Shut the Door! Slam the Door! Boom!

In the final act of A Doll's House by Ibsen, the main character Nora slams a door in her husband's face and leaves the house and subsequently leaves their marriage and family behind. Nora's action of slamming the door brings with it a lot of significance both in the plot line of the book in general and also in Nora's character development individually. 

The significance of Nora's final action in the story takes the plot line to a whole other level when considering Nora's leadership position in her relationship with Torvald, her husband. In the beginning of the book, Nora was the "socially-expected" subservient wife to Torvald. Her life was dictated by the superior role her husband and her father had and her "meek" nature. Torvald told Nora how much money she could spend, what she could eat, how to dress, and basically outlined her entire life for her. He always thought that he had Nora under control and that he had the upper hand in the relationship. In today's terminology, Torvald thought he was wearing the pants in their relationship. However, throughout the book, we learn that this is simply not the case. Nora was the one who had spent money under Torvald's nose in order to save his life. She had a secret job and secret debt. Torvald was the one who was under Nora's leadership in a certain way because SHE had saved HIS life. She had taken action in their relationship where Torvald hadn't. Nora slamming the door played into A Doll Houses' plot line development because it shows that Torvald, even at the very end when he tried to regain the upper hand in their relationship, was unable to do so. He was left dumbfounded on the other side of the door (which very well could have been an iron and locked prison door for all that mattered). Nora had made her decision and Torvald was "locked" into a place where he no longer had control over Nora because Nora was solely in control of herself. 

Nora's character developed hugely over the course of this book. She went from being a subserviant person to literally slamming doors in peoples faces. The slamming of the door is almost relatable to the saying, "when one door closes another door opens". Nora not only closed one door, she basically nailed it shut. The slamming of the door made her decision permanent. She was through with her life with Torvald and on another path. Nora has always been under someone else's authority in her life, whether it being her father or her husband. Instead, at the end of the book, we can see that Nora is now in charge of Nora. She isn't influenced by any other sources except her own voice of guidance. Her last act was defiant of the wishes of Torvald and the time's social standards. To put it frankly, Nora didn't care at all about Torvald or society's wishes...She didn't only shut the door, she slammed it. 

Live With Love or Die

Bright Star by John Keats is a lovely poem about love. Before we first tackle the poem, it is interesting to note John Keats background in the land of love. Keats met and fell in love with Fanny Brawne. However, when the two met and became engaged, Keats was too poor to support the engagement.  Therefore, the couple kept their engagement a secret from all but their closest friends. His poem about love describes a torn relationship between his everlasting love for a woman (who we can assume is Fanny) and being close to her. 

In the poem Bright Star, Keats, in the first line, establishes his longing to possess the characteristics of a star. "Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art--". This literally means he wants to be as steadfast as the star. Steadfast has multiple meanings such as: 1. firmly fixed in place: immovable and not subject to change. 2. Firm in belief, determination, or adherence: loyal. Another word for steadfast is faithful. In the context of the poem, it is clear that Keat's wants a love for his woman that is fixed and that will never fade away. This is jsut like how the stars are always shining and never moving. He will be eternally faithful to Fanny. 

The next seven lines describe the characteristics of a star that Keat's does not desire. "Not in lone splendor hung aloft the night/ And watching, with eternal lids apart,/ Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite/The moving waves waters at their priestlike task/Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,/Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask/Of snow upon the mountains and the moors". The faithful star also has to be way up the sky and watching from afar all these aspects of life. Even though he is able to watch all of them, he is separated from them because he is way up in the sky. Keat's doesn't want to be far away from his Fanny. 

After this realization of the separation that accompanies being like a star, there is a change in tone. "No- yet still steadfast, still unchangeable, Pillow'ed upon my fair love's ripening breast./To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,/Awake for ever in a sweet unrest/ Still, still to hear her tender-taken". He wants to be with her. Next to her. Feeling her presence next to him. In conclusion, he longs for a immovable and changeless love that he will be able to feel everyday. He never wants to be separated from Fanny. "And so live ever--or else swoon to death", The final line of the poem is very strong. Keats states that if he is forced to live without Fanny, he would rather die. He wants to live with love or die without it.