The Stranger

A Confusion Between Wife And Child

In today's society, Americans typically portray specific roles for the different labels of groups or people in their society. Roles are put into place for all different types of people, from mothers to doctors to lawyers and homeless. But typically, the role between a mother and a child are completely different. Although mothers can sometimes get playful and act like their children to get along with them more, the roles of mother and child are usually completely different. In Henrik Ibsen's play, A Doll's House, Torvald, the father and husband of the house, treats his wife, Nora, like one of their children. Torvald seems to have confusion between the role of wife/mother and child. The way he treats Nora seems like he wants to tell her what to do and wear and eat, just like you would to a child. He yells at her about spending money and other petty things as well. Typically, in any society, it is not difficult to distinguish between an adult and a child. But in A Doll's House, Torvald seems to have trouble seeing his wife as a woman, and not a child. A woman should be treated like her own person, just as every other American gets the chance to do.

Children all over the world have one thing, if nothing else, in common. This is that they all have a sweet tooth. Children and candy is like rain and puddle, one just doesn't go without the other. A sweet tooth in incurable by anything, except of course those things that are sweet. Candy is the biggest cure for ones sweet tooth. And a sweet tooth can pop up at anytime, sometimes right before dinner. Typically, children who spoil their sweet tooth before dinner get in trouble by mommy or daddy. In Ibsen's play, Nora seems to be like a child. She eat macaroons when she gets home from shopping, and when he husband questions her about it, she replies, " l"(Ibsen ). Nora is questioned again, and again denies the acquisitions. She seems to be treated like a child here by her husband, who questions her about eating the candy. She is a grown woman and should be able to eat candy if and when she wants. She is old enough to know what is right and wrong, especially knowing the fact that she is raising three children of her own. Torvald needs to realize that his wife is a grown woman, and not a child who he can tell when to and not to eat candy.

Lies are very deceitful. Once a liar, always a liar. Lies will come back to haunt you. These are all sayings about lies, and how harmful they can be towards one's life. Lies are also very childish, because one who can not tell the honest truth is not the biggest person that they can be. This is the way Nora acts in the play, again comparing her to a child. Throughout their relationship, Torvald's role reversal upon Nora has caused her to come up with many lies and secrets that she has kept from her husband. And although the lies were all thought up and brought up by Nora, it becomes apparent that the lies were mostly at the fault of Torvald. The lies are one reason for the problems that have been "secretly" occurring throughout their relationship. One example of a major lie that Nora has been keeping from her husband is how she got the money to travel for him to get well. While talking to an old friend, Nora says, "2" (Ibsen ). She has been keeping this secret from her husband for years, and when it comes out that her husband may find out, she tries to do everything possible to keep Torvald from knowing. If he finds out, Nora says that Torvald