Nora slammed the door on her marriage and the whole world shook to tremors. The echoes were felt across Europe when Ibsen wrote his ground-breaking masterpiece 'A Doll's House' in 1879. In his words there was a big exclamation mark to the society when Nora Says, 'Our Home is nothing, but a playhouse and I have been your doll wife'. Such a dialogue instantly propelled the world we live in into a modern age. It raises a very intrinsic question to our society, are women merely dolls? If yes then, do dolls have opinions? If no, then why are women compared to dolls all the time? Why are women with opinions considered overambitious? As a woman, it is important to have an opinion, it is important to have disagreements and dissatisfaction with the way things work around you and it is equally important to challenge the notions of the society. A Doll's house is no more about women rights as Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet is about family rivalry. Its theme is about every individual who thrives to be bigger and better and about their combat to obtain Self actualisation.

Coming back to Nora. Why did she leave? Where did she go? Did she make it big? Did she empower herself? Did she get what she was looking for? Did she discover herself? These are the questions we are eager to ask her today. She left her marriage to focus on herself. Why? Because she was unhappy and because her depression was masked, so whoever saw her work towards making her home better and indulge in shopping or sweet pleasantries did not see what she was trying to hide. Weather leaving her home was a good or bad decision only depends on the outcome of her future and how her prospects unfolded. What is laudable here is that, at least she took her chance at life. She fought with the system and she challenged their notions which made her look weak. If we look at it historically, one of the primary tenets of Marxism is the belief that human thought is a product of the individual's social and economic conditions, their relationships with others are often undermined by those conditions (Letterbie 1259), and that the weak or less-fortunate are always exploited by the strong and the more powerful ones. Women have been considered weak, but they don't have to be, not anymore, not in 2018. The only way that is possible is if they believe in themselves and do not let anyone judge them.

Nora goes out to work, to earn bread for herself, she no longer has to ask for money from her husband, she is no longer obliged to tell anyone what she did with the money she earned. There is a sense of independence in that, a sense of freedom, right there which makes you more aware of yourself. So, are we saying that the modern women in the society are happier than they were in olden days? Or in contrast, are they overworked? Does the 21^stcentury allow you to be independent or does it ask you to be on your toes, still wearing those high heels? Women in the 21^stcentury are expected to work and also have a perfect personal life balance. Does society have the same expectations from men? They don't! so what is then the ideal way of dealing with all the pressure? Is it denial? Like Nora in 1879 or is acceptance like it is today? To answer that I would say that, it is acceptance of one's competence and also one's shortcomings. Women need to accept the way they are, the way they look, the way they speak, the way they dress. Focusing on one's self is the first step towards being happy.

For instance, ask a child weather they want their moms to be perfect or whether they want them to be happy? Everyone would choose the latter. Men want their wives to be happy, their moms to be happy, women around them to be happy, not perfect. Perfection is an idea, like utopia is to a political system. Which is why will always lose if we are adamant to be perfect. I am not saying that aiming perfection is a bad thing but obsessing about it is. If our whole focus is consumed about perfection, then we will lose the essence of living. A woman is expected to be a good mom, a good wife, a good chef and a good money-manager but it's difficult to be impeccable in all these aspects. You will make mistakes, you will mess up, you will fail but trust me, that is alright. Your life is not a competition, it is a perspective, Nora went on to discover that. She left her husband because for her the virtue of esteem was bigger than the virtue of responsibility. She was suffering in her marriage because she never let anyone catch her in her vulnerability. She wanted her marriage to look perfect, to look the part but in reality, there is only so much she could put up with, and when the mask fell off, she get exposed. Therefore, sometimes you have to take the mask off to discover the real you, you just have to fail in life to become an achiever. You need not be scared of defeat, you should rather enjoy the journey. Be a conqueror with who you are and what you have.

Nora leaves the doll's house, goes out to the real world to discover the secret of life, which is, that, she was meant to be a conqueror, she was meant to fly, she was meant to break the stereotypes. She is the modern women who can handle both, her work life and her home, she is the better version of herself, she is not afraid to give opinions, she is not afraid to disagree, and she is also not afraid to ask for what she really wants from her life. She is not afraid to fail, she is not afraid to ask for help, she is not afraid of her shortcomings now that she recognizes her potential. That is the new Nora, the modern age girl who is exploring and evolving, she is in her own way perfect, not in the destination but in her journey.