Outline:
Through the process of the heroine Nora and her husband Haier Mao from falling in love to breaking up, the drama A Doll's House explores the marriage problem of the bourgeoisie, exposes the contradiction and conflict between the patriarchal society and women's liberation, and then challenges the religion, law and morality of the bourgeois society, encouraging people, especially women, to break free from the shackles of traditional concepts and strive for freedom and equality.
The heroine Nora comes from a middle-class family, beautiful and lively, naive and enthusiastic. She is passionately and sincerely in love with her husband Haier Mao. In order to treat her husband, she used to borrow money under a pseudonym, stay up late copying documents to earn money, save money and secretly pay off debts. She even said that if necessary, she could die for her husband.
However, her husband (former bank clerk and now bank manager) is a hypocritical and selfish bourgeois philistine. He usually called her a "bird" and a "squirrel", but once he knew that Nora borrowed money under a false name, endangering her social reputation and status, he uncharacteristically called her a "criminal woman" and threatened to deprive him of his right to educate his children and take legal action against her.
Later, influenced by his girlfriend, the creditor returned the fake IOUs, and his attitude changed, saying that he would love and protect her forever. After this turning point, Nora finally saw her "clay doll" situation clearly and found that she was only her husband's "doll", so she raised serious doubts and fierce criticisms on bourgeois laws, morality and religion that protected this family relationship and resolutely left this "doll house".
Nora is a rebellious woman with bourgeois character and emancipated mind. Her betrayal of society and running away from home are regarded as the "declaration of independence" for women's liberation.
Extended data:
Theme concept:
A Doll's House creates a vivid character for readers-Nora, who has always been regarded as a fighter for women's rights. With the development of the play, she changed from a beautiful, lively and carefree housewife image to a noble female image with a clear mind, longing for independence, pursuing freedom and equality, and willing to fight for truth. Under the social background at that time, a woman with her own independent thoughts like Nora was doomed to be the tragic ending, and the tragic reasons were extremely complicated.
1, the primary reason is the check and balance of the patriarchal culture: the reason for Nora's tragic fate is first reflected in the bondage of the patriarchal culture and the low status of women in the patriarchal society. "Men are the core of family and society, and family and social life should be centered on men. Under the domination of' men have the final say', all behaviors of the second sex' women' must be dominated by men, and women's personality is shaped by men. " Women can only express their ideas in a euphemistic way. Nora's father and husband have deprived her of the right to express her thoughts, so she can only choose to endure it. As early as when Nora lived with her father, she was afraid to tell him what she really thought. ? [8]?
2. The direct reason is the background of men's laws: 1878, Ibsen wrote in his notes: "There are two spiritual laws, two consciences, one exists in men and the other exists in women, which are completely different. Men and women don't know each other, but women are actually sanctioned according to men's laws. " In the play A Doll's House, Ibsen completely denied the spiritual law of men punishing women through the tragedy of a pair of bourgeois families, and clearly put forward that women should not be men's playthings, like vases for people to enjoy in the living room, but should have independent personalities. "
/kloc-In Europe in the 0/9th century, men and women were not equal in law, and there was serious gender discrimination in law. For example, married women have no property rights, and married women need their husbands' consent to borrow money from banks. "The above reality is enough to keep Nora in the subordinate position of her father and husband until Nora's tragic ending. Nora and Helmut have been married for eight years. On the surface, they formed a complete and happy family.
In fact, these are just illusions. Haier Mao never regarded Nora as an equal member of the family. Even Nora likes almond cookies, and he wants to stop them. Nora risked breaking the law to save her husband and Helmut was saved. However, such a reasonable thing was not allowed in the bourgeois society at that time, let alone admitted.
3. The fundamental reason is that the capitalist system is unreasonable: politically, Haier Mao is a loyal defender of the bourgeois inequality system. Nora is in the position of "being guarded and oppressed by men" in the family, and she can only listen to Haier Mao's views without refuting them. Helmut refused to let Mrs. Croix continue to work in the bank. Nora only said that he was "too narrow-minded", but he was furious: "Narrow, all right. Let's forget about it. " In Haier Mao's concept, women have nothing to do with society, and they cannot participate in social activities.
In Haier Mao's view, a wife is only responsible for her husband and cannot have any rights. This can explain the unequal relationship of political rights between men and women in capitalist society. Economically, the pursuit of money and status is the most important goal of Haier Mao's life. As a bourgeois mediocre person, Haier Mao looks like a "gentleman". On the surface, he is "law-abiding". But his "law-abiding" is to adapt to the order of bourgeois society, so as to achieve the purpose of pursuing money and status.
He finally climbed to the position of bank manager, which is the trick. Therefore, he can't tolerate Nora as a wife to reward herself by forging a signature loan-even if she saves herself, because it will damage his reputation and lead him to lose the money and status he wants. It can be seen that in Haier Mao, a bourgeois family, the relationship between husband and wife is only an interest centered on money and status, not love at all.
Nora is in a patriarchal society, and women are attached to men and have no independent status. Facing the accusation of her husband Haier Mao, Nora resolutely slammed the door and declared a complete break with her hypocritical and selfish husband and family who were deprived of freedom and equal rights. Therefore, Nora has always been regarded as a brave fighter of feminism. Therefore, the traditional explanation of Nora's departure is the awakening of her feminist thought. Therefore, the traditional reasons for Nora's departure are as follows:
First of all, Nora left to express her strong desire for economic independence. In the era of machine industry, men occupy a dominant position in production, so whether in society or in family, men naturally occupy an absolute dominant position, and women become subservient to men. Women have no proper jobs and can only rely on men economically.
In order to survive, they have to please and cater to men and show their value. Nora didn't realize it at all before she left. When she heard Haier Mao call her "bird", "little squirrel" and "sweet child", she was always intoxicated. When she learned that Haier Mao was going to be a bank manager, Nora's first reaction was "Now we can spend less money" and "You will make a lot of money soon". But Nora returned the ring to Helmut before she left. When Haier Mao suggested that "your hands are inconvenient, I have to help you", Nora firmly replied "no". This fully proves that Nora has really awakened, got rid of the cage set for her by men and pursued economic independence.
Secondly, Nora's departure is a great liberation of women's ideological independence. It's hard to be eager for others to give you happiness, but it's easier to give yourself happiness, which may be the real motivation for women's consciousness awakening. It is an inevitable process for women to realize the real liberation of their inner world by realizing material and spiritual self-reliance. The ideas of "male-centered" and "men are superior to women" have far-reaching influence in the west, and have become women's code of action and ideological coordinates over time.
They are satisfied with the status given by men, rather than fighting for their own freedom of thought. When Haier Mao reminded Nora that "first of all, you are a wife and mother", Nora replied soberly, "now I only believe that, first of all, I am a person, just like you-at least learn to be a man." This sentence not only makes a reasonable interpretation of women's ideology, but also makes a reasonable positioning of women's status. She once responded to Haier Mao's saying that "you don't have to carry such a heavy burden", which is enough to prove that Nora dares to bear the burden of family and society, at least she has this consciousness.
Nora also recognized her doll identity step by step. "Do you really love me? You love me just for fun "is the exact understanding of her doll identity." She doesn't want to be a "bird", "squirrel" or "clay doll" anymore, which is the independence of women's ideology and spiritual world at a higher level compared with the requirement of economic independence.
Thirdly, Nora's departure broke the traditional ideological and cultural shackles of "male-centered". In a patriarchal society, society is the stage for men, and the law and social system are the umbrella for men's rights. Nora wants to get rid of the shackles of culture and participate in and vote for everything inside and outside the family. When her husband was ill, she borrowed money to forge a signature like a man, and then secretly paid off her debts alone afterwards. This is Nora's own challenge to the patriarchal society and culture, and it is a concrete manifestation of her courage to assume family and social responsibilities.
However, this challenge is long. After Haier Mao's constant criticism, Nora really realized that the traditional "male-centered" ideology and culture bound herself like a shackle. Haier Mao said: "I have no shortcomings, and I hope I will never have them." The traditional concept of "male-centered" is a hotbed of this conceit and pride. Haier Mao thinks he is the bearer of the family burden. He couldn't see what Nora had done for him. He often says things like "Look, my shoulders are wide enough to shoulder this heavy responsibility".
However, Haier Mao's idea of "male-centered" suffocated Nora who lived with him day and night. Haier Mao once said to Nora, "Dear baby, I always hope that something dangerous threatens you, so that I can fight for my life and sacrifice everything to save you." This passage seems very touching, but it deeply exposes the essence of Haier Mao's self-righteous savior. The concept of "male-centered" has been bothering Nora and their family. It was not until Nora finally left that she really broke away from this ideological culture.
The reasons for Nora's departure are as follows: First, Nora's departure is a strong accusation against the legal system of capitalist society. The direct reason for Nora's resignation is that her forged signature violated the law and affected her husband Haier Mao's work and future. This is fundamentally caused by the irrational side of the capitalist legal system. Krogstein told Nora, "I have committed such a crime in the past, which made my reputation discredited and it was difficult for me to stand everywhere in society." This shows that the irrationality of this capitalist legal system is not only for women, but also for men.
When listening to krogh Stein's saying that "the law doesn't consider motive", Nora said, "Then this must be a stupid law." "I don't believe it. Isn't it forbidden by law for my daughter to try to make her dying father less troubled? Isn't the law forbidding a wife to save her husband's life? I don't know much about the law, but I think there should always be such a provision in the law that allows people to do these things. " Later, she said, "I don't believe there are such unreasonable laws in the world." In a sense, Nora's final departure is also an indictment of this inhuman capitalist legal system. Whatever the outcome, Nora ran away and took a very valuable step.
Secondly, Nora's departure is a re-examination and reflection on her love. The love between Nora and Helmut is based on the absolute authority of men. Once a woman surpasses a man, this relationship will be in crisis. Although Haier Mao told his wife when he was about to become a bank manager that your lovely eyes and tender hands don't have to suffer, it seems to be love for Nora, but it is more his worship of rights, status and money.
What he is really happy about is "having a stable job and a good income". Nora has always been secretive about borrowing money from herself, because she knows that if Haier Mao knows, their feelings will be cold and "a happy family will change." Nora always "steals" almond cookies, because Helmut won't let her eat them, for fear that she might eat her teeth. Nora said that Haier Mao always wanted to monopolize himself. When she first got married, she was jealous when she mentioned a friend, Haier Mao, and Nora stopped talking. Dr. Soft likes listening to Nora, so Nora likes chatting with Dr. Soft.
Between Nora and Haier Mao, it should be said that it is not the state that normal love life should have, and the appearance of Dr. Soft also confirms this. They are more like a couple admiring each other. They are free and have the same topic. They are relaxed and happy together. And there is an affair between Nora and Dr. Soft. She showed Dr. Rourou her flesh-colored stockings, from "Only you can see my feet" to "Let me see other places". In this process, perhaps Nora has realized that there is something wrong with her love, and her departure may also be a re-examination and reflection on this love.
Third, Nora's departure is the expectation of a normal married life. Ibsen gave no answer to what would happen after Nora left. But Nora left, and Helmut tried his best to keep her. Nora once said, "Wait for a miracle among miracles." And explained, "that is to say, we both have to change." Although Nora says that she doesn't believe in miracles now, if both husband and wife make corresponding changes, maybe the "miracle" Nora expects will still happen. It should be said that this kind of "miracle among miracles" has become very common in modern society, but in Nora's era, she may have to wait for this expectation for a long time.
Fourth, Nora's departure, in a sense, is a loss of confidence in the education and upbringing of children. Nora has three lovely children, but she didn't take any when she ran away from home. From the play, Nora doesn't love her children, but loves them too much. At Christmas, Nora bought presents for every child, but she didn't want anything herself.
But when Haier Mao said that almost all young people's crimes can be traced back to their lying mothers, Nora began to get nervous when she thought that she had lied about borrowing money. When Anna came to her with her children, Nora said hesitantly, "No, no, don't let them come to me."
Obviously, Nora is afraid that her lying behavior will have a negative impact on her child's growth. Maybe the last thing Nora can face when she lies is the child. Therefore, for Nora, only by running away can the child get rid of the shadow of the lying mother and Nora's own mind be freed.
Nora, the female image in A Doll's House, became a victim of love talk, and in the process, she was once in a state of aphasia. When Haier Mao made a choice between fame and his wife, he spared no expense to save face. Judging from the relationship between Nora and Haier Mao, marriage is a fortress of rights centered on men, and women can't find a happy way out in such a fortress anyway.
Although Nora is in a subordinate position in the patriarchal society, she gradually moved towards struggle and independence, and completed her own redemption and liberation in the process of constantly looking for a happy way out of marriage. A Doll's House exposes the ugliness of bourgeois society and praises women's liberation through the conscious process of middle-class female Nora's pursuit of the meaning of life and human rights.