Helmer is a central character in Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House. He is a successful man who seems to have it all: a beautiful home, a loving wife, and a bright future. But beneath the surface, Helmer is a controlling and manipulative husband who doesn’t truly understand or appreciate his wife. This ultimately leads to the downfall of their marriage.
Throughout the play, Helmer consistently tries to control Nora’s behavior and choices. He doesn’t want her to work outside the home, and he discourages her from spending time with her friends. He also insists on making all of the important decisions in their lives without consulting Nora or even taking her opinion into consideration.
While Helmer may seem like a loving husband at first, it quickly becomes clear that he is more interested in controlling Nora than he is in truly understanding her. This ultimately leads to the downfall of their marriage.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Helmer character from A Doll’s House, be sure to check out Henrik Ibsen’s play for yourself. A Doll’s House is widely considered to be one of the most important works of dramatic literature, and it continues to be studied and performed all over the world.
In Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll House,” Helmer is a well-known bank lawyer. His wife’s name is Nora. Helen, the maid, helps her raise her children. Both Nora and Helmer are overworked individuals in their everyday lives. They have no idea that because their marriage was not given precedence in their lives, it was not safe. The action takes place within their home. When it comes to protecting the family reputation, Helmer is extremely vigilant. Because his job as a lawyer relies on it, this is true.
Nora is not allowed to have any close friends, because he is afraid that she might say something that would ruin his reputation. All of his action and thoughts go towards his work and what people will think of him. Helmer does not realize that Nora is a human being with feelings, needs and wants.
She is more than just a housewife and mother, she is a person. Helmer treats her as if she were one of his property’s and not show her the love and respect she deserves as his wife. Nora is very unhappy in her marriage but feels trapped because she has no money of her own and no education. She has been living under her father’s roof all her life and then her husband’s.
When he finds a letter from the bank informing him that his wife, Nora, has taken out a loan, he becomes enraged. The loan was obtained illegally through forgery, which he discovered. She used her father’s signature to obtain the loan. Helmer immediately revoked all of Nora’s rights as his wife and mother of their children. He does not want a divorce since this would reflect badly on his public career; instead, he asks her to have a private room away from his and limits her access to the kids. In Helmer’s house, there is no greater authority than him (The Rule Maker).
Nora is not allowed to make any decisions, he tells her what she can and cannot do. Helmer’s biggest concern is always himself and how things look to the public. Nora is his possession. A thing to be used for his own gain. He never really sees her as a human being with feelings and needs of her own.
This comes to a head when Nora finally has had enough and leaves him. Helmer is shocked that she would do something so “immoral” and tries to stop her from leaving but she stands up to him for the first time in their marriage and tells him that she is going to leave anyway. Helmer finally realizes that Nora is her own person and not just his possession when she leaves.
He is extremely detailed in his instructions for how he wants his home to be managed. He has established a timetable for everything, from the food being prepared to when the children should go to sleep, and when they should wake up. This may be why he is so successful in his job. He’s putting his career first again and applying the same principle that he uses in the family at home. Helmer maintains an office within the house, giving limited accesses to Nora, his wife. Instead of referring to her as “his wife,” he treats her like one of their kids.
Nora is not even allowed to touch the things in his office. This can be interpreted in two ways, either he is very possessive about his work or he doesn’t want Nora to know about his business deals. Helmer wants Nora to be an ignorant childlike creature who would solely depend on him for everything, both physically and emotionally.
A telling instance of this is when Helmer gets angry with Nora for not being able to button her dress by herself and starts doing it himself. Helmer tries to control Nora by making her feel guilty and ashamed of herself. For example, when she spends money on dress without consulting him, he says, “I have a wife who thinks of nothing but amusements and finery”(Ibsen 56).
Nora is also not allowed to have any opinion of her own. Helmer doesn’t consider her views and always goes ahead with his decisions without even informing her. All these instances point to the fact that Helmer wants Nora to be a submissive wife who would do as she is told and wouldn’t have an opinion of her own.
Nora is not happy with the way she is being treated but she doesn’t protest because she fears that she would be left alone if she does so. She has been brought up in a very sheltered environment and is not used to taking care of herself. This can be seen when she is trying to button her dress by herself and fails at it.
Mr. Hemler is known for his strict “no wives” policy at work. He entertains his official friends in private settings and rarely informs his wife about his job. Henderland’s major focus is on career. It appears that Hemler does not treat his wife as an equal by not providing her with a spare key. He aims to be the first person to handle all of the mail, opening it and scanning it before distributing it according to recipients. His spouse, Nora Helmer, is equally possessive when it comes to how he sees her;
Nora puts on a brave face for the world, but is actually very vulnerable. She thinks that her beauty and charm will always get her out of any situation, no matter how dire. Nora has never had to work a day in her life and is completely dependent on Helmer. Helmer likes to control everything in Nora’s life, from what she wears to whom she talks to.
Helmer also believes that it is his duty to protect Nora from the harsh realities of life. This is why he has kept her sheltered from the truth about their finances. Nora is not allowed to have any real friends, because Helmer believes that they would be a bad influence on her. Nora is like a child in many ways, and Helmer treats her as such. Helmer’s decision to keep Nora in the dark about their financial situation is a prime example of this.
Helmer believes that he knows what is best for Nora, and that she is not capable of making her own decisions. Nora eventually realizes that she has been living in a doll’s house, and that she is not truly happy. She decides to leave Helmer and start a new life on her own. This is a very brave decision, as it was very rare for women to leave their husbands at this time. Helmer is shocked and distraught when Nora tells him that she is leaving. He pleads with her to stay, but she refuses.
Helmer realizes that he has lost control over Nora, and this scares him. Helmer is a very prideful man, and he cannot stand the thought of Nora leaving him. Helmer tries to control the situation by offering to go with her, but she refuses. Nora knows that she has to leave Helmer in order to be truly happy. Helmer is left alone in the house, and he realizes that he has lost everything.