Perfection is a much sought-after quality, yet is completely impossible to obtain.
Because we do not have a clear definition of what perfection truly is, when a person
attempts to become "perfect", they are usually transforming into what seems to be perfect
to . In both "A Doll's House" and "The Metamorphosis", we see that human beings cannot
achieve a state of total perfection. When Gregor Samsa, from "the Metamorphosis",
attempts to be the perfect provider that his family expects him to be, he inadvertently
turns his life into an insectoid existence. Likewise, when Nora from "A Doll's House"
tries to live up to her husband's expectations of a perfect wife, she builds up enough
self-hate to leave everything that she loves and start an entirely new life. Striving to
be this ideal person, like attempting to acquire any other impossible goal, is damaging
to the characters in both cases. The fortunes of these characters illustrate the harm in
attempting to achieve these impossible objectives.
As human beings, we have no conception of any absolute values, such as perfection and
imperfection or hot and cold. We can only perceive changes or comparisons based on what
we already know. Through experience, we can tell what is hotter or colder, but never
actually tell what the absolutes are. This is a central aspect of what makes perfection
impossible to achieve. What exactly is perfection? Seeing as we have no inherent
knowledge of what is perfect or imperfect, these ideals are usually set by the
expectations of others who are in positions of control over us. Therein lies one of the
fundamental dangers in attempting to achieve perfection. When the aims and goals of our
lives are governed by an outside force, we are transferring a great amount of power over
ourselves to someone else who may not have the best intentions.
Those who have power over us, in most circumstances, will use it to their own benefit.
This is Gregor Samsa's main problem. He transfers control of his life over to his
family, who hardly had the best intentions for Gregor's well-being. They merely wanted
a way to get money and food to support themselves. With Gregor working, his father has
an excuse to continue doing nothing, and allows the family to remain stagnant at the
level that they are at. Directly and indirectly, his family enforces the view that a son
should work to support his family and not himself. They did this by showing love and
commending Gregor when he brought them food and money, showing him that this was their
idea of what a perfect son was.
"He (Gregor) felt a certain pride that he had managed to provide his parents and his
sister with such a life in such a beautiful apartment. What now if all calm, all
prosperity, all contentment should come to a horrifying end?" p.142
At this point, Gregor shows how much working for his family has come to mean to Gregor.
Needing a source of love in his life, took this opportunity and became a working man in
order to help his family. Gregor obsessively sacrifices his social and professional life
for a group of people who take his sacrifices as if they were due to them. In his
pursuit of perfection, Gregor turns what is usually an admirable quality into a
self-destructive one.
In the same way, Nora allows too much power to Helmer, and finds herself in the
uncomfortable position of having her life governed by a man whose ideas of female
perfection were completely different than what her character was like.
"HELMER: There, there! My little singing bird mustn't go drooping her wings, eh? Has it
got the sulks, that little squirrel of mine? Nora, what do you think I've got here?
NORA: Money!" p.3
Helmer uses his control over Nora in order to get the adulation that he needs to support
his ego. He enforces the ideas of submission on Nora so that she will fit into his view
of what women should be like. In very much the same way as Gregor, Nora is controlled by
the flow of money. In an attempt to fit into a view of perfection, she sacrifices
herself to become what another perceives as good.
When one attempts to become perfect often they must sacrifice vital parts of ourselves to
fit into the image that they desire. Nora is, at heart, a strong character. Nora first
demonstrates this when we learn of the hardships that she had to endure because of the
IOU. A truly subservient woman would not risk herself in this way, or presume to be able
to help a man in his area of expertise. However, this is not the only place in which
Nora's strength of character shines through.
"NORA : You speak disrespectfully of my husband and I'll show you to the door.
KROGSTAD: So the lady's got courage." p.25
Nora shows her resilience in this passage. After Helmer has
enforced his ideas of female submission into Nora, she retains a some of her original
strength in resisting Krogstad. This, unfortunately, does not last long. While in
Helmer's presence, Nora does everything that she can to fit into his narrow vision of
what a woman should be. She performs as a circus animal would, jumping for treats and
always being obedient, merely for Helmer's praise. Her strength is fully exposed in the
last scene of the novel, when Nora renounces her family, her social status, and her
husband, an action which would undoubtably give her intense emotional pain for years. As
we can clearly see from Nora's actions in the play, it is not at all in her true
character to be either submissive or obedient.
Mirroring Nora's self-sacrifice, Gregor sacrifices his own personal whims and desires.
"If I weren't holding back because of my parents, I would have given notice long ago. I
would have marched straight up to the boss and told him off from the bottom of my heart."
p. 119
Obviously Gregor does not enjoy the job in which he works, but is trapped into staying at
it by his "obligations" to his family.
Through the picture of Gregor on the table, we can see that he was not always the
subservient vermin that he is for the duration of the novel. In the picture, Gregor was
a strong, handsome military man. Like Nora, we can see that at one time he had potential
to be a strong character. However, he contrasts Nora in the way that he did not live up
to his potential. Gregor was too worried with keeping his job and supporting his family
to consider ways of escaping the rut in which he had dug for himself. Instead of
fighting back and becoming stronger, Gregor becomes addicted to the "love" he recieves
from his family, and slowly degenerates until his untimely demise. Ironically, near the
time of Gregor's death, they preferred the image of Gregor from the photo as opposed to
what he had become to help them.
If we wish to become better people, we must learn to percieve our imperfections and
accept them. Perfection is a concept which is far too abstract for anyone to strive for.
Because of this abstraction, we are forced to look to others to help us understand what
being perfect is. Upon observation of the characters in these books, it becomes clear
that attempting to become "perfect" will only result in emotional pain and distress.
Thus, both Kafka and Ibsen illustrate a negative attitude to the concept of perfection.
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