The opening of Henrik Ibsen's play 'A Doll's House' gives the audience an introduction to the protagonist Nora and an insight into the nature of her marriage to Torvald. Also from this first point of the work Ibsen explores the constitution of marriage in 19th century Norway, in particular the rigid gender roles that this created within society. To a certain extent, Nora conforms to the role of the typical submissive wife, but the audience also encounters elements of independence in her character that have the potential to prevail later in the show. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the opening of the play, there is a sense, albeit subtle, of entrapment whereby Nora is trapped in her marriage and her home, and truly subservient to their husbands. The stage directions determining Nora's actions, such as "jumps up and claps her hands" or "shakes her head", are slightly erratic and create an atmosphere of restlessness, after Nora is housebound and repressed. Ibsen purposely leads the audience to believe that Nora, to some extent, is actually unaware of her own repression, since she never says she feels so (it is only implied through her movements), and is therefore instructively subservient to Torvald ; he makes no attempt to challenge the inequality in their relationship. In doing so, Ibsen subtly highlights how, because this structure of marriage was so widespread in 19th century Norway, women were seemingly unaware of their own lack of freedom. Although, at this point in the play, Nora was knowingly unhappy in her marriage, divorce would have been financially and emotionally oppressive for a woman living in Norway in the 19th century and so it is unlikely that women would consider this a viable choice. to do, choosing instead to remain submissive, rather than go against the social norm. Jenette Lee describes how “the problem of A Doll's House, for example, is not about Nora and Helmer's marital relationships, but about Nora's character,” underscoring the idea that women like Nora perhaps lacked the strength of character they needed free themselves, and therefore remained submissive. Furthermore, throughout the beginning of the play, Torvald constantly belittles Nora by repeatedly comparing her to small animals, for example, when he refers to her as "my little songbird" or "my squirrel". ”. The use of animalistic imagery firmly establishes the power dynamics within Nora and Torvald's marriage, Nora appears to be the submissive one at this point. The explicitly patriarchal society in which the entire play will be set is also established, an accurate reflection of 19th century Norwegian society. The extensive use of possessive pronouns is also indicative of a stereotypical marriage of the time, in which men adopted the dominant role that came so naturally to them in a phallocentric culture, in which women were denied the same rights as men. Critic Brian Downs states, "When Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll's House, the institution of marriage was sacrosanct," and this notion is emphasized by the ease with which Nora and Torvald embrace clearly defined marital roles; Torvald is possessive and condescending towards Nora, who accepts him, indulging him even when she speaks disturbingly of "when I'm no longer nice... when Torvald no longer loves me like he does now". From this Ibsen makes it explicit that Nora is aware of the superficial nature of her husband's love and subtly criticizes women of the time for conforming to the marital stereotype of being a submissive wife. On the contrary, it could be argued that it is mainly Torvald who does it..