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Nora and Othello: Controversial Protagonists Nora in A Doll’s House and Othello in Othello are the protagonists who take somewhat controversial actions. Nora decides to leave her family because she feels her husband, Torvald, has been using her like a doll, and this comes across as a selfish move for a family person. Similarly, Othello is selfish when he kills his wife Desdemona for suspected cheating. Both actions are, according to some moral codes, unacceptable as they show a high level of self-absorption and selfishness, which are negative characteristics of the characters. However, their actions are arguably, and this is because Henrik Ibsen and Shakespeare portrayed the two while drawing some sympathy to them due to their situations. The justification or condemnation of their actions is based on a general analysis of their background and the plot as it portrays their experiences. In the story of A Doll’s House, Nora confides in her friend Mrs. Linde concerning how she forged her father’s signature to get money to cater for her husband’s recovery in Italy and explains that she is slowly paying off the debt to her creditor Krogstad. However, Nora’s husband refuses to give Krogstad his job back, a situation that forces him to threaten Nora that he would expose her secret to her husband. Despite the threats, Krogstad receives a letter of termination, and in turn, he leaves a letter in Torvald’s mailbox that seeks to uncover Nora’s activities. After that, although something unexpected happens, Torvald finally reads the letter and confronts Nora with ill words that affect and influence her to move out of the house, to safeguard her mental peace (Ibsen 858). Othello is a member of the Duchy of Venice. He falls in love with Desdemona, the daughter of the senator. But because he is black, their marriage is not allowed. They have to marry in private. One of Othello’s men, Iago, a sinister ensign, is determined to get rid of Othello. He first informs against the senator, but only to facilitate the marriage of the two. He then provokes Othello and Desdemona feelings, says that another lieutenant, Cassio, and Desdemona have a unique relationship, and forges the so-called love tokens. Othello believes it and chokes his wife in anger. When he learns the truth from Emilia, remorse comes into his mind, and draw his sword to slay himself. Finally, he falls on the side of Desdemona. (Shakespeare 742). From the perspective of the reasons for the two characters’ actions, Nora can be understood by readers, while Othello cannot. That is because Nora is justified to walk away from her controlling husband due to her being controlled like a doll, but Othello is not warranted in murdering because he acted on rumor and even if the cheating affair was real, murder is not justified. To analyze what Nora does, two events need to be paid attention to. First, the motivation of her cheating on her husband is to protect Torvald’s feelings. As Nora says, “A man with such strong opinions about these things! Besides, how painful and humiliating it would be for Torvald, with his masculine pride, to know that…” (Ibsen 869). Readers can see a scrupulous wife who cares for her husband so much, so they will not blame her for concealing the fact. Moreover, the reason for her leaving is that she does not want to be treated like a doll, and she tries to consider a more fair marriage bond. While looking at Nora from a consequentialist point of view, she acted because she believed that it was a positive step for her to move out of her marriage. This would especially work to increase her independence and reduce her dependence on Torvald. On the other side, Othello’s actions were inspired by jealousy. Emilia states that “They are not ever jealous for the cause / But jealous for they’re jealous. It is a monster / Begot upon itself, born on itself.” (Shakespeare III.iv. 810). Generally, in social relations, jealousy cannot be praised as a value and hence it is not always acceptable. This is especially so because it involves matters of love and relationship. When referring to the personalities of the characters, Nora does have advantages in the readers’ mind, for the reason that Nora is a female, and she is in a weaker and lower situation in her family. People around her, for instance, Mrs. Linde and Anne, also consider her as a “child” who cannot be independent. The most important thing is that she is always being told what to do, revealing that she has no leadership in her relationship. She obeys to her father, and then her husband. Readers may feel she is under oppression, just like what she says, she has been treated badly (Ibsen 913). It is natural for readers to show sympathy to a weak woman who tries to fight for herself. Nevertheless, Othello is out of luck in this aspect. Othello is a male, and a leader, not only for the family status but also for social status. How society defines him is a strong man, but he is mentally weak to handle uncertainties. Even in the 21st-century, people always want our boys to keep being like boys because masculinity is still where the power lies (“Why Girls…” n.p.). When Othello is a stronger figure, people can hardly accept his cowardly behaviors. With the basement of characteristics, the situations where Nora and Othello stay are also significant. Nora is portrayed as a mistreated victim, and hence this mistreatment including her position of a disadvantage as a woman in society leads to more sympathy because of the justification of her actions. Because the behavior she acts is to change this bad relationship, it will also be easier for readers to accept this ending. However, Othello is in a “criminal” or a “leader” status in the relationship. When he acts unusual things, he is considered to make this relationship “unfair.” Readers tend to show more understanding to Nora than Othello because what Othello does will be disgusted. One main reason depends on how important one believes traditional gender roles are (“Preface to…” n.p.). The public thought is to sympathize weak wives but to blame strong husbands because the thought of “different genders represent different roles in a family” is still the most popular. Another aspect to explain the differences between the two characters is how they affect society. What Nora shows is a symbol of speaking for women. Her actions come across as meant to free herself from this trap that men in her life have set for her. She is thus justified to move out and lead an independent life because she is performing the duty of happiness and equality to herself. This does cause society’s attention. In some remote places, women are not the only cast into a submissive role but are treated as inferiors (Neuman n.p.). For the problems that exist in society, Nora’s actions can be explained and rationalized. In fact, A Doll’s House become synonymous in many circles with the women’s emancipation movement (Plung 123). However, Othello is a character who is full of jealousy and cannot figure out facts. In the real world, such a person will have a negative influence on society, let alone in the literary world. Readers can easily forgive or pity someone out of understanding, but meanwhile, they can be very strict to a virtual character because of their public values. However, it is too fast to say Nora is innocent, while Othello is guilty. To Nora, her choice is a selfish move for a family person. It is an arbitrary decision to abandon her family; especially because she is a mother. What she does may cause a lot of housewives, especially mothers, to feel disagreement. The way she tries to solve the problem is to leave her family, which is childish behavior. It just indicates that she is not a mature young woman, at least for that time. To Othello, he also has something to defend himself. As Geoffrey states in an article, “There is also the dilemma of Othello’ s race” (358). Generally, Othello is mistreated through the racism he experiences as a Black man. Desdemona’s father is indeed very vocal about this, and he believes Othello enchanted his daughter. The racial slurs and treatment of Othello as a Black character is indeed devastating. This can be an explanation for his suspicious personality. His lack of self-confidence leads to self-destruction. Furthermore, he kills himself at the end of the play, which can show the audiences his disillusion and how he pay for his mistake. This action also shows his love for Desdemona, so he wants to accompany her even in heaven. This can motivate readers to some degrees. In conclusion, Nora’s action can receive more understanding and be more likely to be excused, while Othello will be regarded as a murderer and cannot excuse from his act. However, Nora’s decision is not the perfect one, and the character herself has disadvantages. While Othello commits a murder, he is still a good man in other aspects. Also, he is not being treated fairly, so that readers can try to understand him as he is a pitiful role. Works Cited Geoffrey Bent. “Three Green-Eyed Monsters: Acting as Applied Criticism in Shakespeare’s ‘Othello.’” The Antioch Review, vol. 56, no. 3, 1998, p. 358. EBSCOhost, search. ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.4613714&site= eds-live. Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. Backpack Literature. Edited by X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia 5thed., Person, 2016. p. 858-917. Neuman, Fredric. “Changing Gender Roles in Marriage.” Gender Roles, edited by Noël Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010908224/OVIC?u=troy259 57&sid=OVIC&xid=483448c6. Plung, Daniel L. “The Character Architecture of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House: Beyond the Fusion of Carpentry and Content.” Ibsen Studies, vol. 4, no. 2, 2004, pp. 123– 46. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=mlf&AN= 2004362522&site=eds-live. “Preface to ‘Are Gender Roles Important?’.” Gender Roles, edited by Noël Merino, Greenhaven Press, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/EJ3010908102/OVIC?u=troy259 57&sid=OVIC&xid=693047ba. Shakespeare, William. Othello, the Moor of Venice. Backpack Literature. Edited by X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia 5thed., Person, 2016. p. 742-852. “Why girls can be boyish but boys can’t be girlish.”