Social and Political Protest - A Doll's House - Mrs Linde Summary
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Course
Elements of Political and Social Protest Writing
Institution
AQA
A character summary on Mrs Linde from A Doll's House. Perfect, quick revision tool. Includes family, status, relationships, summative paragraph and quotations. Helpful for brief revision near to exam period or understanding the character when first studying the play.
Family: No children or husband, has two brothers but ‘they need (her) me no more’, mother recently
passed.
Characteristics: Wise, mature, experienced, dishonest, traditional, sophisticated, believes herself to be
superior to Nora
Feminism: From a feminist point of view, Mrs. Linde creates somewhat of a paradox; being both a mark of women
independence as well as a conformist to Victorian society’s norms. In the beginning of Act One, where the
audience first meets Christine, we see her to be rather strong and willful, learning of her trauma, with her family
dying and her left with nothing, she has powered through. It also appears self-sufficient and strategic of Linde to be
asking Nora of work from Helmer, she has cleverly figured a wealthy option for herself and seeks to find it, using
her connections. As a contemporary audience, we stand by her actions, seeing her to be an early demonstration of
feminism; however, it may be argued that her other desperate intentions rule out these acts of independence.
When Nora asks her, “is it really true you did not love your husband? Why did you marry him, then?” Linde replies,
“I didn’t feel I could say no,” - due to her circumstances, with her mother ill and her alone. Nora says, “he was rich
then, was he?” and Linde agrees that he was “quite comfortably off, (she) I believe(s)” Here, conveys that Linde’s
only reason for marriage was financial gain, or perhaps the other way around. She presents a woman of the 19 th
century, who relents into her only option, marriage to a man, who is always above her. And it weakens the initial
impression of the audience of her, quite ahead-of-it's-time, feminist behavior, because her having to work and
fend for herself is solely out of desperation, she does not wish for a self- education as Nora does in the ending. This
is only emphasized by her immediately forming a relationship with Krogstad, she has given into the patriarchal
society because she prefers it that way, she works for a male superior and is relieved to be under the marital claim
of Krogstad.
Quotations:
-believes herself to be superior to Nora, shows that she did not chose her independence, but feels hard-
done-by because of it- “I have no papa to pay for my holidays, Nora.”
-traditional, evidential of her knowledge of women in society- “well, a wife can’t borrow money without
her husband’s consent.” “You’ve a visitor. Perhaps I'd better go.”
-wise/ deems herself to be morally correct- “(enters from the nursery with Nora’s costume.) Well, I've
done the best I can.” - metaphor for Linde trying to ‘correct’ Nora and helps her with her
costume/facade despite how corrupt she is, she will do ‘her best’. She also uses the declarative, “it’ll be
best for you both,” suggestive her superiority but also how ‘knowing’ she presents herself, though she is
unmarried and cannot be the one to give judgement on Nora’s relationship.
-conformist- “to Krogstad – You and I must have a talk together.” Imperative, enforces that she ‘must’
speak with Krogstad in order to get what she wants. Krogstad, “It’s the old story, isn’t it – a woman
chucking a man because something better turns up?”
-romantic with Krogstad but places financial stability, status above her feelings for him- “I had to. I
thought it my duty to destroy all the feelings you had for me.”
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