The majority of relationships, particularly romantic relationships, contain some form of power imbalance. Despite social movements towards equality and fair treatment of both sexes, men are often seen as dominant. Because their male counterparts hold power in relationships, women are subjected to obedience while being unable to discuss their feelings of inferiority. As a further result of females avoiding conflict, women are belittled within their relationships and unable to express their true opinions. This truth is frequently expressed in literature and media. In Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House, Nora and Torvald’s marriage crumbles due to a power imbalance. Mr. Helmer’s narcissistic qualities force Mrs. Helmer to a breaking point and contribute to the failure of their union.
Torvald Helmer, husband to Nora, is at the center of his wife’s crumbling. He actively dismisses slight warning signs she exhibits due to his selfish nature. At his core, Torvald has a narcissistic personality disorder. Although many men at this time period had excessive control over their wives and believed that they all had “sinned greatly” by attempting to regain their power, Torvald’s power over his wife is a direct reflection of his need for control over all people and wanting to be in charge (A Nineteenth-Century Husband’s Letter to His Wife). His role, different from that of the average husband, reaches beyond his wife. Mr. Helmer shows signs of this, particularly a lack of empathy and impaired expectations of intimacy as well as an exaggerated view of himself (American Psychiatric Association). Firstly, Helmer is unable to detect signs of distress in his wife after she takes out the loan without his knowledge. Nora works late into the night copying documents in order to pay back her loan taken out for the sake of Torvald. He is completely unaware of her unhappiness and feelings of dissatisfaction until she wants to leave him. Although she keeps the loan secret, her radical behavior and talk of suicide points directly to her future collapse. Even then, after many missteps and a lack of communication in the relationship, he is unaware of his shortcomings and flaws and their effects on his marriage. He is completely oblivious to his own oppression of his wife and confused at why she has become unnerved, despite his overt control.
Furthermore, Torvald has an extremely skewed perspective of what intimacy should be within a marriage. He controls her diet and what sweets she can consume as well as what she wears to the ball and when they leave. After their early return home from the party despite Nora’s complaints, Mr. Helmer is eager to engage in sexual acts and expects the same from his wife. He grapples with her before she insists that he must let her go (Ibsen 1397). This is the only instance in which Nora verbalizes a complaint against her husband. He then begs her for acts of intimacy asking, “Am I not your husband?” (Ibsen 1397). Torvald imposes himself often; his sense of pride is due primarily to his high position at the bank and an ability to belittle his wife. His power reaches beyond that over his partner as he dictates the routines of the children and what they should or should not be doing. His inflated sense of self also affects people outside of his family, particularly among his friends and colleagues. Despite their history as childhood friends, Mr. Helmer refuses to accept Krogstad back to the bank simply because he was “too familiar”. The relationship between Torvald and his wife is highly emotional, yet neither spouse expresses these concerns to the other. Primarily, Nora feels repressed by the expectations as a female in her society and particularly by her husband’s rules. Unknowingly, Torvald stifles his wife to a breaking point by dictating what she can wear and how she spends her time. He is unaware of the consequences of his actions because Nora prefers conformity to confrontation, resulting in not having one serious conversation in eight years with her husband (Ibsen 1403). Mr. Helmer’s emotional instability is apparent before his final explosion when speaking of Krogstad. Krogstad’s lack of formality around his employer causes sharp and sudden feelings of dislike and malice as well as his obliviousness to the strain of his marriage, foreshadowing the sudden accusations towards Nora to come.
Because her husband is emotionally unstable, Nora keeps many secrets from him. Tension builds between Nora and Torvald because they have no open communication. Nora feels that she is unable to have an equal conversation with her husband because of his dominant manner. She keeps small secrets, such as sneaking macaroons against his wishes and tells small lies to avoid conflict. Although these seem insignificant, they resemble and foreshadow the greater lie that Nora keeps from Torvald of the loan. She feels unsafe around her own husband enough that she would not dare to tell him of her loan taken out illegally for the sake of his health. It is clear that she will go to great measures, even run-ins with the law, before facing her spouse. This speaks not only to the dynamic of their marriage but also to Torvald’s treatment of Nora. Because she is married to a narcissist, she finds it difficult to maintain an open dialogue with her spouse because of his lack of empathy. Mrs. Helmer’s instinct to remain distant from her husband proves correct when the secret of the loan is revealed. Even though Nora’s risk is entirely for Torvald’s well being, at his discovery of it, she is condemned for having “destroyed all happiness” and as having “no religion, no morality” (Ibsen 1400). Torvald responds to the loan in terms of how it affects him. He is oblivious to the great fear Nora overcame for the health of her loved one and her risk of her personal reputation by forging a signature. It is only his reputation at stake and only he can correct the actions of a disobedient and immoral wife.
Throughout the realist drama A Doll’s House, Ibsen explores the consequences of power imbalance within marriage. Through a steady revelation of Torvald’s narcissism, Ibsen reveals damaging and lasting psychological effects on both partners of power abuse within a relationship. A lack of respect and empathy within a partnership lead to its eventual collapse and destruction of dignity of both partners.
Works Cited
“A Nineteenth-Century Husband’s Letter to His Wife.” 1844. The Bedford Introduction
to Literature, 11th edition, edited by Michael Meyer, Bedford / St. Martin’s, 2016,
pp. 1414 – 1415.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. Translated by R. Farquharson Sharp, The Bedford
Introduction to Literature, 11th edition, edited by Michael Meyer, Bedford / St.
Martin’s, 2016, pp. 1358 – 1406.
APA
MAGGIE STEWART 