolutionary play touches upon relevant issues during its times, over the
course of more than a century, the perception of women and their role in the society has
improved significantly, and there is moreeffortmadetowardscreatinganinclusiveenvironment
for women.However,theprocessofadaptingthesocialstructurestoaccountfortheincreasingly
active participation of women has not yet come to an equilibrium, and some new issues have

arisen as a result of the rapid changes. Thus, when reinventing the play for the contemporary
perspective, I consider the need for integrating these new developments in modern social
relations and improved gender equality, and the changing perception of women in the society
and household into the story. My role is to critique the complexity surroundingmodernmarried
life, particularly for women in their newly secured social roles. Nowadays, women have
gainedsomevoiceonimportantmattersintheirhomes,communitiesandcountries,andcertainly
have a relatively higher position in the society than they didinthepast.However,thereisstilla
common perception of women as housewives, whose responsibility is to take care of the
household and the children. For many modern women, it is an extremely challenging task to
balance their career and household responsibilities. I aim to highlightthismodernstruggleofan
individualtopursuehisorherpersonalgoalsthroughthecharacterofamodernwoman.
In myversionoftheplay,Noraisportrayedasaworkingmother,whoisdissatisfiedwith
her life because she cannot find a balance between work and family life. Although she is
intelligent and capable of advancing in her career, her double duties inhibit her from fully
succeeding at either work or family life. Her husband, Torvald, deems her work less important
than his, and thinks her position is at home taking careofthechildren.Heconstantlyabusesher
and blames her for failingtofulfillhersociallyassigneddutiesasamotherandawife.However,
her long work hours and exhausting lifestyle prevent her from taking care of her children.Nora
is ambitious to advance in her career and achieve her lifelong dream, but Torvald is strongly
against her effort and vehemently discourages her from continuing her job. Despite her
suggestions to sharethechildcareandhouseholdresponsibilitiessothattheycouldbothcontinue
to work, Torvald shows no understanding or support of her opinions and refuses to change his

attitude. However, Nora fights her frustration and does not lose the hope that one day he will
understand her and show his support and love to her, just as he used to assure her when they
were newly married. She brings up the topic once again during an argument with him, but this
time, after blaming her for failing in herhousewiferesponsibilities,healsoaccusesheroftrying
to take over his position as the head of the family. That is when she comes to an epiphany that
throughout their entire marriage, he never really cared about her, but first and foremost tried to
maintain hissuperiorpositionaboveher.Itshocksanddisgustsherthathisgreedaboutbeingthe
head of the household issoextremethatheusesallthemeanstopreventherfromhavingamore
successful career than his own. She realizes that she has been keeping false hopes and that she
can never be truly happy with him. She eventually gives up in her marriageassherealizestheir
conflicting priorities. Nora makes a heartbreaking decision to abandon her kids with her
husband. She wants him to take care of the kids and work at the same time, so that he
understandshowshefelt.
Today, orcenturiesago,marriagesharesthesameproblemitcannot lastwithoutmutual
understanding and support. Ibsen presented this problem in a context relevant to his era,
highlighting the social, gender, and selfidentity issues at the time. Certainly a great deal has
changed in regards to these issues, and the society overall has seen a great improvement in the
equalityandpromotingindividualselfdiscovery.Yet,manyconflictsremainunresolved,andthe
same problems that Ibsen brought to the attention of the public more thanacenturyagoarestill
prevalent to some extent in the modern times.Itismyroleasawritertoreconsiderthenatureof
marriageandtheemergingissuesrelatedtoitinthecontextofthecontemporaryera.