A Doll's House

When the movie A Doll’s House first began, I was a little weary of what my opinion would be. I instantly began critiquing because quite simply, it was an older film. When the actors came out and I saw the clothing, I realized what the time period was. Personally, I don’t always make a connection to films of this area. Despite all of these factors, I tried to keep an open mind.  I knew that although the film was older and the time period isn’t always my favorite, I knew the underlying message had to be good if it was considered a “classic.”

            I was immediately disappointed as the first scene developed. The female character, Nora, was incredibly annoying to me. It was obvious that she had some sort of social standing, with her nice clothes and a house you presumed she was responsible in the caring of. Yet, she acted like a child! Squeaking and squealing, she pranced around the house as though she was a preteen girl, immature and materialistic. This was only heightened when her husband, Torvald, was introduced. Here they had a pitter-patter conversation, full of pet names and jokes. Of course there were some terms of endearment, but as the conversation went on, it became more insulting. Torvald spoke in a condescending tone and seemed more as the father who needed to steer his silly child into making responsible choices, not a conversation of a husband and wife.

            Now obviously I know that this was a different time period, a time where woman were not viewed as serious and insightful assets, but more as a possession of their spouse. Their duties were clear and cookie-cutter; they were to fill the role their husbands wanted them to, most typically a wife, mother and keeper of the home. This is shown repeatedly throughout the movie.

            I did like the fact that there were twists and suspense from characters like Kristine and Krogstad. Kristine was nice to see in a movie like this, a break from the naïve Nora. Here was a woman who didn’t live an Ivory-Tower life, but one of struggle and hard work. She was smart, and creative. She knew what she had to do to simply survive. The fact that she divorced her husband was also controversial for that time, yet she still did her best to maintain some dignity. Working so hard to support her family not only showed her character, but also that she did value things commonly valued in their society.

            Even as the storyline progressed and the character-development picked up, I was found myself forcing myself to stay interested. But, I lost interest. I just didn’t care about this little girl Nora and her relationship with her friends and family. I did want to know how she would get herself out of the financial mess she had got herself into and I thought the end result would be her walking away and abandoning her family out of fear, which was more annoying than anything.

            Then, it happened, the moment I had been yearning for. Torvald found the letter revealing Nora’s secret, despite their best attempts to keep him from finding out. Not to our surprise, he was anything but pleased. He was enveloped in rage, repeating “you stupid woman” over and over, while the reality of the situation he now found himself in, sunk in. Just as quickly as he found out about the ordeal, he received the second letter from Krogstad, which resolved the issue at hand and absolving the threat of blackmail and debt. When he began to apologize to Nora, there was no doubt in my mind that although she was hurt and embarrassed, she would forgive him and move on. What happened though was far from that picture.

            For the first time in the whole movie, Nora was real. She was smart and captivating. She finally stood up for herself and had an opinion. I couldn’t turn away, I was hanging on her every word. You couldn’t help but to feel a little bad for Torvald, that is until he opened his mouth. He was obviously surprised, but also ignorant to the feelings and personality of his wife. It was like watching their roles of their relationship reverse. The whole final scene played with each of your emotions and just as you watched their relationship change, your feelings towards the two changed as well.

            This whole scene really meant a lot to me. A few months ago, my parents decided the get a divorce.  I think a lot of the reason I didn’t like the plot and the characters is because I saw my parents in some of the scenes. No, my father did not talk to my mother as a pet like Torvald did and my mother isn’t a silly little girl, but I they did lead two different lives almost. My dad is all business, my mom is all about my sister and I. My dad doesn’t listen to my mom really, and is notorious for huge outbursts of anger-just to calm down and take back everything he screamed before. My mom is a push-over, she would do anything to please my dad, and she allows herself to be belittled if that means my dad will be happy. Now, they’ve pushed themselves to their own breaking points. They aren’t happy and they want to find themselves without each other.

I’ve always seen my mom as “weak.” I didn’t understand why she allowed my dad to do the things he has done to her. In return I suppose I’ve always been closer to my dad, but my mom’s confidant. When Nora started her speech, I saw my mom. Every word that came out of her mouth, I heard my mom talking. Just because my mom has tried so hard to make a marriage work for so long doesn’t make her “weak,” the stuff she has put up with, in fact, makes her incredibly strong. I can see where my mom is coming from more now, and the movie solidified my feelings.

I personally loved the ending. I can’t imagine how people of that time would have responded, a woman walking out on her family to “find herself,” but I thought it was beautiful. Her remarks about being a “doll” in both her father and husbands home, I could relate to. I feel like sometimes I’m simply playing a role that someone wants from me. In particular moments I catch myself playing things up to look better to someone else. I am a perfectionist by nature, and sometimes appearance is a huge priority of mine. I’ve had my moments of being so insecure, but wanting others to think the complete opposite. Walking away would have been devastating to a family, but Nora knew she was doing no one any favors by not being true to herself. 

We get so caught up in our hopes and dreams and sometimes we forget not to settle. But holding those around us on a pedestal doesn’t do any good either, in fact, it hurts everyone involved. The miracle Nora wanted, I believe we all hold on to. We want those we care about most to do anything for us, to push everything aside- despite right or poor judgments- and unconditionally defend us.

Overall, A Doll’s House, was real. It captured many different emotions, and showed the lengths one would take to simply protect themselves. The fact that it didn’t have a “happy” ending where everyone got what they wanted, was genuine. Those are the types of films I appreciate the most. Although it seemed to drag on a bit, I did enjoy watching this film.