Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House shows that just because something is unlawful does not mean it is immoral.
Nora Helmer violates the law when she forges her father’s signature to secure the loan her family needs to survive while her husband, Torvald, recuperates from his illness. The law as it is described in the play is that women could not apply for monetary loans without their husbands’ permission.
Nora only circumvents this law because she feels it is necessary to support her family. She doesn’t want to stress Torvald about supporting the family, so that he can focus on getting well. Instead, she tells Torvald that her father simply gave her the money they needed to go to Italy. She does this, once again, to prevent him from worrying.
Nora’s motivation for breaking the law, then, is altruistic. She has worked odd jobs without Torvald’s knowledge in order to pay back the loan, further demonstrating her noble intentions.
All of this shows that sometimes laws and morality are not one and the same. Instead, the play even suggests that sometimes one must violate the law in order to accomplish what is right.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
What is being said here about the law and morality?
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