Identity vs. Hiding the Truth

Heyyy. Ok so I just finished reading A Doll's House and realized that a lot of the songs I have on my ipod relate to this story and the theme of hiding your true identity and wanting the need to free yourself from the hidden truth.

The song Reflection by Christina Aguilera shows this theme in a deeper sense if you look at the lyrics. Below is a link for the song if you have never heard it, as well as the lyrics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vqL7W32M7U&feature=related

Reflection Lyrics:
Look at me,
You may think you see
Who I really am,
But you'll never know me.
Everyday,
it's as if I play
A part.


Now I see,
If I wear a mask,
I can fool the world,
but I cannot fool my heart.


Chorus:
Who is that girl I see?
Staring straight,
Back at me.
When will my reflection show
Who I am inside?


I am now,
In a world
Where I have to hide in my heart,
and what I believe in.
But somehow,
I will show the world what's inside my heart,
And be loved for who I am.


Who is that girl I see,
staring straight
back at me?
Why is my reflection someone I don't know?


Must I pretend that I'm
someone else
for all time.
When will my reflection show,
who I am inside?


There's a heart that must be free
to fly
That burns with a need to know
the reason why


Why must we all conceal
What we think
How we feel?


Must there be
a secret me
I'm forced to hide
I won't pretend that I'm
someone else
for all time.


When will my reflection show
who I am inside?
When will my reflection show
who I am inside?


oh, ooh yeah

Ok so after reading the lyrics and maybe listening to the song, I think it is pretty self explanatory as to what Christina Aguilera is trying to say. She is saying that her true identity is hidden to the world and to herself, just like Nora. When I listen to this song, I think of Nora and how she hid from the truth for so long. How she lied to herself all that time and how she never revealed her inner identity until the end of the story. I feel like the message of this song is portrayed in Nora's personality towards the end of the play when she tells Torvald how she feels and lets him know the truth about herself and her life. When Christina says "Now I see, If I wear a mask, I can fool the world, but I cannot fool my heart", that shows how Nora felt her entire life living with Torvald. When Mrs. Linden visited her, Nora acted as if nothing was wrong in her life and as if she was married happily and life was good. Nora was putting on a "mask" and misleading everyone about how she really felt about Torvald; But she couldn't lie to herself. She couldn't just block out the emotions and feelings that she had. She just kept them bottled up inside until she could no longer keep them to herself and finally let Torvald know how she truly felt about their marriage. That is what hiding the truth does to people. You think you can keep it to yourself forever, but reality is that there will come a time when you can't take it anymore and you will do anything to just be free from your inner thoughts; Even if that means leaving your loved ones. Or in this case, once-loved ones.