torvald helmer character analysis essay

Torvald Helmer

Character analysis, daddy issues.

Torvald gets a pretty bad rap most of the time.. and we can see why. He's incredibly overbearing. He treats Nora more like a child than a wife. He calls her silly names and scolds her for eating macaroons. Toward the end of the play, he even says that Nora is "doubly his own" because she has "become both wife and child" (3.257). (Cue the collective "eeeeew.")

When he gets her to do things like dress up and dance for him, we see Nora is actually less than a child in Torvald's mind. She's only a plaything—a doll, if you will.

... Or Just "Victorian" Issues?

Of course, Nora doesn't seem to mind Torvald's demeaning treatment at first. She even encourages it, saying things like "Your squirrel would run about and do all her tricks if you would be nice, and do what she wants" (2.92). It's easy to judge Torvald from a modern standpoint, but his behavior really isn't that outrageous given the time period. Yes, it seems that Ibsen created in Torvald nothing more than what he considered a typical Victorian male. Torvald is a product of his society, just like Nora is. In a way, he is equally as imprisoned.

Nevertheless, Torvald certainly seems to relish the role of the all-knowing provider. He says things to Nora like,

"My frightened little singing-bird. […] I have broad wings to shelter you under. […] I will protect you like a hunted dove that I have saved from a hawk's claws." (3.257)

He feels he must guide his helpless wife through the perils of the world. It's almost as if Torvald has cast himself as the hero in his own melodramatic play. He even tells Nora,

"I have often wished that you might be threatened by some great danger, so that I might risk my life's blood, and everything, for your sake." (3.214)

Of course, this is realism a la Ibsen (the opposite of melodrama), so Torvald's harsh and selfish reaction to Nora's crime is anything but heroic. For more on this moment, check out the entries for Torvald in "Character Roles." Also, look at "What's Up With the Ending?" for a discussion of Torvald's journey and possible redemption.

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Torvald Helmer Character Analysis in A Doll's House Essay Example

How would one understand the worldview of another when they are still in search of their own. Most people try to find themselves in other people, however that is only because of the feeling they get when they are with that person so sometimes people forget what they want and start to want to be like someone else instead of being themselves. In society people are in search to find themselves to become happy and understand their purpose in life. Similarly, discovering oneself is one of the central topics in Henrik Ibsen’s famous play: “A Doll's House”. It is seen throughout the play of how Torvald believes he must be the one to lead the family, to help “enlighten” Nora because she just “doesn’t understand”, however, he is slowly learning that some of these feelings he has aren't mutual.

Torvald is a prime example of a person who believes that men are on the top of the world and are in every way superior to women and that it is their job to educate them. For example, In Act 1 Torvald doesn’t think Nora’s beliefs are relevant and just tells her what they need to do.

“Helmer: That is like a woman! But seriously, Nora, you know what I think about that. No debt, no borrowing. There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt. We two have kept bravely on the straight road so far, and we will go on the same way for the short time longer that there need be any struggle” (Ibsen, Act I).

Ibsen chose to give Torvald a belief that women are careless of consequences, especially involving finances. The author also chose to give Torvald a strict financially conservative approach to life, so much that he believes “there can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt.”, this statement from Torvald Helmer may impact the drama and the audience in a few different ways. First, this distinct difference between how this husband and wife view the importance of money may be a source of conflict in the future.. Similarly, in another quote from the play Torvald explains that he forgives the wrongs Nora has done.

“Helmer: My dear Nora, I can forgive the anxiety you are in, although really it is an insult to me. It is, indeed. Isn’t it an insult to think that I should be afraid of a starving quill-driver’s vengeance? But I forgive you nevertheless, because it is such an eloquent witness to your great love for me. And that is as it should be, my own darling Nora. Come what will, you may be sure I shall have both courage and strength if they be needed. You will see I am man enough to take everything upon myself.” (Ibsen Act II).

Torvald was given a belief that men are better than women and that they do not know as much as men do. Ibsen also chose to give Torvald an egotistical and a prideous personality to show this belief that he has. Torvald’s belief can be summed up when he says, “You will see I am man enough to take everything upon myself.”. However, because of these actions, Nora is starting to doubt herself even more which is ruining their relationship of “happiness”

Taking into account all the events in the play, it is seen that Torvalds beliefs and views are holding him back in his relationship with the one he loves the most, and as a person in general. Not only did his beliefs lead to the fallout of his marriage but also his closed mindset of women being independent eventually ended his happy life. The statement for when Torvald talks about being conservative could lead to Torvald being held back as some borrowing and debt could be a healthy way for him and Nora to build trust and bring them closer together. This choice could also lead to growth in that he can provide financially for this family without outside help. However, if he maintains this staunch anti-debt sentiment and solidified view on his devastating it is on his family, he may not be able to draw closer to his wife when something financially unexpected happens. In another case, when Torvald had a belief that men were better than women and how he is always right could bring growth to Torvald but in a bad way because in a way, he is just going to become more and more powerful and therefore probably start to control Nora. Nora from this emerging toxic relationship could cause her to become emotionally unstable or not confident in any task that she does anymore. If Torvald starts letting Nora have a say in some of the decisions that are being made, then the dilemma that they are in will be resolved and they will have a happy and healthy relationship again.

Some of the lessons from these characters and the play can be learned from their mistakes. For example, the main reason why Torvald couldn’t have known that there was a problem with Nora was because he never asked and that he expected Nora to be his “doll”. Another case of Torvald making his situation worse was him believing that he was always right and him being generally narrow-minded. These situations all led to Torvald having “plastic” happiness meaning that he never really experienced true happiness with the love of his life. Some notes that can be taken from this could be to have good communication with whoever you spend your time with so that there are no problems that build up which would also lead to having no trust issues. Being open-minded is also another thing that can be learned from this play, that always viewing another person's perspective could possibly lead you to a new way of thinking. In the end, the most important thing that can be learned from this play was to be someone of acceptance and understanding, and that not everyone is perfect.

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A Doll's House

Henrik ibsen, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions, nora helmer, torvald helmer, kristine linde, nils krogstad.

The nursemaid

Torvald Helmer | Character Sketch in A Doll’s House

Character Analysis of Torvald Helmer

Table of Contents

Introduction

Torvald Helmer in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is a lawyer who has been offered the post of the manager of a bank when the play opens. The first thing that strikes us about this man is that he is very fond of his wife and that he addresses her by all kinds of pet names such as “my little skylark” and “my little squirrel”. Subsequently also we find him using similar expressions to show his affection for her.

At the same time we perceive that his manner of speaking to his wife is somewhat patronizing. He speaks to her from a higher level. This becomes apparent in the way in which he tries to impress upon her the need of thrift in spending money on household needs. He tells her never to think of borrowing money because there is always something inhibited and something unpleasant about a household which is run on credit and borrowed money.

However, Helmer is not a miser. At the very time that he preaches to Nora the value of thrift, he gives her some extra money because it is Christmas time and she would need additional funds to be able to celebrate the festival properly. Apart from urging his wife to be economical in spending money, he takes upon himself the role of a mentor to her in other ways also. For instance, he has always advised her not to cat sweets, his reason being that they would spoil her teeth.

Torvald Helmer: A Moralist

Helmer speaks like a moralist whenever he gets an opportunity to do so. He seems to be quite strict with his wife so far as his moral principles are concerned, even though in course of time it becomes manifest to us that his own ego and his self-interest are more important to him than what he regards as his moral principles. He scolds his wife, though very mildly, for having told him the lie that nobody had come to the house when actually Krogstad had called upon her in his absence. When she recommends Krogstad’s case to him, he tells her that Krogstad had been guilty of forgery and that, furthermore, the man had not confessed his guilt but had escaped the punishment for his guilt by employing a cunning trick. He then tells her that a man like Krogstad, with a crime on his conscience, would always be telling lies to his wife and children, would be spreading moral disease and infection in his whole household, and would poison his children for years with lies and deceit. By talking like this, Helmer unconsciously gives rise to a feeling of guilt in Nora’s mind because she too, without his knowing it, had been guilty of forgery.

Torvald Helmer’s Egoism and Petty-Mindedness

Although Helmer’s apparent reason for deciding to dismiss Krogstad is that the man had a criminal record, Helmer’s real reason for his decision comes out when he admits to his wife that Krogstad had been a friend of his in their boyhood and that Krogstad, on the basis of his past intimacy with him, speaks to him now also, and in the presence of other people, in a familiar manner, creating an embarrassing position for him. Thus, as Nora points out, Helmer has a petty mind and is narrow in his general outlook. The hollowness of his moral principles is exposed here because he is willing to condone Krogstad’s moral lapses if koostad had not been speaking to him on terms of equality in the presence of other people. It is his ego which is hurt when Krogstad calls him by his Christian name in the presence of others.

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Torvald Helmer’s Patronizing Manner towards His Wife

Helmer entertains an exaggerated idea of his own importance. His ego is a determining factor in his decisions. His own wife does not have much importance in his eyes except as a kind of pet on whom he can lavish his affection and love and whom he can treat in a patronizing manner. When Nora speaks to him on Krogstad’s behalf on the second occasion, he even asks her how she has got the courage to raise the issue of Krogstad’s dismissal again after he has told her once that the man does not deserve any Jeniency. He tells her that her father’s professional conduct had something shady about it while his own professional reputation has always been above reproach. His patronizing attitude towards Nora becomes clear also when he promises to give her the necessary guidance and instruction in her rehearsal for the dance-performance which she is to give at the fancy dress ball.

Torvald Helmer: An Ardent and Passionate Lover

Although Helmer seems to be a man in whom the head is more important than the heart, yet he is capable of speaking in a romantic and poetic manner about his love for Nora. On seeing the seductive movements of Nora’s body when she performs the Tarantella, his passion is aroused and he cannot wait to make love to her. Back in his own apartment he gazes at her amorously, calling her his most treasured possession and claiming that all her loveliness is his, and his alone. He then begins to speak with the ardour of a romantic and youthful lover.

Torvald Helmer’s Failure as a Husband

Although Helmer is really fond of Nora, he treats her merely as his pet and his possession. She does not have any individuality or any personality of her own in his eyes. He regards himself as the master in the house and as the man who has to lay down the rules. He expects his wife to conform to the rules which he lays down and to conform to his moral ideas and to his opinions. When he goes through Krogstad’s letter revealing Nora’s long-kept secret, all his love for her collapses because his own reputation is now in danger.

Unable to cope with a Crisis

Helmer shows himself utterly unfit to face the crisis which Krogstad’s incriminating letter has created in his life. He calls his wife a hypocrite, a liar and a criminal. He says that she has inherited her irresponsible and vicious ways from her late father. He accuses her of having no religion, no morality, and no sense of duty. He tells her that she has ruined his entire happiness and put his whole future in danger. He also now believes that she is not fit to bring up her children. Thus it is clear that Helmer’s moral principles were shallow and fragile and that he cannot sustain them when he is faced with a crisis, just as his love for Nora has proved to be a mere self-deception and a make-believe.

Torvald Helmer’s Possessive Attitude

Helmer’s reaction to Krogstad’s second letter further emphasizes the weaknesses of his character. As soon as the danger from Krogstad ends, he relapses into his original self-complacency. He exclaims jubilantly that he has been saved. He also now assumes his previous patronizing manner towards Nora, and speaks of himself as her protector and director. He tells her with his usual airs of superiority that he has forgiven her and that from now on he would give her all the advice and guidance that she needs. Thus he has completely forgotten that he had failed her at a moment of crisis. This possessive attitude towards his wife is the most odious trait of his character. No wonder that Nora decides to leave him for good.

Torvald Helmer: A Pathetic Figure

Although we feel that Helmer richly deserves the fate that he meets at Nora’s hands when she forsakes him, he does appear to be a somewhat pathetic figure at the end. He tries his utmost to make her change her mind, but his appeals and assurances to her prove futile. He offers to live with her as a kind of brother to her, instead of as her husband. He then tells her that she would be his wife no matter where she is or what she does. He wants her permission to write to her and to send her money if she needs it. But her answer to all these suggestions and requests from him is a firm “no”. We do feel sorry for him at this point, but he has brought this punishment upon himself by his own behaviour and by his own wrong notions of the relationship between a husband and a wife. His ego-centricity, his false ideas of respectability, his ingrained conservatism and conventionality, his self-complacency, his feeling of his own moral superiority and, above all, his possessive attitude towards his wife are the causes which wreck his conjugal life.

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Analysis of Torvald Helmer Character in a Doll's House

Categories: A Doll's House

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Torvald Helmer Character Analysis: a Dolls House

In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House, a drama written during an 1879, middle-class, suburban Europe, he boldly depicts a female protagonist. In a culture with concern for fulfilling, or more so portraying a socially acceptable image, Nora faces the restraints of being a doll in her own house and a little helpless bird. The title highlights two important aspects of the play, a doll and a house. The doll and house symbolize the main character Nora Helmer, and the house in which she lives in with her husband, Torvald Helmer. Ibsen named his play A Doll’s House because of the relationship between Nora and her husband, the perfection of the house in which they live, and the constant manipulation that occurs throughout the play.

Nora Helmer was a very interesting character and a personal favorite to many. Ibsen created her to have many different changing impressions on the audience. At the beginning of the play he portrays Nora as being a materialistic woman who spends money all the time and solely depends on her husband to do so. During the first scene of the play Nora is walking into the house with a handful of newly bought items and even pays a porter twice his service fee and then proceeds to tell him to keep the change. When Torvald greets Nora shortly after she walks through the door, he immediately refers to her as a spendthrift, she replies with “Yes, Torvald, we may be a wee bit more reckless now, mayn ‘t we? Just a tiny wee bit! You are going to have a big salary and earn lots and lots of money” (Ibsen). This immediately shows the audience that she does not understand the value of money and well, loves to buy things. By Torvald calling her a spendthrift repeatedly it also gives us a bit of insight as to what he thinks of her bad habit. As seen throughout the play you hear Nora talking about her husband and how he got promoted and repeats how he will be making a lot more money due to his new position. This dependency is the reason that she unknowingly allows herself to be Torvald’s “doll.” As the audience sees early on, Torvald gives Nora an allowance in exchange for her to be on her best behavior and fulfill her duties as a wife and mother. The lack of respect Torvald has for Nora as a woman can be seen when he constantly calls her patronizing names, dresses her up in pretty costumes, and makes her dance for him. Through these specific actions it is seen that Torvald only admires Nora for her beauty and nothing more. Only at the end of the play does Nora realize that she has been a doll her whole life, not only with Torvald but with her father too. “It is perfectly true, Torvald. When I was at home with papa, he told me his opinion about everything, and so I had the same opinions; and if I differed from him, I concealed the fact, because he would not have liked it. He called me his doll-child, and he played with me just as I used to play with my dolls. And when I came to live with you—“(Ibsen). This very moment acts as a turning point in the play and gives the audience a final impression that Nora is no longer that child-like character seen throughout the play.

To illustrate that Nora is in fact a doll in this play, Ibsen purposely placing the setting inside the Helmer house. The house is immediately described at the start of the play as “A room furnished comfortably and tastefully, but not extravagantly. At the back, a door to the right leads to the entrance-hall, another to the left leads to Helmer ‘s study. Between the doors stands a piano. In the middle of the left-hand wall is a door, and beyond it a window. Near the window are a round table, arm-chairs and a small sofa. In the right-hand wall, at the farther end, another door; and on the same side, nearer the footlights, a stove, two easy chairs and a rocking-chair; between the stove and the door, a small table. Engravings on the walls; a cabinet with china and other small objects; a small book-case with well-bound books. The floors are carpeted, and a fire burns in the stove” (Ibsen). The simple description of the house portrays a house that is perfectly furnished and accessorized just like a doll house. The direct connection between Nora and her house, like that of a doll and it’s house, is made when Nora asks for money from Torvald and he replies “Indeed it is–that is to say, if you were really to save out of the money, I give you, and then really buy something for yourself. But if you spend it all on the housekeeping and any number of unnecessary things, then I merely have to pay up again” (Ibsen). The specific idea of this line is that Nora and the house are both Torvald’s expensive property and both cost a lot to maintain and upkeep.

Besides the doll and the doll house aspect of the play, the storyline also tells of mutual relationships. Throughout the play, the relationships between all its characters can either be manipulative, or even seem fake. Nora uses Torvald for money while keeping secrets from him like eating macaroons behind his back, Torvald uses Nora for entrainment pleasure, and Christine uses Nora to gain a job at Torvald’s bank which causes Krogstad to lose his job. This all leads to the main conflict of the story when Nora forges her father’s signature on the loan document she gave to Krogstad. Because Krogstad lost his job, he threatens to tell Torvald of Nora’s secret. This conflict causes a chain reaction of manipulation as Nora attempts to do all she can do to prevent Krogstad from exposing her. Knowing about Krogstad’s history with Christine, Nora uses her to persuade Krogstad out of his decision. The cycle of lies, and manipulation is symbolic to that of a dollhouse because even though everything in the Helmer household and the relationships of the characters seemed to be perfect at the beginning of the play, it is all fake.

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A Doll’s House: Nora Helmer Character Analysis

A Doll’s House: Nora Helmer…

Nora Helmer, the main protagonist of the story , is the wife of Torvald and a mother of three children. She lives like a doll in a doll-house, and her character serves as a symbol for every oppressed woman who is restricted from living a free life.

In the beginning of the play, Nora is shown as rather a submissive, childish woman, who enjoys being patronized, pampered and treated like a defenseless animal. She seems happy and doesn’t seem to mind her husband calling her a “little featherbrain”, “squirrel”, “skylark” and other similar condescending nicknames. In fact, she also seems to enjoy the treatment Torvald gives her.

However, along with this, one sees certain defiance, rebelliousness, and impulsiveness in her character. In spite of being forbidden from eating sweets, she eats macaroons without the knowledge of her husband, and even lies to him about it, saying “I wouldn’t do anything that you don’t like.” Nora is also manipulative and often plays dumb to get her way with her husband. When attempting to convince Torvald not to dismiss Krogstad, she says “Your squirrel will scamper about and do all her tricks, if you’ll be nice and do what she asks.”

However, as one enters deeper into the plot of the play, one realizes that Nora is not as deceptive and selfish as she first seems to be. Despite her seemingly cunning nature, she also possesses a certain innocence and vulnerability.

She is, in reality, naïve and inexperienced about the outside world. Nora also displays a bit of self-doubt, which is largely due to her being treated like a doll all her life. She is continuously reminded by Torvald that she is a “prodigal”, a spendthrift, “just like your father”.

She expresses her lack of self-confidence when she says to her husband , “I wish I had inherited more of papa’s good qualities.” Her insecurity is also evident by her eagerness to provide Mrs. Linde a beautiful and perfect picture of her life, by immediately telling her that she has three beautiful children and that her husband now has a magnificent position at the bank.

At the same time, she also believes that she is not given the credit she deserves. “You none of you think I could do anything worthwhile…”

Nora is guilty of committing forgery, an innocent mistake she commits in her desperation to save her husband from his illness. However, this eventually leads to her being blackmailed by Krogstad. Nora presumes and dreads that once her crime is revealed, Torvald will take the blame on himself and even go to the extent of taking his own life.

This shows that Nora trusts her husband, despite his dominating and patronizing nature. “He’d really do it- he’d do it! He’d do it in spite of everything.” It is when this “miracle” that she so firmly believed would occur, does not happen, that Nora finally opens her eyes to her husband’s true nature.

Nora’s climactic transformation into a matured, bold, courageous and independent woman forms a crucial part of her personality. When she realizes that her husband is not the protector or savior he claimed himself to be, and opens her eyes to his blatant hypocrisy, she immediately gives up playing the role of his little “doll”.

She realizes that she has been “dreadfully wronged”, first by her father and then by Torvald. She tells him, with blunt directness, that “You don’t understand me” and that “You never loved me, you only found it pleasant to be in love with me.” She decides to leave the house, to fulfill her duty to herself; to gain experience, to develop her own personality, and to understand the world she lives in.

She admits to Torvald ,”I realized that for eight years I’d been living here with a strange man and that I’d borne him three children.” She thus leaves the house with her husband desperately trying to stop her, and hoping she would return.

Nora’s character is thus a very complex one. She is cunning yet innocent, timid and insecure yet extremely courageous, defenseless yet fiercely independent and manipulative and secretive in the beginning but bold and direct towards the end. However, till her transformation, she seems to be playing two roles- one of her true self and another of her husband’s doll.

Thus, the weak, unassertive, dependent, and secretive part of herself is in reality her character as the doll, which she forsakes as soon as she realizes that being Helmer’s doll is serving her no purpose, and doing her more harm than good. Nora is a symbol for feminism, and for every oppressed woman who is patronized and denied her independence and self-identity.

She thus represents the right of every woman to personal freedom and identity and breaks the stereotype that a woman’s only duty is towards her children and her spouse.

Feminism in A Doll’s House
A Doll’s House: Film vs. Book Analysis
A Doll’s House: Christine Linde Character Analysis
A Doll’s House: Nils Krogstad Character Analysis
A Doll’s House: Torvald Helmer Character Analysis

Author: William Anderson (Schoolworkhelper Editorial Team)

love this analysis, very in depth. Truly explains Nora’s character!