All something that her husband would completely

All something that her husband would completely

All scenes of this play take place in the late 1800s home of one of the maincharacters, Torvald Helmer. Written by Henrik Ibsen, A Dolls House containsmany instances of irony. The main characters, Nora and Torvald, are especiallyinvolved in this. Many of the examples of irony in this play are types ofdramatic irony.

Dramatic irony usually refers to a situation in a play wherein acharacters knowledge is limited, and he or she encounters something ofgreater significance than he or she knows. Throughout the play, most of thedramatic irony displayed is between Nora and Torvald, with Torvald being thecharacter whose knowledge is limited. Early on in the play, when Mr.

Krogstad isthreatening to tell Torvald of Noras secret, Nora pleads with him and askshim not to. She says to him that It would be a rotten shame. That secret isall my pride and joy why should he have to hear about it in this nasty,horrid way..

hear about it from you (1431). This is ironic in that herpride and joy is something that her husband would completely disapproveof. Torvald tells Nora No debts! Never borrow! Theres something inhibited,something unpleasant, about a home built on credit and borrowed money (1415).But nevertheless, she has borrowed money, and it is her pride and joy. She takespride in the fact that she was able to borrow money, since women are notsupposed to be able to, and that she has been able to save and work for enoughmoney to be able to make the payments on her loan. What makes it even morejoyful for her is that she knows this helped save her husbands life.

The mostjoyful thing in Noras life is something her husband disapproves of. Whatmakes this even more ironic is a statement Torvald makes to Nora afterdiscovering her secret. He says to her Oh, what a terrible awakening this is.All these eight yearsthis woman who was my pride and joya hypocrite, aliar, worse than that, a criminal! (1462).

He also uses the words prideand joy to describe Nora, just as she describes her secret. Anotherillustration of irony is the way Nora treats her children as if they were dolls.This is situational irony because Nora is treated like a doll by her husband,and by her father when he was alive. She says I passed out of Daddys handsinto yours. You arranged everything to your tastes, and I acquired the sametastes (1465).

She, in turn, influences her children in the same way. Norabuys clothes for the children, and shows them off to visitors, but she doesntactually mother them, Anne Marie does. Nora leaves her home and family in theend because she realizes the way she has been treated, and she wants to be herown person in the future. But ironically, she treats her children like dolls,and leaves them there to be treated like dolls in the future. Another instanceof dramatic irony again involves Torvald. He makes the statement Oh, mydarling wife, I cant hold you close enough. You know, Noramanys thetime I wish you were threatened by some terrible danger so I could riskeverything, body and soul, for your sake (1461).

He clearly says that hewants Nora to need him, and to need his help. Then, when the time comes whereshe needs and expects his help, he does not come to her rescue. He tells herNow you have ruined my entire happiness, jeopardized my whole future(1462).

After everything is clear, Torvald forgives her, which makes Norarealize that all he cares about is himself and he would have never helped her. ADolls House is rich in symbols and imagery, and things such as that. But theirony, more than anything in this play, is very clear. Some examples are moreobvious than others, but it is all very clear. It is easy to see the irony inthe characters situations. Basically, Torvald Helmer has very limited knowledgethroughout the play. And therefore, he gets into situations in which heencounters things of greater significance than he anticipates.

Works Cited Ibsen,Henrick. A Dolls House. Trans. James Mcfarlane. Literature: An Introductionto Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.

5th ed. Ed. X.J.

Kennedy and Dana Gioia. NewYork: Longman, 1999. 1413-1469.BibliographyIbsen, Henrick.

A Doll’s House. Trans. James Mcfarlane. Literature: AnIntroduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama.

5th ed. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and DanaGioia.

New York: Longman, 1999. 1413-1469.Theater