Lauren Carr
Mrs. Rutan
AP Literature and Composition
18 December 2015
Mrs. Rutan
AP Literature and Composition
18 December 2015
REPUTATION TRUMPS ALL
Envision a society where the opinions and judgments made by others—whether it is by family, friends, coworkers, or even complete strangers—becomes the main concern in a person’s life. It is similar to American society and the central value of individualism which can be summed up into one word: reputation. A person’s reputation is a representation of two things: who they are to a society and their place in society. In Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll House, he provides an example of how a person’s actions are lead by their reputation and how the results would affect their prestige. The argument that a person’s reputation is the first priority when a situation becomes complicated—even if their family is part of the situation-- is developed by the author. Through Ibsen’s fictional play, he uses the concept of “reputation trumps all” to push the argument.
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What’s more important: society’s view of a person or the person’s view of themselves?
It’s a well-known topic that comes up on a daily basis-- especially in American society. In today’s society and American society people are suppose to present themselves one way through their actions, physical appearance, and thought process, along with being in a specific social class in order to establish the ideal reputation. Standing out from the crowd and acting a different way-- such as a celebrity or ordinary person coming out an addiction, a disease, or about how they feel for the same sex-- can set a person on the outside and cause damage to their reputation. Ibsen captures that concept in A Doll House with the lifestyle of the Helmers. By having Nora Helmer boast about Torvald’s, her husband, promotion and the “lots and lots of money” (Ibsen 1098) they will acquire shows that they have moved up in society in a way, along with Torvald’s reputation. Although Nora experiences the feeling of “not [having] to worry about a thing” (Ibsen 1098) and feels the need to invest in things for the holidays, Torvald refuses to have “debts” (Ibsen 1094) since “a home in debt isn’t a free home” (Ibsen 1094)—but there is more to it. If a reader reads between the lines, they can see that if Torvald allows his family to go in debt, he would be putting his reputation at risk showing that he is unable to provide sufficient amounts of income for his family’s needs. Ibsen also brings in how Torvald reacts when he finds out that Nora committed an act of forgery which would jeopardize his prestige in society. Later on in the A Doll House, Nora comes to realize that Torvald’s reputation is more important to him than she is leading her to leave her family and question “who is right, society or [her]?” (Ibsen 1151). This realization can relate to real world events when people recognize the absurd expectations established by society and choose to act and make decisions without the impact of society.
Establishing a good name is an important building block to creating an epitome-- or in other words perfect—reputation.
It all depends on the decisions a person makes; a simple choice can ruin a career or it could tear apart a family. Ibsen created a character—Krogstad-- that committed “an impropriety” (Ibsen 1110) which lead to the disgrace of his name. Although committing a crime of forgery may have affected Krogstad’s reputation simply by having him lose the trait of being trusted, what caused him to disgrace his family’s name was not “taking [his] punishment” (Ibsen 1115) and using “tricks and evasions” (Ibsen 1115) to escape the results of his actions. The pressure of reconstructing and getting back as much of his good name back for his sons leads Krogstad to blackmail Nora Helmer (Ibsen 1110). Krogstad became so desperate to get back his good name, he reverts back to a time when Nora was so determined-- but not thinking things through-- to do anything to help her husband that she accidentally committed a crime causing Krogstad to be able to use it against her. He ended up giving Nora an ultimatum of convincing Torvald to let him keep his job or he would tell Torvald of their deal (Ibsen 1111). That event shows readers how much establishing a good name and an epitome reputation drives people to do unpleasant acts.
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Henrik Ibsen constructs a clear situation where a man chooses to be more concern and protective over what would happen to his reputation rather than what would become of his family if the situation progressed for the worse. Torvald is the man who says that he would “work nights and days” and “endure sorrow” (Ibsen 1152) for Nora--his love--but when his honor is in jeopardy he wouldn’t sacrifice “his honor for his love” (Ibsen 1152). Right there is the perfect example of how people from all over the world have an egotistical view on life. Torvald only thinks of himself and how a situation like his wife committing a crime would affect him. The well-being of his children nor wife never comes to mind. Many people—men, women, old, or young—will experience the impact of establishing a reputation, but it is up to them which is more important:
honor
or
loved ones.
or
loved ones.
Ibsen’s play, A Doll House, is obviously a great representation of how a person’s representation can be first priority in that person’s life even when their loved ones are put in a sticky situation. It may not be this certain situation, but the simple events of keeping secrets and covering up mistakes throughout the world supports Ibsen’s argument that reputation trumps all.
Works Cited
"A Doll's House." Henrik Ibsen's Play/drama:. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2015.
Arp, Thomas R., Greg Johnson, and Laurence Perrine. "A Doll House." Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. N. pag. Print.
Gradireland. Your Online Reputation and What It Says About You. Digital image. Gradireland. WordPress, 26 June 2013. Web. 14 Dec. 2015. <https://gradireland.wordpress.com/2013/06/26/your-online-reputation-and-what-it-says-about-you/>.
Munoz, Adriana. This Will Save Your Business: Reputation Management Plan and a Social Media Policy. Digital image. Threat Blog. ThreatBlog.com, 1 Sept. 2011. Web. 14 Dec. 2015. <http://threatblog.org/protection-tips/this-will-save-your-business-reputation-management-plan-and-a-social-media-policy/>.