The opening of Henrik Ibsen's play "A Doll's House" provides the audience with an introduction to the protagonist Nora and a glimpse into the nature of her marriage to Torvald. From the beginning of the play, Ibsen explores the constitution of marriage in 19th-century Norway, particularly the rigid gender roles this created within society. To some extent, Nora conforms to the role of the typical subservient wife, but the audience also encounters elements of independence in her character that have the potential to prevail later in the play. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay In the opening of the play, there is a sense, albeit subtle, of entrapment by which Nora is trapped in her marriage and in her house, and in fact submissive to their husbands. The stage directions determining Nora's actions, such as "jumps and claps her hands" or "throws her head", are slightly erratic and establish an atmosphere of turmoil, after Nora has been confined to the house and repressed. Ibsen deliberately leads the audience to believe that Nora, to some extent, is actually unaware of her own repression, since she never actually says that she feels like one (it is only implied through her movements), and is therefore instructively subject to Torvald; in no way does she attempt to challenge the inequality of their relationship. In doing so, Ibsen subtly highlights how, because this marriage structure was so prevalent in 19th-century Norway, women seemed oblivious to their own lack of freedom. Even though, at this point in the play, Nora was consciously unhappy in her marriage, divorce would have been financially and emotionally unbearable for a woman living in 19th-century Norway and so it is unlikely that women would have even considered this a viable choice. do, choosing instead to remain submissive rather than go against the social norm. Jenette Lee describes how "the problem with A Doll's House, for example, is not Nora and Helmer's marital relationships, but Nora's character", emphasizing the idea that women like Nora perhaps lacked strength of character . needed to free themselves and therefore remained submissive. Additionally, throughout the opening 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 animal imagery firmly establishes the power dynamic within Nora and Torvald's marriage, with Nora appearing to be the submissive at this point. The explicitly patriarchal society in which the entire play will take place is also established, indeed faithfully reflecting 19th-century Norwegian society. The heavy 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 such 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 underlined by the way Nora and Torvald naturally adopt clearly defined marital roles; Torvald is possessive and condescending towards Nora, who accepts him, even leaning in when she speaks worriedly about "when I'm no longer pretty... when Torvald no longer loves me the way he loves her now". From here, Ibsen makes it clear that Nora is aware of the superficial nature of her husband's love and subtly criticizes women of the time for conforming..