“Well, you see, there are those people you love and those people you’d almost rather be with”
Nora’s comment in Act II presents the reader with a very provocative question: in short, what is love? Nora’s response to this question, as would be inferred from the text of the play, would perhaps not even suffice as an answer; it would probably go something like this:
“I don’t know… but Torvald loves me.”
Her definition of love seems to be based on the attention that her husband (hereafter referred to either as ‘he’ or as ‘Big T’) gives her, as can most readily be seen in the numerous epithets with which he refers to her, and on the control and authority that he exhibits as her husband. When Nora offers an example to Dr. Rank of the line that I first quoted, she references the love that she held for her father; just as her love for Big T rests upon her respect for his position of manly husband power, so too was her love for her father based upon his authority. Her notion of love is therefore constructed as a feeling of attachment through submission. In this context, it would of course make sense for her to believe she loves Big T yet at the same time wish to be around other people with whom she truly feels a personal bond.
Of equal importance in the interpretation of this work is our own answer to this incredibly simple, yet excruciatingly complex (ooo… how paradoxical), question. Our own view effects how we see Nora and Big T in the context of this play; the differentiation of familial love, fraternal love, and romantic love helps us to begin to understand the problem, but ultimately a definite answer is elusive. How do we know when we are in love? What is it that tells us we are in love? Is love natural and spontaneous, or do we create it for ourselves, within ourselves? Is love permanent? What determines whom we love? The answers of course are subjectively based upon our own interpretations of our own worlds. (353)
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6 comments:
Oh, I don't know why you're not there
I give you my love, but you don't caaaaare
So what is right and what is wrong
Gimme a siiiiiiign
As you can tell, I love your title, yet I hate you for getting that song stuck in my head. I also really enjoyed your actual blog post. It is quite noteworthy that Ibsen does not stop at exploring gender relationships or the social expectations of the era, but goes on to question the very meaning of love itself. And I think you did a great job of commenting on what Ibsen tries to get the reader to think.
Oh, I don't know why you're not there
I give you my love, but you don't caaaaare
So what is right and what is wrong
Gimme a siiiiiiign
As you can tell, I love your title, yet I hate you for getting that song stuck in my head. I also really enjoyed your actual blog post. It is quite noteworthy that Ibsen does not stop at exploring gender relationships or the social expectations of the era, but goes on to question the very meaning of love itself. And I think you did a great job of commenting on what Ibsen tries to get the reader to think.
Maybe I'm just writing this way because it's 10pm, and I'm tired and emotional, but for whatever reason, I feel like I have to disagree with your stance on Nora's love. I think that Nora truly believes that she loves Torvald. If she did not, Nora would not have committed a crime for him. I could talk about my position for ages. However, regardless of my opinions, this was truly an insightful blog. In your blogs, and you have not failed in this one, you continuously ask us timeless, universal questions that are worth considering. Thank you for your depth.
About your response to my blog, don't worry, Ben--my anger was directed only towards Torvald. I mean, you haven't done anything that terrible..., yet.
Ben! This is what I was looking for. I was waiting for the inevitable question, the question I believe is perhaps the most important to explain Nora's behavior: What is love, and has she EVER felt it in her life? It's interesting how she claims Torvald and her father loved her deeply (as she says she loves them), but in the last act she renounces all feelings towards Torvald and would do with her father if he wasn't dead, in my opinion. I believe this lack of love is the driving force behind all of her rather radical actions. Well done. And, needless to say, I loved the title. Woah-woah woah woah woah woah, woah woah...
Harry
Ben,
I love your title and I love your blog but now I am singing the song and my head won't stop bouncing to the right!
I was interested in this topic as well. Thank you for your clear and thoughtful analysis of the nature of love as portrayed in this time period. <3
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