A Doll's House - Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) A Doll's House (Norwegian: Et dukkehjem; also translated as A Doll House) is a three-act play in prose by Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month.[1] Written in 1879 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, A Doll's House is a three act play about a seemingly typical housewife who becomes disillusioned and dissatisfied with her condescending husband. Norwegian playwright and poet Henrik Ibsen (1828 - 1906) created twenty-six plays and a volume of poetry. He is noted for his nationalistic spirit and for exploring Europe's social problems during the 1800s. Critics both past and present have praised his realistic approach to drama and his well-developed characters. He is best known for creating strong female characters such as Nora Helmer from A Doll's House and Hedda Gabler from the play of the same name. A Doll's House remains the most frequently studied Ibsen play and with good reason. Although the play is well over a century old, the characters are still fascinating, the plot is still briskly-paced, and the themes are still ripe for analysis. A Doll's House was published on December 4, 1879, and first performed in Copenhagen on December 21, 1879. The work was considered a publishing event, and the play's initial printing of 8,000 copies quickly sold out. The play was so controversial that Ibsen was forced to write a second ending that he called "a barbaric outrage" to be used only when necessary. The controversy centered around Nora's decision to abandon her children, and in the second ending, she decides that the children need her more than she needs her freedom. Ibsen believed that women were best suited to be mothers and wives, but at the same time, he had an eye for injustice, and Helmer's demeaning treatment of Nora was a common problem. Although he would later be embraced by feminists, Ibsen was no champion of women's rights; he only dealt with the problem of women's rights as a facet of the realism within his play. His intention was not to solve this issue but to illuminate it. Although Ibsen's depiction of Nora realistically illustrates the issues facing women, his decision in Act III to have her abandon her marriage and children was lambasted by critics as unrealistic, since according to them, no "real" woman would ever make that choice. That Ibsen offered no real solution to Nora's dilemma inflamed critics and readers alike who were then left to debate the ending ceaselessly. This play established a new genre of modern drama; prior to A Doll's House, contemporary plays were usually historical romances or contrived comedy of manners. Ibsen is known as the "father of modern drama" because he elevated theatre from entertainment to a forum for exposing social problems. Ibsen broke away from the romantic tradition with his realistic portrayals of individual characters and his focus on psychological concerns as he sought to portray the real world, especially the position of women in society. The play is significant for its critical attitude toward 19th century marriage norms. It aroused great controversy at the time,[2] as it concludes with the protagonist, Nora, leaving her husband and children because she wants to discover herself. Ibsen was inspired by the belief that "a woman cannot be herself in modern society," since it is "an exclusively male society, with laws made by men and with prosecutors and judges who assess feminine conduct from a masculine standpoint."[3] Its ideas can also be seen as having a wider application: Michael Meyer argues that the play's theme is not women's rights, but rather "the need of every individual to find out the kind of person he or she really is and to strive to become that person."[4] In a speech given to the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights in 1898, Ibsen insisted that he "must disclaim the honor of having consciously worked for the women's rights movement," since he wrote "without any conscious thought of making propaganda," his task having been "the description of humanity."[5] In 2006, A Doll's House held the distinction of being the world's most performed play.[6] UNESCO has inscribed Ibsen's autographed manuscripts of A Doll's House on the Memory of the World Register in 2001, in recognition of their historical value.[7] Key Facts full title · A Doll’s House author · Henrik Ibsen type of work · Play genre · Social Realism, modern prose drama, Naturalistic / realistic problem play, Modern tragedy language · Norwegian time and place written · 1879, Rome and Amalfi, Italy date of first publication · 1879 Mute Date premiered Place premiered Original language Nora's Father 21 December 1879 Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark Norwegian tone · Serious, intense, somber setting (time) · Presumably around the late 1870s setting (place)/Locales · Norway. The home of the Helmer family in an unspecified Norwegian town or city, circa 1879. protagonist · Nora Helmer major conflict · Nora’s struggle with Krogstad, who threatens to tell her husband about her past crime, incites Nora’s journey of self-discovery and provides much of the play’s dramatic suspense. Nora’s primary struggle, however, is against the selfish, stifling, and oppressive attitudes of her husband, Torvald, and of the society that he represents. rising action · Nora’s first conversation with Mrs. Linde; Krogstad’s visit and blackmailing of Nora; Krogstad’s delivery of the letter that later exposes Nora. climax · Torvald reads Krogstad’s letter and erupts angrily. falling action · Nora’s realization that Torvald is devoted not to her but to the idea of her as someone who depends on him; her decision to abandon him to find independence. Subject The feminist awakening of a good middle-class wife and mother. themes · The sacrificial role of women; parental and filial obligations; the unreliability of appearances motifs · Nora’s definition of freedom; letters symbols · The Christmas tree; New Year’s Day foreshadowing · Nora’s eating of macaroons against Torvald’s wishes foreshadows her later rebellion against Torvald. Overview of Henrik Ibsen: Norwegian playwright and poet Henrik Ibsen (1828 – 1906) created twenty-six plays and a volume of poetry. He is noted for his nationalistic spirit and for exploring Europe’s social problems during the 1800s. Critics both past and present have praised his realistic approach to drama and his well-developed characters. He is best known for creating strong female characters in dramas such as A Doll's House and Hedda Gabler. Ibsen's Birth and Childhood: Henrik Ibsen was born on March 20th, 1828 in Skein, Norway. His wealthy father, Knud Ibsen, owned several shops including a grocery store. However, after a series of poor financial decisions, the family was severely in debt by the time Henrik was seven. The family was forced to move to a small farm house, and then shared a residence in the crowded home of a family friend. To make matters worse, Knud’s wife grew distant and dissatisfied with the marriage. It is therefore no coincidence that the themes of debt, marriage, society, and independence play a prominent role in many of Henrik's plays. Creative Perseverance: In 1853, a small Norwegian theater gave a hopeful young playwright (and part-time pharmacy assistant) a wonderful opportunity. The Bergen Theatre produced St. John’s Night, Henrik Ibsen’s first publicly performed play. It was a whimsical combination of Scandinavian folk tales filled with trolls and fairy creatures. It was also a miserable disappointment that closed after only one performance. Yet, Ibsen never let failure deter him. Despite all of his obstacles in his personal and literary life, he rose to become one of the greatest dramatists of the 19th century. Early Career: In 1850, Ibsen failed his entrance exam, dashing hopes of becoming a doctor. His friends admired his sense of humor and encouraged him to pursue writing as a career. That same year his first play, Catiline, was rejected by editors, but a generous friend printed a few hundred copies. Only 40 were sold; the rest of the copies were used as gift wrapping. Still, he earned the respect of the Bergen Theatre, the company that produced his first works. Audiences rejected his first three plays, but in 1856 he finally found success with his lyrical saga, The Feast of Solhaug. Decorated Playwright: Prompted by his first success, Ibsen wrote constantly. Many of his earlier plays dealt with a pride for his homeland, and a desire to maintain Norway’s virtues. Some failed both critically and financially; others succeeded remarkably. His artistic endeavors generated several government grants, allowing him enough funds to raise a family and travel abroad. In 1869, the King of Norway and Sweden knighted Ibsen. From then on, Ibsen’s career soared, and his plays became even more serious. Eventually, his writing shifted from poetic folktales to realistic examinations of controversial social issues. Ibsen’s Social Commentary: In 1877, his play, Pillars of Society, extolled the virtues of freedom and truth. Next, his 1879 classic A Doll’s House questioned the suppressed role of women in society. Thirteen years later, feminist issues were again explored in another hard-hitting drama, Hedda Gabler. Toward the end of his life, his later plays, The Master Builder (1892) and When We Dead Awaken (1899), became more self-reflective. Ibsen began contemplating what it meant to dedicate one's life to art. What Writer’s Have Said About Henrik Ibsen: “All of Ibsen is visionary drama… His mastery of inwardness is second only to Shakespeare’s.” -- Harold Bloom “Had the gospel of Ibsen been understood and heeded, these fifteen millions might have been alive now.” -- George Bernard Shaw (Discussing the loss of life during World War I) “His characters may hate one another or be happy together, but they will generate nobility or charm.” -- E. M. Forster Henrik Ibsen’s Death: From 1900 to 1903 Ibsen suffered several strokes that left him unable to write creatively or speak clearly. Although his final years were quiet and bedridden, the playwright was not lonely. In 1906 his family and friends were at his bedside when he died in his sleep. He was seventy-eight years old. His last written words were, “Thanks.” Quotes from Henrik Ibsen’s Plays: “The majority is never right. Never, I tell you! That’s one of these lies in society that no free and intelligent man can help rebelling against. Who are the people that make up the biggest proportion of the population—the intelligent ones or the fools? I think we can agree it’s the fools.” -- from Enemy of the People “Our home has been nothing but a play-room. I’ve been your doll-wife here, just as at home I was Papa’s doll-child. And the children have been my dolls in their turn.” -- from A Doll’s House “The spirit of truth and the spirit of freedom—these are the pillars of society.” -- from Pillars of Society Author Biography Ibsen was born March 20, 1828, in Skien, Norway, a lumbering town south of Christiania, now Oslo. He was the second son in a wealthy family that included five other siblings. In 1835, financial problems forced the family to move to a smaller house in Venstop outside Skien. After eight years, the family moved back to Skein, and Ibsen moved to Grimstad to study as an apothecary's assistant. He applied to and was rejected at Christiania University. During the winter of 1848, Ibsen wrote his first play, Catiline, which was rejected by the Christiania Theatre; it was finally published in 1850 under the pseudonym Brynjolf Bjarme and generated little interest. Ibsen's second play, The Burial Mound, was also written under the pseudonym Brynjolf Bjarme and became the first Ibsen play to be performed when it was presented on September 26, 1850, at the Christiania Theatre. In 1851, Ibsen accepted an appointment as an assistant stage manager at the Norwegian Theatre in Bergen. He was also expected to assist the theatre as a dramatic author, and during his tenure at Bergen, Ibsen wrote Lady lnger (1855), The Feast at Solhoug (1856), and Olaf Liljekrans (1857). These early plays were written in verse and drawn from Norse folklore and myths. In 1857, Ibsen was released from his contract at Bergen and accepted a position at the Norwegian Theatre in Christiania. While there, Ibsen published The Vikings at Helgeland and married Suzannah Thoresen in 1858. The couple's only child, Sigurd, was born the following year. By 1860, Ibsen was under attack in the press for a lack of productivity—although he had published a few poems during this period. When the Christiania Theatre went bankrupt in 1862, Ibsen was left with no regular income except a temporary position as a literary advisor to the reorganized Christiania Theatre. Due to a series of small government grants, by 1863 Ibsen was able to travel in Europe and begin what became an intense period of creativity. During this period, Ibsen completed The Pretenders (1863) and a dramatic epic poem, "Brand" (1866), which achieved critical notice; these works were soon followed by Peer Gynt (1867). The first of Ibsen's prose dramas, The League of Youth, published in 1869, was also the first of his plays to demonstrate a shift from an emphasis on plot to one of interpersonal relationships. This was followed by Emperor and Galilean (1873), Ibsen's first work to be translated into English, and Pillars of Society (1877). A Doll's House (1879), Ghosts (1881), and An Enemy of the People (1882) are among the last plays included in Ibsen's realism period. Ibsen continued to write of modern realistic themes in his next plays, but he also relied increasingly on metaphor and symbolism in The Wild Duck (1884) and Hedda Gabler (1890). A shift from social concerns to the isolation of the individual marks the next phase of Ibsen's work. The Master Builder (1892), Little Eyolf (1894), John Gabriel Borkman (1896), and When We Dead Awaken (1899) all treat the conflicts that arise between art and life, between creativity and social expectations, and between personal contentment and self deception. These last works are considered by many critics to be autobiographical. In 1900, Ibsen suffered his first of several strokes. Ill health ended his writing career, and he died May 23, 1906. Although Ibsen's audiences may have debated the social problems he depicted, modern critics are more often interested in the philosophical and psychological elements depicted in his plays and the ideological debates they generated. Author/Context Henrik Johan Ibsen (1828-1906) Born in the small town of Skien in Southern Norway, Henrik Ibsen was no stranger to social isolation and self-discovery. As the second son in a large family of six children, Henrik spent his youth gallivanting the countryside as a child of a wealthy family, for his father found early success as a merchant. However, his father suffered great financial woes and lost his entire fortune when Henrik was only seven, forcing the family to move to smaller and more obscure towns. He left school in 1843 and worked as an apothecary's assistant for seven years in Grimstad. During his time there, Ibsen began to write. He also fathered his first illegitimate son by one of the maids at his station. Ibsen then went to Christiania (which eventually became Oslo) planning to attend the university. After so many years working as an apprentice, Ibsen intended to pursue and develop the literary talents he discovered while working with the apothecary. While he never matriculated, Ibsen did continue to write and he published his first play, Catilina, under the pseudonym of Brynjolf Bjarme. His second play, The Warrior's Barrow (also known as The Burial Mound), was produced by the Christiania Theater in 1850. People began to take notice - notably venerated violinist Ole Buff - who gave Ibsen an in at the National Theater, where he soon found a niche. Ibsen worked in the theater for years, moving around, and eventually becoming the artistic director of the Norwegian Theater in Christiania. During his theater years, he married Suzanna Thoresen and fathered their only child, Sigurd. Together, the Ibsens worked in the theater until it went bankrupt in 1862, forcing them to leave Norway. Like his father, Henrik Ibsen found financial success and soon lost it. He spent the next twenty-seven years living in various cities throughout Europe - in Germany and Italy - until his suffered a terrible stroke in 1900 rendering him incapable of working as a writer. Ibsen is known in the literary and theatrical worlds for his contribution to the study of social isolationism and the study of individualism. His most famous works invariably illustrate strong women imprisoned by the dictates of society, trapped inside a doll's house, unable to truly find their own voices. It is this theme that has brought Ibsen international acclaim and respect, with his plays perpetually produced throughout the world since their initial production over a century ago. According to Ibsen scholar James McFarlane, "In the group of plays of which A Doll's House and Ghosts are the defining achievements, Ibsen's attention was thus chiefly drawn to those problems stemming from the inhibitions set upon individual freedom and self-realization by social and institutional forces: by commercial hypocrisy, religious intolerance, political expediency, and all the accumulated pressures of conventional morality and established authority." Although his themes of social isolationism in the 1879 A Doll's House and 1890 Hedda Gabler, brought his wide acclaim, he has a wide body of theatrical work. It also includes Brand, Emperor and Galilean, An Enemy of the People, The Wild Duck, The Master Builder , John Gabriel Borkman, League of Youth, The Lady from the Sea,The Master Builder, Peer Gynt, Rosmersholm, When We Dead Awaken, and The Wild Duck. After his stroke in 1900, Ibsen was unable to write, work in the theater, or continue his normal lifestyle. He died in 1906. Biography of Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) Henrik Johan Ibsen, born in 1828 in Skien, Norway, was the eldest of five children after the early death of his older brother. His father, Knud Ibsen, one in a long line of sea captains, had been born in Skien in 1797 and had married Marichen Cornelia Martie Altenburg, the daughter of a German merchant, in 1825. Though Ibsen later reported that Skien was a pleasant place to grow up, his childhood was not particularly happy. He was described as an unsociable child. His sense of isolation increased at the age of sixteen when his father's business had to be sold to meet the demands of his creditors. On top of this, a rumor began circulating that Henrik was the illegitimate son of another man. Although the rumor was never proven to be true, it manifested itself in the theme of illegitimate offspring that runs throughout Ibsen's later works. After Knud's business was repossessed, all that remained of the family's former estate was a dilapidated farmhouse on the outskirts of Skein. It was there that Ibsen began to attend the small, middle-class school where he cultivated a talent for painting, if nothing else. He was also taught German and Latin as well as drawing. In 1843, at the age of fifteen, Ibsen was confirmed and taken from the school. Though he had declared his interest in becoming a painter, Ibsen was apprenticed to an apothecary shortly before his sixteenth birthday. Leaving his family, Ibsen traveled to Grimstad, a small, isolated town, to begin his apprenticeship. He maintained a strong desire to gain admission to the university to study medicine. Meanwhile, he fathered an illegitimate son with the maid of the apothecary. Despite his unhappy lot, Ibsen began to write in earnest in Grimstad. Inspired by the European revolutions of 1848, Ibsen wrote satire and elegant poetry. At the age of twenty-one, Ibsen left Grimstad for the capital. While in Christiania (now Oslo), Ibsen passed his exams but opted not to pursue his education, instead turning to playwriting and journalism. In Christiania he penned his first play, Catiline (1849), written in blank verse about the failure of Catiline’s conspiracy against ancient Rome in the time of Cicero. It sold only 45 copies and was rejected by every theater Ibsen submitted it to for performance. Ibsen also spent time analyzing and criticizing modern Norwegian literature. Still poor, Ibsen gladly accepted a contract to write for and help manage the newly constituted National Theater in Bergen in 1851. Beginning his work untrained and largely uneducated, Ibsen soon learned much from his time at the theater, producing such works as St. John's Night (1852). The majority of his writings from this period were based on folksongs, folklore, and history. In 1858, Ibsen moved back to Christiania to become the creative director of the city's Norwegian Theater. That same year, Ibsen married Suzannah Thoresen, with whom he fathered a child named Sigurd Ibsen. Though his plays suggest otherwise, Ibsen revered the state of marriage, believing that it was possible for two people to travel through life as perfect, happy equals. During this period, Ibsen also developed a daily routine from which he would not deviate until his first stroke in 1901: he would rise, consume a small breakfast, take a long walk, write for five hours, eat dinner, and finish the night with entertainment or early retirement to bed. Despite this routine, Ibsen found his life difficult, though he did pen several plays, including Love's Comedy (1862), a close relation of A Doll's House (1879) in its distinction between love and marriage. Luckily, in 1864, his friends generously offered him money that they had collected, allowing him to move to Italy. He felt like an exile. He would spend the next twentyseven years living in Italy and Germany. During this time abroad, he authored a number of successful works, including Brand (1866) and Peer Gynt (1867), both (significantly) written to be read rather than to be performed. Ibsen moved to Dresden in 1868 and then to Munich in 1875. In Munich in 1879, Ibsen wrote his groundbreaking play, A Doll's House. He pursued his interest in realistic drama for the next decade, earning international acclaim; many of his works were published in translation and performed throughout Europe. Ibsen eventually turned to a new style of writing, abandoning his interest in realism for a series of so-called symbolic dramas. He completed his last work, Hedda Gabler, abroad in 1890. After being away from Norway for twenty-seven years, Ibsen and Suzannah returned in 1891. Shortly afterwards, he finished writing The Master Builder (1892), after which he took a short break. In late 1893, seemingly in need of moist air to help cure her recurring gout, Suzannah left for southern Italy. While his wife was away, Ibsen found a companion in a young female pianist, Hildur Andersen, with whom he spent a great deal of time. He continued to correspond with her even after Suzannah's return. Ibsen's relationship with Andersen was characteristic of his larger interest in the younger generation; he was famous for seeking out their ideas and encouraging their writing. Ibsen's later plays tended to meet with controversy on the occasions of their first performances: Hedda Gabler was reviled by critics of the published script and of the first production in 1890. It is at about this time that Ibsen's work, partly as a consequence of George Bernard Shaw's lecture The Quintessence of Ibsenism (1890), became extremely popular in England. After suffering a series of strokes, Ibsen died in 1906 at the age of seventy-eight. He was unable to write for the last five years of his life, following a stroke which also left him unable to walk. Reportedly his last words, after his nurse suggested he was doing better, were, “To the contrary!” Context Henrik Ibsen, considered by many to be the father of modern prose drama, was born in Skien, Norway, on March 20, 1828. He was the second of six children. Ibsen’s father was a prominent merchant, but he went bankrupt when Ibsen was eight years old, so Ibsen spent much of his early life living in poverty. From 1851 to 1864, he worked in theaters in Bergen and in what is now Oslo (then called Christiania). At age twenty-one, Ibsen wrote his first play, a five-act tragedy called Catiline. Like much of his early work, Catiline was written in verse. In 1858, Ibsen married Suzannah Thoreson, and eventually had one son with her. Ibsen felt that, rather than merely live together, husband and wife should live as equals, free to become their own human beings. (This belief can be seen clearly in A Doll’s House.) Consequently, Ibsen’s critics attacked him for failing to respect the institution of marriage. Like his private life, Ibsen’s writing tended to stir up sensitive social issues, and some corners of Norwegian society frowned upon his work. Sensing criticism in Oslo about not only his work but also his private life, Ibsen moved to Italy in 1864 with the support of a traveling grant and a stipend from the Norwegian government. He spent the next twenty-seven years living abroad, mostly in Italy and Germany. Ibsen’s early years as a playwright were not lucrative, but he did gain valuable experience during this time. In 1866, Ibsen published his first major theatrical success, a lyric drama called Brand. He followed it with another well-received verse play, Peer Gynt. These two works helped solidify Ibsen’s reputation as one of the premier Norwegian dramatists of his era. In 1879, while living in Italy, Ibsen published his masterpiece, A Doll’s House. Unlike Peer Gynt and Brand, A Doll’s House was written in prose. It is widely considered a landmark in the development of what soon became a highly prevalent genre of theater—realism, which strives to portray life accurately and shuns idealized visions of it. In A Doll’s House, Ibsen employs the themes and structures of classical tragedy while writing in prose about everyday, unexceptional people. A Doll’s House also manifests Ibsen’s concern for women’s rights, and for human rights in general. Ibsen followed A Doll’s House with two additional plays written in an innovative, realistic mode: Ghosts, in 1881, and An Enemy of the People, in 1882. Both were successes. Ibsen began to gain international recognition, and his works were produced across Europe and translated into many different languages. In his later work, Ibsen moved away from realistic drama to tackle questions of a psychological and subconscious nature. Accordingly, symbols began to gain prominence in his plays. Among the works he wrote in this symbolist period are The Wild Duck (1884) and Hedda Gabler (1890). Hedda Gabler was the last play Ibsen wrote while living abroad. In 1891, he returned to Oslo. His later dramas include The Master Builder (1892) and Little Eyolf (1896). Eventually, a crippling sickness afflicted Ibsen and prevented him from writing. He died on May 23, 1906. A Note on the Title Though most English translations of the play are titled A Doll’s House, some scholars believe that “A Doll House” is a more accurate translation of the original Norwegian. They feel that it is more suggestive of the doll-like qualities of the entire cast of characters. This SparkNote preserves the more common title—A Doll’s House—for consistency. About A Doll's House Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (1879), written while Ibsen was in Rome and Amalfi, Italy, was conceived at a time of revolution in Europe. Charged with the fever of the 1848 European revolutions, a new modern perspective was emerging in the literary and dramatic world, challenging the romantic tradition. It is Ibsen who can be credited for mastering and popularizing the realist drama derived from this new perspective. His plays were read and performed throughout Europe in numerous translations like almost no dramatist before. A Doll’s House was published in Copenhagen, Denmark, where it premiered. His success was particularly important for Norway and the Norwegian language. Having been freed from four centuries of Danish rule in 1814, Norway was just beginning to shake off the legacy of Danish domination. A Doll’s House was written in a form of Norwegian that still bore heavy traces of Danish. Ibsen deliberately chose a colloquial language style to emphasize local realism, though Torvald Helmer does speak in what Michael Meyer has described as “stuffy Victorianisms.” Ibsen quickly became Norway’s most popular dramatic figure. But it is the universality of Ibsen’s writings, particularly of A Doll’s House, that has made this play an oftperformed classic (see “A Stage History” for details of the play in performance). It is believed that the plot of A Doll’s House was based on an event in Ibsen’s own life. In 1870 Laura Kieler had sent Ibsen a sequel to Brand, called Brand’s Daughters, and Ibsen had taken an interest in the pretty, vivacious girl, nicknaming her “the lark.” He invited her to his home, and for two months in the summer of 1872, she visited his home constantly. When she married, a couple of years later, her husband fell ill and was advised to take a vacation in a warm climate– and Laura, like Nora does in the play, secretly borrowed money to finance the trip (which took place in 1876). Laura falsified a note, the bank refused payment, and she told her husband the whole story. He demanded a separation, removed the children from her care, and only took her back after she had spent a month in a public asylum. Laura and Nora have similar-sounding names, but their stories diverge. In Ibsen’s play, Nora never returns home, nor does she ever break the news to her husband. Moreover—here the difference is most striking—it is Nora who divorces her husband. The final act of the play reveals Torvald as generous and even sympathetic. A Doll’s House was the second in a series of realist plays by Ibsen. The first, The Pillars of Society (1877), had caused a stir throughout Europe, quickly spreading to the avant garde theaters of the island and the continent. In adopting the realist form, Ibsen abandoned his earlier style of saga plays, historical epics, and verse allegories. Ibsen’s letters reveal that much of what is contained in his realist dramas is based on events from his own life. Indeed, he was particularly interested in the possibility of true wedlock as well as in women in general. He later would write a series of psychological studies focusing on women. One of the most striking and oft-noted characteristics of A Doll’s House is the way it challenges the technical tradition of the so-called well-made play in which the first act offers an exposition, the second a situation, and the third an unraveling. This was the standard form from the earliest fables until the time of A Doll’s House, which helped usher in a new, alternative standard. Ibsen’s play was notable for exchanging the last act’s unraveling for a discussion, one which leaves the audience uncertain about how the events will conclude. Critics agree that, until the last moments of the play, A Doll’s House could easily be just another modern drama broadcasting another comfortable moral lesson. Finally, however, when Nora tells Torvald that they must sit down and “discuss all this that has been happening between us,” the play diverges from the traditional form. With this new technical feature, A Doll’s House became an international sensation and founded a new school of dramatic art. Additionally, A Doll’s House subverted another dramatic tradition. Ibsen’s realist drama disregarded the tradition of featuring an older male moral figure. Dr. Rank, the character who should serve this role, is far from a positive moral force. Instead, he is not only sickly, rotting from a disease picked up from his father’s earlier sexual exploits, but also lascivious, openly coveting Nora. The choice to portray both Dr. Rank and the potentially matronly Mrs. Linde as imperfect humans seemed like a novel approach at the time. The real complexity (as opposed to a stylized dramatic romanticism) of Ibsen’s characters remains something of a challenge for actors. Many actresses find it difficult to portray both a silly, immature Nora in the first act or so and the serious, open-minded Nora of the end of the last act. Similarly, actors are challenged to portray the full depth of Torvald’s character. Many are tempted to play him as a slimy, patronizing brute, disregarding the character’s genuine range of emotion and conviction. Such complexity associates A Doll’s House with the best of Western drama. The printed version of A Doll’s House sold out even before it hit the stage. A more obvious importance of A Doll’s House is the feminist message that rocked the stages of Europe when the play premiered. Nora’s rejection of marriage and motherhood scandalized contemporary audiences. In fact, the first German productions of the play in the 1880s used an altered ending, written by Ibsen at the request of the producers. Ibsen referred to this version as a “barbaric outrage” to be used only in emergencies. The revolutionary spirit and the emergence of modernism influenced Ibsen’s choice to focus on an unlikely hero, a housewife, in his attack on middle-class values. Quickly becoming the talk of parlors across Europe, the play succeeded in its attempt to provoke discussion. In fact, it is the numerous ways that the play can be read and interpreted that make the play so interesting. Each new generation has had a different way of interpreting the book, from seeing it as feminist critique to taking it as a Hegelian allegory of the spirit’s historical evolution. This richness is another sign of its greatness. Yet precisely what sort of play is it? George Steiner claims that the play is “founded on the belief…that women can and must be raised to the dignity of man,” but Ibsen himself believed it to be more about the importance of self-liberation than the importance of specifically female liberation—yet his contemporary Strindberg certainly disagreed, himself calling the play a “barbaric outrage” because of the feminism he perceived it as promoting. There are many comic sections in the play—one might argue that Nora’s “songbird” and “squirrel” acts, as well as her early flirtatious conversations with her husband, are especially humorous. Still, like many modern productions, A Doll’s House seems to fit the classical definition of neither comedy nor tragedy. Unusually for a traditional comedy, at the end there is a divorce, not a marriage, and the play implies that Dr. Rank could be dead as the final curtain falls. But this is not a traditional tragedy either, for the ending of A Doll’s House has no solid conclusion. The ending notably is left wide open: there is no brutal event, no catharsis, just ambiguity. This is a play that defies boundaries. In A Nutshell Henrik Ibsen was born in Skein, Norway on March 20, 1828. After spending most of his early years in poverty, he eventually made a name for himself as one of the most respected playwrights of all time. He is often called "the father of modern drama" because he helped popularize realism, which a good portion of today's entertainment imitates without even knowing it. Just about every show on television owes a little something to Ibsen. Just imagine what Law and Order would be like in verse – Oh, dearest judge, do not slam your gavel; for if you do, justice will unravel. Weird. After a few smaller successes with plays such as Brand, Peer Gynt, and Pillars of Society, Ibsen took the world by storm with A Doll's House. Boy, was it controversial. Nora's door-slamming exit is sometimes described as a shot heard around the world. The very idea that a woman might have something to do other than keep house and raise children was pretty scandalous in the Victorian era. Party invitations were sent out, requesting that people not discuss the play. Hosts were afraid their elegant engagements would turn into all out brawls. Many critics were just as scandalized. They scathingly criticized Ibsen for undermining society's most sacred institution: marriage. However, a few critics, such as George Bernard Shaw, championed Ibsen because he was unafraid to challenge societal norms. Though the play is often pigeon-holed as a feminist manifesto, Ibsen denied it. Once when he was being honored by the Norwegian Society for Women's Rights he said, "I am not even quite sure what women's rights really are. To me it has been a question of human rights" (source). To Ibsen, it wasn't necessarily about the fact that Nora is a woman; it's about the fact that she's a human being. He thought that all people, men and women alike, should have the courage to stand up against society and form their own opinions. Think about it – in a way Torvald, Nora's husband, is just as caged by society as his wife. Society has programmed them both into their prescribed roles: dominant provider husband, submissive homemaking wife. In Ibsen's mind, all human beings have a sacred duty to themselves. Why Should I Care? As we mention in "In a Nutshell," Ibsen didn't see his controversial play, A Doll's House, as feminist. He saw it as humanist. He thought every person, man and woman, had a right to self- actualization, to be who they wanted to be. Ibsen seems to think that people are often herded like sheep by society. He's famously quoted as saying, "The strongest man in the world is he who stands alone." People often get swept up by popular opinion, giving little thought to whether what's happening is right or wrong in their own minds. We have a sneaky suspicion that this might be just as true today as it was in Ibsen's time. We also suspect that it just might be as relevant to our children and grandchildren, and so on. The tension of the individual versus society will most likely never leave us. How It All Goes Down At the beginning of the play, all seems well. Nora and Torvald Helmer appear quite happy together. Torvald speaks to his wife in a rather demeaning way, but she doesn't really seem to mind. The Helmers are both quite excited because Torvald has gotten a new job as the manager of a bank. The couple won't have to worry about money anymore. Nora's old school friend, Mrs. Christine Linde, arrives. She's been recently widowed and is looking for work. Christine is hoping that Torvald might be able to hook her up with a job. Nora tells her friend that she'll ask him. Over the course of their conversation, Nora confesses to Christine that she has a secret debt. Nora refuses to tell Christine who she borrowed money from, but does explain why she had to borrow it. Early in the Helmers' marriage, Torvald got sick from overwork. Doctors prescribed a trip south to warmer climates as the only way to save him. At the time, the Helmers didn't have the money for such a trip. To save Torvald's pride, Nora borrowed money without his knowledge and funded a year in Italy. In order to pay off the debt, she's been skimming from the allowance Torvald gives her and secretly working odd jobs. Nora is especially happy about Torvald's new job, because now money won't be a concern. A creepy man named Krogstad shows up. He works at the bank that Torvald is about to manage. It seems like Nora knows him, but we aren't told why. He goes in to see Torvald. Christine tells Nora that she once knew Krogstad. We get the idea that they once had a thing for each other. Dr. Rank enters. He's a Helmer family friend and is dying of tuberculosis of the spine. He talks about how corrupt and morally diseased Krogstad is, to which Christine says we should try to help the diseased. Torvald comes out of his office and Nora asks him about a job for Christine Linde. Torvald agrees, and everybody is happy. Torvald, Dr. Rank, and Christine all skip away down the street together. Nora's children rush in. She frolics with them a bit and plays hide-and-go-seek. Then creepy old Krogstad shows up again. Nora sends the kids away. Krogstad is furious because Torvald is going to fire him – Christine Linde is getting his job. It turns out that he is the person Nora borrowed money from. He's got a lot of power over Nora, because apparently she forged her father's signature after he was dead in order to get the loan. Krogstad threatens to expose Nora's crime if he loses his job. After he leaves, Nora freaks out. When Torvald returns, Nora tries to talk him into letting Krogstad keep his job. Torvald says he can't stand Krogstad, because he's does dishonest things like forgery. Nora's husband goes on to say that he can't stand being around such awful people. He talks about how such people's presence corrupts their children. Torvald goes back to work. The maid tries to bring the children back in to play. Nora, fearing she will corrupt them, refuses to see them. Act Two opens with Nora in a state of extreme agitation. She's hanging out with one of the maids, Anne, who was Nora's wet-nurse when she was a child. Nora asks Anne to take care of the kids if she ever disappears. Christine stops by. Nora shows her a costume that Torvald picked out for her. They're planning to go to a holiday party in couple night at the Stenborgs', their upstairs neighbors. Christine goes off to another room to mend the costume. Torvald shows up. Nora begs him to not fire Krogstad. Her begging only angers off Torvald, and he sends Krogstad his notice. Torvald goes to his office. Dr. Rank arrives. Nora does a little subtle flirting with him. She's planning to ask him for the money to pay off the loan. Her plans are foiled though when he tells her that he'll soon be dying. He tells her that he'll put a card in the mailbox with a black cross when it begins. He admits that he is love with her, but Nora tells him that he's being very morbid and inappropriate. She feels too guilty to ask him for the money. Dr. Rank goes in to see Torvald. Krogstad busts in, super-mad about getting fired. He tells Nora that he's going to blackmail Torvald into giving him a better job than the one he had before. Eventually, he'll be running the bank instead of Torvald. Krogstad warns Nora to not do anything stupid like run away or commit suicide, because he'll still have power over Torvald anyway. He leaves, dropping a blackmail letter to Torvald in the mailbox on his way out. Nora spazzes out in a major way. Christine returns, and Nora tells her everything. She's afraid that when Torvald finds out, a wonderful terrible thing will happen. Torvald will take all the blame for her. Christine says that she used to have a relationship with Krogstad and that maybe she can change his mind. She runs off to talk to him for Nora. Torvald and Dr. Rank enter. In order to stop Torvald from opening the mail, Nora pretends she needs help with her dance for the Stenborgs' party. She dances the tarantella badly. Torvald is amazed that she forgot all he taught her. He promises to do nothing but help her practice until the party happens. That means for a little while, the Krogstad's letter will stay where it is. Rank and Torvald leave. Christine returns and reports that Krogstad wasn't home. She left a note for him. After Christine leaves, Nora counts down the hours she has to live. Act Three finds Christine alone in the Helmers' living room. The Stenborgs' party is going on upstairs. Krogstad enters. Apparently, they used to go out, but Christine eventually ditched him for a richer man. She had to because her mother was sick and she had two younger brothers to care for. Christine says that she wants to be with Krogstad again and help him raise his children. Krogstad is overjoyed. He says he'll demand his blackmail letter back unopened. Christine tells him not to. She thinks all the lies in the Helmer household need to be revealed. Krogstad takes off. The Helmers come down from the party. Christine tells them she was waiting to see Nora in her costume. Nora whispers, asking what happened with Krogstad. Her friend tells her that she has nothing to fear anymore from Krogstad, but that she needs to tell Torvald the truth anyway. Christine exits. Torvald is kind of drunk and tries to get Nora to sleep with him, but she's not in the mood. Dr. Rank drops by. He's super-drunk. He makes allusions that he is going to die soon and then exits into the night. Torvald opens the mailbox. He finds cards that Rank left. They have black crosses on them. Nora tells him the cards are Rank's way of announcing his death. Torvald laments his friend's sickness. He tells Nora that sometimes he wishes she was in terrible danger so that he could save her. Nora tells him to open his mail. When Torvald reads Krogstad's letter he totally flips out, telling her that she is a terrible person. He laments that they'll have to do whatever Krogstad says. He insists that Nora is not to be allowed near the children anymore, because she may corrupt them. Just then, a letter arrives from Krogstad. In the letter, Krogstad says that he's had a change of heart and will no longer be blackmailing them. Torvald is really happy and forgives Nora. Nora, however, doesn't forgive Torvald. She tells him that she was expecting a wonderful thing to happen. She thought he would try to sacrifice himself for her, taking all the blame on himself. Nora, of course, wouldn't allow him to do that, and would've committed suicide to stop him. Torvald's actions made him seem cowardly in Nora's eyes. She tells him that she is leaving him, because they've never had a real marriage. She's never been more than a doll in his eyes. He begs her to stay, but she refuses, leaving both him and the kids, with the slamming of a door. Summary of plot Nora Helmer is apparently happily married to Torvald, a lawyer who is about to take over the post of director of the Joint Stock Bank. They have three small children. Nora has a secret to keep, however. Early in their marriage Torvald became seriously ill, and the doctors advised a stay in a more southerly climate. Nora had to get hold of the money for the journey in secrecy and so borrowed it from Krogstad, a lawyer who had been a fellow-student of Torvald`s. As security for the loan she forged her dying father`s signature. Ever since then she has saved some of the housekeeping money in order to pay back the loan with interest, and she has taken on small jobs to earn some money herself. When the play opens, an old friend of Nora`s, Mrs. Linde, has arrived in town to look for work, and Nora sees to it that Torvald gives her a post at the bank. But this means that Krogstad is dismissed from his post at the bank, and in desperation he goes to Nora and threatens to tell Torvald about the loan and the forgery unless he is allowed to keep his post. Nora is in despair but at the same time convinced that in his love for her, Torvald will sacrifice himself and take full responsibility for what she has done, if he learns the truth. Nora considers asking Dr. Rank, an old friend of the family, for the money, but when he declares his love for her, she finds it impossible to ask him. Torvald finds out what has happened, and reacts with rage and revulsion, without any sign of being willing to accept responsibility for the forgery. Mrs. Linde, who was in love with Krogstad in the past, gets him to change his mind and withdraw his threats. But Nora has begun to understand that her marriage is not what she thought it was, and in the course of a dramatic conversation with Torvald she decides that her most important and only task is to go out into the world on her own to "bring herself up", and she leaves her husband and children. Plot Overview A Doll’s House opens on Christmas Eve. Nora Helmer enters her well-furnished living room— the setting of the entire play—carrying several packages. Torvald Helmer, Nora’s husband, comes out of his study when he hears her arrive. He greets her playfully and affectionately, but then chides her for spending so much money on Christmas gifts. Their conversation reveals that the Helmers have had to be careful with money for many years, but that Torvald has recently obtained a new position at the bank where he works that will afford them a more comfortable lifestyle. Helene, the maid, announces that the Helmers’ dear friend Dr. Rank has come to visit. At the same time, another visitor has arrived, this one unknown. To Nora’s great surprise, Kristine Linde, a former school friend, comes into the room. The two have not seen each other for years, but Nora mentions having read that Mrs. Linde’s husband passed away a few years earlier. Mrs. Linde tells Nora that when her husband died, she was left with no money and no children. Nora tells Mrs. Linde about her first year of marriage to Torvald. She explains that they were very poor and both had to work long hours. Torvald became sick, she adds, and the couple had to travel to Italy so that Torvald could recover. Nora inquires further about Mrs. Linde’s life, and Mrs. Linde explains that for years she had to care for her sick mother and her two younger brothers. She states that her mother has passed away, though, and that the brothers are too old to need her. Instead of feeling relief, Mrs. Linde says she feels empty because she has no occupation; she hopes that Torvald may be able to help her obtain employment. Nora promises to speak to Torvald and then reveals a great secret to Mrs. Linde—without Torvald’s knowledge, Nora illegally borrowed money for the trip that she and Torvald took to Italy; she told Torvald that the money had come from her father. For years, Nora reveals, she has worked and saved in secret, slowly repaying the debt, and soon it will be fully repaid. Krogstad, a low-level employee at the bank where Torvald works, arrives and proceeds into Torvald’s study. Nora reacts uneasily to Krogstad’s presence, and Dr. Rank, coming out of the study, says Krogstad is “morally sick.” Once he has finished meeting with Krogstad, Torvald comes into the living room and says that he can probably hire Mrs. Linde at the bank. Dr. Rank, Torvald, and Mrs. Linde then depart, leaving Nora by herself. Nora’s children return with their nanny, Anne-Marie, and Nora plays with them until she notices Krogstad’s presence in the room. The two converse, and Krogstad is revealed to be the source of Nora’s secret loan. Krogstad states that Torvald wants to fire him from his position at the bank and alludes to his own poor reputation. He asks Nora to use her influence to ensure that his position remains secure. When she refuses, Krogstad points out that he has in his possession a contract that contains Nora’s forgery of her father’s signature. Krogstad blackmails Nora, threatening to reveal her crime and to bring shame and disgrace on both Nora and her husband if she does not prevent Torvald from firing him. Krogstad leaves, and when Torvald returns, Nora tries to convince him not to fire Krogstad, but Torvald will hear nothing of it. He declares Krogstad an immoral man and states that he feels physically ill in the presence of such people. Act Two opens on the following day, Christmas. Alone, Nora paces her living room, filled with anxiety. Mrs. Linde arrives and helps sew Nora’s costume for the ball that Nora will be attending at her neighbors’ home the following evening. Nora tells Mrs. Linde that Dr. Rank has a mortal illness that he inherited from his father. Nora’s suspicious behavior leads Mrs. Linde to guess that Dr. Rank is the source of Nora’s loan. Nora denies Mrs. Linde’s charge but refuses to reveal the source of her distress. Torvald arrives, and Nora again begs him to keep Krogstad employed at the bank, but again Torvald refuses. When Nora presses him, he admits that Krogstad’s moral behavior isn’t all that bothers him—he dislikes Krogstad’s overly familiar attitude. Torvald and Nora argue until Torvald sends the maid to deliver Krogstad’s letter of dismissal. Torvald leaves. Dr. Rank arrives and tells Nora that he knows he is close to death. She attempts to cheer him up and begins to flirt with him. She seems to be preparing to ask him to intervene on her behalf in her struggle with Torvald. Suddenly, Dr. Rank reveals to Nora that he is in love with her. In light of this revelation, Nora refuses to ask Dr. Rank for anything. Once Dr. Rank leaves, Krogstad arrives and demands an explanation for his dismissal. He wants respectability and has changed the terms of the blackmail: he now insists to Nora that not only that he be rehired at the bank but that he be rehired in a higher position. He then puts a letter detailing Nora’s debt and forgery in the -Helmers’ letterbox. In a panic, Nora tells Mrs. Linde everything, and Mrs. Linde instructs Nora to delay Torvald from opening the letter as long as possible while she goes to speak with Krogstad. In order to distract Torvald from the letterbox, Nora begins to practice the tarantella she will perform at that evening’s costume party. In her agitated emotional state, she dances wildly and violently, displeasing Torvald. Nora manages to make Torvald promise not to open his mail until after she performs at the party. Mrs. Linde soon returns and says that she has left Krogstad a note but that he will be gone until the following evening. The next night, as the costume party takes place upstairs, Krogstad meets Mrs. Linde in the Helmers’ living room. Their conversation reveals that the two had once deeply in love, but Mrs. Linde left Krogstad for a wealthier man who would enable her to support her family. She tells Krogstad that now that she is free of her own familial obligations and wishes to be with Krogstad and care for his children. Krogstad is overjoyed and says he will demand his letter back before Torvald can read it and learn Nora’s secret. Mrs. Linde, however, insists he leave the letter, because she believes both Torvald and Nora will be better off once the truth has been revealed. Soon after Krogstad’s departure, Nora and Torvald enter, back from the costume ball. After saying goodnight to Mrs. Linde, Torvald tells Nora how desirable she looked as she danced. Dr. Rank, who was also at the party and has come to say goodnight, promptly interrupts Torvald’s advances on Nora. After Dr. Rank leaves, Torvald finds in his letterbox two of Dr. Rank’s visiting cards, each with a black cross above the name. Nora knows Dr. Rank’s cards constitute his announcement that he will soon die, and she informs Torvald of this fact. She then insists that Torvald read Krogstad’s letter. Torvald reads the letter and is outraged. He calls Nora a hypocrite and a liar and complains that she has ruined his happiness. He declares that she will not be allowed to raise their children. Helene then brings in a letter. Torvald opens it and discovers that Krogstad has returned Nora’s contract (which contains the forged signature). Overjoyed, Torvald attempts to dismiss his past insults, but his harsh words have triggered something in Nora. She declares that despite their eight years of marriage, they do not understand one another. Torvald, Nora asserts, has treated her like a “doll” to be played with and admired. She decides to leave Torvald, declaring that she must “make sense of [her]self and everything around her.” She walks out, slamming the door behind her. Summary A Doll’s House traces the awakening of Nora Helmer from her previously unexamined life of domestic, wifely comfort. Having been ruled her whole life by either her father or her husband Torvald, Nora finally comes to question the foundation of everything she has believed in once her marriage is put to the test. Having borrowed money from a man of ill-repute named Krogstad by forging her father’s signature, she was able to pay for a trip to Italy to save her sick husband’s life (he was unaware of the loan, believing that the money came from Nora’s father). Since then, she has had to contrive ways to pay back her loan, growing particularly concerned with money and the ways of a complex world. When the play opens, it is Christmas Eve, and we find that Torvald has just been promoted to manager of the bank, where he will receive a huge wage and be extremely powerful. Nora is thrilled because she thinks that she will finally be able to pay off the loan and be rid of it. Her happiness, however, is marred when an angry Krogstad approaches her. He has just learned that his position at the bank has been promised to Mrs. Linde, an old school friend of Nora’s who has recently arrived in town in search of work, and he tells Nora that he will reveal her secret if she does not persuade her husband to let him keep his position. Nora tries to convince Torvald to preserve Krogstad’s job, using all of her feminine tricks (which he encourages), but she is unsuccessful. Torvald tells her that Krogstad’s morally corrupt nature is physically repulsive to him and impossible to work with. Nora becomes very worried. The next day, Nora is nervously moving about the house, afraid that Krogstad will appear at any minute. Her anxiety is reduced by being preoccupied with the preparations for a big fancy-dress party that will take place the next night in a neighbor’s apartment. When Torvald returns from the bank, she again takes up her pleas on behalf of Krogstad. This time, Torvald not only refuses but also sends off the notice of termination that he has already prepared for Krogstad, reassuring a scared Nora that he will take upon himself any bad things that befall them as a result. Nora is extremely moved by this comment. She begins to consider the possibility of this episode transforming their marriage for the better—as well as the possibility of suicide. Meanwhile, she converses and flirts with a willing Dr. Rank. Learning that he is rapidly dying, she has an intimate conversation with him that culminates in him professing his love for her just before she is able to ask him for financial help. His words stop her, and she steers the conversation back to safer ground. Their talk is interrupted by the announcement of Krogstad’s presence. Nora asks Dr. Rank to leave and has Krogstad brought in. Krogstad tells her that he has had a change of heart and that, though he will keep the bond, he will not reveal her to the public. Instead, he wants to give Torvald a note explaining the matter so that Torvald will be pressed to help Krogstad rehabilitate himself and keep his position at the bank. Nora protests against Torvald’s involvement, but Krogstad drops the letter in Torvald’s letterbox anyway, much to Nora’s horror. Nora exclaims aloud that she and Torvald are lost. Still, she tries to use her charms to prevent Torvald from reading the letter, luring him away from business by begging him to help her with the tarantella for the next night’s party. He agrees to put off business until the next day. The letter remains in the letterbox. The next night, before Torvald and Nora return from the ball, Mrs. Linde and Krogstad, who are old lovers, reunite in the Helmers’ living room. Mrs. Linde asks to take care of Krogstad and his children and to help him become the better man that he knows he is capable of becoming. The Helmers return from the ball as Mrs. Linde is leaving (Krogstad has already left), with Torvald nearly dragging Nora into the room. Alone, Torvald tells Nora how much he desires her but is interrupted by Dr. Rank. The doctor, unbeknownst to Torvald, has come by to say his final farewells, as he covertly explains to Nora. After he leaves, Nora is able to deter Torvald from pursuing her any more by reminding him of the ugliness of death that has just come between them, Nora having revealed Dr. Rank’s secret. Seeing that Torvald finally has collected his letters, she resigns herself to committing suicide. As she is leaving, though, Torvald stops her. He has just read Krogstad’s letter and is enraged by its contents. He accuses Nora of ruining his life. He essentially tells her that he plans on forsaking her, contrary to his earlier claim that he would take on everything himself. During his tirade, he is interrupted by the maid bearing another note from Krogstad and addressed to Nora. Torvald reads it and becomes overjoyed. Krogstad has had a change of heart and has sent back the bond. Torvald quickly tells Nora that it is all over after all: he has forgiven her, and her pathetic attempt to help him has only made her more endearing than ever. Nora, seeing Torvald’s true character for the first time, sits her husband down to tell him that she is leaving him. After he protests, she explains that he does not love her—and, after tonight, she does not love him. She tells him that, given the suffocating life she has led until now, she owes it to herself to become fully independent and to explore her own character and the world for herself. As she leaves, she reveals to Torvald that she hopes that a “miracle” might occur: that one day, they might be able to unite in real wedlock. The play ends with the door slamming on her way out. Summary Act One: Set around Christmas time, Nora Helmer enters her home, truly enjoying life. An old widow friend from her past, Mrs. Linde, stops by hoping to find a job. Nora's husband Torvald recently earned a promotion, so she happily finds employment for Mrs. Linde. When her friend complains how hard the years have been, Nora replies that her life has been filled with challenges too. Nora discreetly explains that several years ago, when Torvald Helmer was very ill, she forged her dead father's signature in order to illegally obtain a loan. Since then, she has been paying back the loan in secret. She has never told her husband because she knows it would upset him. Unfortunately, a bitter bank employee named Nils Krogstad is the man who collects the debt payments. Knowing that Torvald is soon to be promoted, he tries using his knowledge of her forgery to blackmail Nora. He wants to insure his position at the bank; otherwise he will reveal the truth to Torvald and perhaps even the police. This turn of events greatly upsets Nora. However, she keeps the truth concealed from her husband, as well as Dr. Rank, a kind yet sickly old friend of the Helmers. She tries to distract herself by playing with her three children. However, by the ending of Act One she begins to feel trapped and desperate. Act Two: Throughout the second act, Nora tries to concoct ways to prevent Krogstad from revealing the truth. She has tried to coerce her husband, asking him to let Krogstad keep his job. However, Helmer believes the man possesses criminal tendencies. Therefore, he is bent on removing Krogstad from his post. Nora tries asking Dr. Rank for help, but she is put off when Dr. Rank becomes too flirtatious with her and claims that he cares for her just as much, if not more, than her husband. Later, the Helmers prepare for a holiday ball. Torvald watches Nora perform a traditional folk dance. He is disappointed that she has forgotten much of what he has taught her. Here, the audience witnesses one of the many scenes in which Torvald patronizes his wife as though she were a child, or his play-thing. (Hence, Ibsen titled the play: A Doll's House). Torvald constantly calls her pet names such as "my song bird" and "my little squirrel." Yet, he never speaks to her with any degree of mutual respect. Eventually, Mrs. Linde tells Nora that she had a romantic attachment to Krogstad in the past, and that she can perhaps persuade him to relent. However, Krogstad does not sway in his position. By the end of Act Two, it seems that Torvald is bound to discover the truth. Nora is ashamed of this possibility. She contemplates jumping into an icy river. She believes that if she does not commit suicide, Torvald will bravely assume responsibility for her crimes. She believes that he would go to jail instead of her. Therefore, she wants to sacrifice herself for his benefit. Act Three: Mrs. Linde and Krogstad meet for the first time in years. At first Krogstad is bitter towards her, but she soon rekindles their romantic interest towards one another. Krogstad even has a change of heart and considers tearing up Nora's IOU. However, Mrs. Linde believes it would be best if Torvald and Nora finally confront the truth. After returning from the party, Nora and Torvald unwind at home. Torvald discusses how he enjoys watching her at parties, pretending that he is encountering her for the first time. Dr. Rank knocks on the door, interrupting the conversation. He says goodbye to them, hinting that he will be shutting himself up in his room until his sickness finally wins. After Dr. Rank's departure, Torvald discovers Krogstad's incriminating note. When he realizes the criminal act that Nora has committed, Torvald becomes enraged. He fumes about how Krogstad can now make any demand he wishes. He declares that Nora is immoral, unfit as a wife and mother. Even worse, Torvald says that he will continue to be married to her in name alone. He wants to have no romantic connection to her whatsoever. The irony of this scene is that moments before, Torvald was discussing how he wished that Nora faced some sort of peril, so that he could prove his love for her. Yet, once that peril is actually presented, he has no intention of saving her, only condemning her actions. Moments after Torvald raves like a madman, Krogstad drops another note saying that he has rediscovered love, and that he no longer wants to blackmail the Helmer family. Torvald rejoices, declaring that they are saved. He then, in a moment of sheer hypocrisy, states that he forgives Nora, and that he still loves her as his little "caged song bird." This is a startling wake-up call for Nora Helmer. In a flash, she realizes that Torvald is not the loving, selfless husband she had once envisioned. With that epiphany, she also comes to understand that their marriage has been a lie, and that she herself has been an active part in the deception. She then decides to leave her husband and her children in order to find out who she truly is. Torvald desperately begs her to stay. He claims that he will change. She says that perhaps if a "miracle of miracles" happens they might one day become suitable companions. However, when she leaves, slamming the door behind her, Torvald is left with very little hope. Plot Summary The play begins as Nora Helmer enters her home after an exhaustive day of shopping for the holidays. She is thrilled that her husband, Torvald, has recently been promoted to the position of Bank Manager at the Savings Bank, for now she can continue her carefree lifestyle of spending and shopping. Torvald calms her down, calling her a song-bird and skylark, and reminds her that they must not spend too much money, for he does not yet have his position and all the money. Their friends, Dr. Rank and Kristina Linde, arrive at the same time for a daily visit. Dr. Rank is the Helmers' mutual friend who helped Torvald regain his health years earlier and Mrs. Linde is an old school friend of Nora's who has come to town to ask Torvald for a job. Her husband passed away three years earlier, leaving her penniless and childless, despite her initial marriage to him solely for money. While they are inside, Nils Krogstad, a barrister from Torvald's bank, comes to speak with him. Dr. Rank enters the study to speak with Torvald as soon as Krogstad exits. While the two men speak, the two women catch up on years of absence. After Kristina lectures Nora on the frivolousness of her life, Nora reveals a deep secret to her friend. The year in which they lived in Italy was not funded by her father, but rather through Nora's own business negotiations. She borrowed a large sum of money from a creditor, Nils Krogstad, and constantly must worry about repaying him at the same time as carrying on her typical life of shopping and caring for the house and children. Kristina does pity her. When the men come out of the study, Nora asks Torvald to find a job for Kristina, and the two men leave with Kristina. Nora is left alone in the house and begins to play with her three children. In the midst of a loud game, Krogstad enters the living room. He threatens to tell Torvald everything, about the loan, and even worse - about the forged bond Nora signed - if he loses his job to Mrs. Linde. Krogstad and Mrs. Linde used to be a couple before she married her late husband. He leaves her frightened for her husband and family's reputation. When Torvald returns, he catches Nora in a lie. She tells him that nobody stopped by. Torvald, however, saw Krogstad leave the house and lectures her on the importance of telling the truth. Nora waits for Kristina on the couch with her sewing materials and torn dress. Kristina arrives to help fix the dress for the Tarantella, which Nora is to dance at the party later that evening. Initially Kristina believes Dr. Rank to be the man from whom Nora borrowed the money, for he seems especially caring towards her. Nora explains that he is absolutely not the creditor. He is simply a very close friend with whom she discusses everything. She does not speak with her husband about other people - man or woman - because Torvald is jealous of anyone who speaks with her. As Nora begins to divulge the conversation she had with Krogstad, Torvald enters. Nora sends Kristina away, for Torvald does not like to see women sewing. She pleads with him to keep Krogstad at the bank, but he does not pay her any attention intellectually. He just comforts her as one would a pet. Dr. Rank enters to see Torvald who is awaiting him in his study. Dr. Rank sits with Nora, who appears to be extremely worried. He tries to calm her, by telling her that he would do anything for her and he also has deep feeling for her. He is on the verge of death and wanted to tell her how he felt before he left. He wants to be able to give her something that they could remember him by. Nora is about to ask him for the money when he divulges his feelings for her. She is shocked and angry by his candid honesty. He goes into Torvald's study, when Krogstad returns, warning Nora that unless he is promoted to her husband's position, he will reveal all of her past actions. When he leaves, he drops a letter in the mailbox explaining everything that has occurred. Kristina enters and listens to Nora's tearful story. She promises to help Nora by convincing Krogstad to request his letter be returned unopened. Nora must stall Torvald in the meantime by dancing her tarantella with fury. While Nora and Torvald are upstairs rehearsing the tarantella, Krogstad comes to see Kristina. They discuss the problems with the bond and their past relationship. She tries to explain to him why she left him brokenhearted, yet also urges him to right the wrong he is about to make. In the course of their discussion, Kristina proposes that they both leave the bank and start a new business together - as a new family. She can take care of him, his children, and his home, and therefore feel worthy as a person. Krogstad is weary of her trust. However, she pleads with him that she would not sell herself twice in the same lifetime. Krogstad leaves Kristina alone in the Helmer living room, excited about the future. When Nora and Torvald return from the party upstairs, Kristina tells him that all will be well, so long as Torvald reads the letter and understands the truth. She cannot bear to let such deception continue in a family. Kristina leaves, Dr. Rank arrives, drops two letters in the mailbox, and leaves again. He has just notified his friends of his impending death. Although Nora urges Torvald to put off reading his letters, he continues to do so. Upon reading Krogstad's notice, Torvald explodes at Nora, calling her a liar, hypocrite, and hereditary disaster. He blames her for destroying their life, his reputation, and doing something so stupid behind his back. Nora accepts each one of his insults with strength and foresight. In the middle of his tirade, Krogstad delivers another letter - including the returned bond - that absolves them from all financial and legal obligations. Torvald rejoices at the prospect of saving face and returning to his doll's house with Nora and the children. However, it is too late, for Nora has just witnessed his cruel temper and willingness to lose her over his own pride. Although he pleads with her to stay, Nora exclaims that she cannot stay married to such a man - a stranger - and must leave to find her own life, her own independence. Only a miracle would allow them to stay a happy married couple. She leaves their home, releasing him of all husbandly duties, and informing him that all the servants will do a better job of taking care of the house and children than she ever could. Synopsis Act one The play opens at Christmas time as Nora, Torvald’s wife, enters into her home, “thoroughly loving her life and surroundings (Ibsen, 1871, p. 590).” An old-time friend of hers, Mrs. Linde, arrives to her home seeking employment. At the same time, Torvald “has just received news of his most recent job promotion (Ibsen, 1871, p 590).” When Nora learns of her husband’s promotion she instantly and excitedly hires Mrs. Linde. In the meantime, Nora, who is playing the ordinary housewife, is unhappy with her husband and becomes very distraught with him. While conversing, "Mrs. Linde complains about her most difficult past, and Nora mentions that she has had a life in resemblance to Mrs. Linde’s (Ibsen, 1871, 590)." Act two Christine arrives to help Nora repair a dress for a costume party she and Torvald plan to attend the next day. Torvald returns from the bank, and Nora pleads with him to reinstate Krogstad in his position, claiming she is worried Krogstad will publish libelous articles about Torvald and ruin his career. Torvald dismisses her fears and explains that, although Krogstad is a good worker and seems to have turned his life around, he must be fired because he is not deferential enough to Torvald in front of other bank personnel. Torvald then retires to his study to work. Dr. Rank, a family friend, arrives. Nora asks him for a favor, to which Rank reveals that he has entered the terminal stage of tuberculosis of the spine (a contemporary euphemism for syphilis)[8] and that he has always been secretly in love with her. Nora tries to deny the first revelation and make light of it but is more disturbed by his declaration of love. She tries clumsily to tell him that she is not in love with him but that she loves him dearly as a friend. Desperate after being fired by Torvald, Krogstad arrives at the house. Nora convinces Dr. Rank to go in to Torvald's study so he will not see Krogstad. When Krogstad confronts Nora, he declares that he no longer cares about the remaining balance of Nora's loan but that he will preserve the associated bond in order to blackmail Torvald into not only keeping him employed but promoting him as well. Nora explains that she has done her best to persuade her husband but that he refuses to change his mind. Krogstad informs Nora that he has written a letter detailing her crime (forging her father's signature of surety on the bond) and puts it in Torvald's mailbox, which is locked. Nora tells Christine of her predicament. Christine says that she and Krogstad were in love before she married and promises that she will try to convince him to relent. Torvald enters and tries to retrieve his mail but Nora distracts him by begging him to help her with the dance she has been rehearsing for the costume party, feigning anxiety about performing. She dances so badly and acts so childishly that Torvald agrees to spend the whole evening coaching her. When the others go in to dinner, Nora stays behind for a few minutes and contemplates suicide to save her husband from the shame of the revelation of her crime and (more importantly) to pre-empt any gallant gesture on his part to save her reputation. Act three Christine tells Krogstad that she only married her husband because she had no other means to support her sick mother and young siblings and that she has returned to offer him her love again. She believes that he would not have stooped to unethical behavior if he had not been devastated by her abandonment and in dire financial straits. Krogstad is moved and offers to take back his letter to Torvald. However, Christine decides that Torvald should know the truth for the sake of his and Nora's marriage. After literally dragging Nora home from the party, Torvald goes to check his mail but is interrupted by Dr. Rank, who has followed them. Dr. Rank chats for a while so as to convey obliquely to Nora that this is a final goodbye, as he has determined that his death is near. Dr. Rank leaves, and Torvald retrieves his letters. As he reads them, Nora steels herself to take her life. Torvald confronts her with Krogstad's letter. Enraged, he declares that he is now completely in Krogstad's power—he must yield to Krogstad's demands and keep quiet about the whole affair. He berates Nora, calling her a dishonest and immoral woman and telling her she is unfit to raise their children. He says that from now on their marriage will be only a matter of appearances. A maid enters, delivering a letter to Nora. The letter is from Krogstad, yet Torvald demands to read the letter, taking it from Nora. Torvald exults that he is saved as Krogstad has returned the incriminating bond, which Torvald immediately burns along with Krogstad's letters. He takes back his harsh words to his wife and tells her that he forgives her. Nora realizes that her husband is not the strong and gallant man she thought he was and that he truly loves himself more than he does her. Torvald explains that, when a man has forgiven his wife, it makes him love her all the more since it reminds him that she is totally dependent on him, like a child. He dismisses Nora's agonized choice made against her conscience for the sake of his health and her years of secret efforts to free them from the ensuing obligations and danger of loss of reputation, while preserving his peace of mind, as a mere mistake that she made owing to her foolishness, one of her most endearing feminine traits. We must come to a final settlement, Torvald. During eight whole years. . . we have never exchanged one serious word about serious things. Nora, in Ibsen's A Doll's House (1879) Nora tells Torvald that she is leaving him to live alone so she can find out who she is and what she believes and decide what to do with her life. She says she has been treated like a doll to play with, first by her father and then by him. Concerned for the family reputation, Torvald insists that she fulfill her duty as a wife and mother, but Nora says that her first duties are to herself and that she cannot be a good mother or wife without learning to be more than a plaything. She reveals that she had expected that he would want to sacrifice his reputation for hers and that she had planned to kill herself to prevent him from doing so. She now realizes that Torvald is not at all the kind of person she had believed him to be and that their marriage has been based on mutual fantasies and misunderstanding. Torvald is unable to comprehend Nora's point of view, since it contradicts all that he had been taught about the female mind throughout his life. Furthermore, he is so narcissistic that it would be impossible for him to bear to understand how he appears to her, as selfish, hypocritical and more concerned with public reputation than with actual morality. Nora leaves her keys and wedding ring and, as Torvald breaks down and begins to cry, baffled by what has happened, Nora leaves the house, slamming the door behind herself. She never came back again. Character List In some editions of A Doll’s House, the speech prompts refer to the character of Torvald Helmer as “Torvald;” in others, they refer to him as “Helmer.” Similarly, in some editions, Mrs. Linde’s first name is spelled “Christine” rather than “Kristine.” Nora - The protagonist of the play and the wife of Torvald Helmer. Nora initially seems like a playful, naïve child who lacks knowledge of the world outside her home. She does have some worldly experience, however, and the small acts of rebellion in which she engages indicate that she is not as innocent or happy as she appears. She comes to see her position in her marriage with increasing clarity and finds the strength to free herself from her oppressive situation. Torvald Helmer - Nora’s husband. Torvald delights in his new position at the bank, just as he delights in his position of authority as a husband. He treats Nora like a child, in a manner that is both kind and patronizing. He does not view Nora as an equal but rather as a plaything or doll to be teased and admired. In general, Torvald is overly concerned with his place and status in society, and he allows his emotions to be swayed heavily by the prospect of society’s respect and the fear of society’s scorn. Krogstad - A lawyer who went to school with Torvald and holds a subordinate position at Torvald’s bank. Krogstad’s character is contradictory: though his bad deeds seem to stem from a desire to protect his children from scorn, he is perfectly willing to use unethical tactics to achieve his goals. His willingness to allow Nora to suffer is despicable, but his claims to feel sympathy for her and the hard circumstances of his own life compel us to sympathize with him to some degree. Mrs. Linde - Nora’s childhood friend. Kristine Linde is a practical, down-to-earth woman, and her sensible worldview highlights Nora’s somewhat childlike outlook on life. Mrs. Linde’s account of her life of poverty underscores the privileged nature of the life that Nora leads. Also, we learn that Mrs. Linde took responsibility for her sick parent, whereas Nora abandoned her father when he was ill. Dr. Rank - Torvald’s best friend. Dr. Rank stands out as the one character in the play who is by and large unconcerned with what others think of him. He is also notable for his stoic acceptance of his fate. Unlike Torvald and Nora, Dr. Rank admits to the diseased nature (literally, in his case) of his life. For the most part, he avoids talking to Torvald about his imminent death out of respect for Torvald’s distaste for ugliness. Bob, Emmy, and Ivar - Nora and Torvald’s three small children. In her brief interaction with her children, Nora shows herself to be a loving mother. When she later refuses to spend time with her children because she fears she may morally corrupt them, Nora acts on her belief that the quality of parenting strongly influences a child’s development. Anne-Marie - The Helmers’ nanny. Though Ibsen doesn’t fully develop her character, AnneMarie seems to be a kindly woman who has genuine affection for Nora. She had to give up her own daughter in order to take the nursing job offered by Nora’s father. Thus, she shares with Nora and Mrs. Linde the act of sacrificing her own happiness out of economic necessity. Nora’s father - Though Nora’s father is dead before the action of the play begins, the characters refer to him throughout the play. Though she clearly loves and admires her father, Nora also comes to blame him for contributing to her subservient position in life. Character List Nora The play's protagonist and the wife of Torvald Helmer, Nora has never lived alone, going immediately from the care of her father to that of her husband. Inexperienced in the ways of the world as a result of this sheltering, Nora is impulsive and materialistic. But the play questions the extent to which these attributes are mere masks that Nora uses to negotiate the patriarchal oppression she faces every day. The audience learns in the first act that Nora is independent enough to negotiate the loan to make Krogstad's holiday possible, and over the course of the play, Nora emerges as a fully independent woman who rejects both the false union of her marriage and the burden of motherhood. Torvald Nora's husband of eight years, Torvald Helmer, at the beginning of the play, has been promoted to manager of the bank. Torvald has built his middle-class living through his own work and not from family money. Focused on business, Torvald spends a great deal of his time at home in his study, avoiding general visitors and interacting very little with his children. In fact, he sees himself primarily as responsible for the financial welfare of his family and as a guardian for his wife. Torvald is particularly concerned with morality. He also can come across as stiff and unsympathetic. Still, the last act of the play makes very clear that he dearly loves his wife. Dr. Rank Friend of the family and Torvald's physician, Dr. Rank embodies and subverts the theatrical role of the male moral force that had been traditional in the plays of the time. Rather than providing moral guidance and example for the rest of the characters, Dr. Rank is a corrupting force, both physically and morally. Sick from consumption of the spine as a result of his father's sexual exploits, the Doctor confesses his desire for Nora in the second act and goes off to die in the third act, leaving a visiting card with a black cross to signify that--for him--the end has come. Mrs. Linde Sometimes given as Mrs. Linden (for example, in the 1890 translation by Henrietta Frances Lord). An old schoolmate of Nora's, Mrs. Christine Linde comes back into Nora's life after losing her husband and mother. She worked hard to support her helpless mother and two younger brothers since the death of her husband. Now, with her mother dead and her brothers being adults, she is a free agent. Pressed for money, Mrs. Linde successfully asks Nora to help her secure a job at Torvald's bank. Ultimately, Mrs. Linde decides that she will only be happy if she goes off with Krogstad. Her older, weary viewpoint provides a foil to Nora's youthful impetuousness. She perhaps also symbolizes a hollowness in the matriarchal role. Her relationship with Krogstad also provides a point of comparison with that of Nora and Torvald. Krogstad Nils Krogstad is a man from whom Nora borrows money to pay for trip to Italy, an acquaintance of Torvald's and an employee at the bank which Torvald has just taken over. Krogstad was involved in a work scandal many years previously; as a result, his name has been sullied and his career stunted. When his job at the bank is jeopardized by Torvald's refusal to work with a man he sees as hopelessly corrupt, Krogstad blackmails Nora to ensure that he does not lose his job. Ivar, Bob, and Emmy Nora's young children. Raised primarily by Anne, the Nurse (and Nora's old nurse), the children spend little time with their mother or father. The time they do spend with Nora consists of Nora playing with them as if she were just another playmate. The children speak no individualized lines; they are "Three Children." Ibsen facilitates their dialogue through Nora's mouth, and they are often cut entirely in performance. Anne The family nurse. Anne raised Nora, who had lost her mother, and stayed on to raise Nora's children. Nora is confident that she can leave her children in Anne's care. Helen A housemaid employed by the Helmers. Porter A porter who brings in the Christmas Tree at the very beginning. Major Characters Torvald Helmer: Torvald Helmer is an businessman who has recently been promoted to the position of Manager of the Savings Bank. A scrupulous man, Torvald lives his life according to society's norms - both professionally and personally. He treats his wife, Nora, like a beautiful and treasured doll, who he can dress up, exhibit, and love externally. Torvald was extremely ill several years earlier and recovered in Italy. As the Manager of the Bank, he will earn more money, but still hopes to save some of it so that the family will not want in the future. Nora Helmer: Nora Helmer is Torvald's beautiful young wife, who loves to spend money, dress in elegant clothing, and take care of her children. She wants to keep her life as easy and simple as it appears to be at the onset of the play. Despite the appearance she tries to convey, Nora holds a deep secret that threatens to destroy her happy home as she knows it. When the truth comes out that she borrowed money to save her husband years earlier, her financial and personal doom is imminent. She tries to save face, her husband, and family's reputation, but eventually discovers that she has been living in a doll's house her entire life. Dr. Rank: Dr. Rank is a close personal friend of the Helmers who visits on a daily basis. He has no family or offspring to support, so he has amassed a large savings account. He dislikes Nils Krogstad and hides his deep feelings for Nora. Dr. Rank is the man who helped Torvald regain his strength and health years earlier and has since become part of the family. He is the confidante and friend of both Nora and Torvald. Nora feels as if she can speak with Dr. Rank in a way she can never speak to her own husband. Kristina (Mrs. Linde): Kristina (Mrs. Linde) is an old school-friend of Nora's from their youth. Although they have not seen each other in several years, they instantly rekindle their friendship. Kristina, a widow of a loveless marriage, has come to Nora to beg her husband for a job. She and Nils Krogstad shared a romance in the past, and she ended it to marry her late husband for a large sum of money. At the Helmers, Kristina becomes Nora's confidante and helper as she tries to resolve her problems with Krogstad, the bank, and her husband. She believes Nora must be truthful with her husband and develop a sense of independence, as she has done. Nils Krogstad: Nils Krogstad is a barrister at the bank in which Torvald works. He is a man of loose scruples who has lied and forged documents in the past, losing the respect of Torvald and his co-workers. Although he tries to start his life anew in complete honesty, he is also at risk for losing his job. Torvald plans to give his old job to Mrs. Linde. When Krogstad discovers such news, he threatens to tell Torvald that he is the man who lent Nora the money years earlier, destroying everyone's lives. Furthermore, Mrs. Linde had a romance with Krogstad in the past. Because of her influence on him, she tries to help Nora by urging Krogstad to drop his threats. Minor Characters The Helmer children: The three Helmer children run around the house during the course of the play. Nora plays with them and constantly wants to give them presents. They are the binding force between Nora and Torvald. Anna-Maria (nurse/Nanny): The nurse, Anna-Maria, brings news to Nora about the mail and callers. Years earlier, she left her own child and family to raise Nora in a wealthy setting, and now is the trusty nursemaid to Nora's own children. She discusses family and finances with Nora. Housemaid: The housemaid helps the Helmers with the housework, mail, and callers. Porter: The porter helps run the Helmer household and delivers letters for them, including those to and from Krogstad. Nora's father: Although he never makes a physical presence during the play, Nora's father's influence is felt throughout its course. Torvald repeatedly brings up his loose morals and past scandals to compare them to Nora. Analysis of Major Characters Nora Helmer At the beginning of A Doll’s House, Nora seems completely happy. She responds affectionately to Torvald’s teasing, speaks with excitement about the extra money his new job will provide, and takes pleasure in the company of her children and friends. She does not seem to mind her dolllike existence, in which she is coddled, pampered, and patronized. As the play progresses, Nora reveals that she is not just a “silly girl,” as Torvald calls her. That she understands the business details related to the debt she incurred taking out a loan to preserve Torvald’s health indicates that she is intelligent and possesses capacities beyond mere wifehood. Her description of her years of secret labor undertaken to pay off her debt shows her fierce determination and ambition. Additionally, the fact that she was willing to break the law in order to ensure Torvald’s health shows her courage. Krogstad’s blackmail and the trauma that follows do not change Nora’s nature; they open her eyes to her unfulfilled and underappreciated potential. “I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald,” she says during her climactic confrontation with him. Nora comes to realize that in addition to her literal dancing and singing tricks, she has been putting on a show throughout her marriage. She has pretended to be someone she is not in order to fulfill the role that Torvald, her father, and society at large have expected of her. Torvald’s severe and selfish reaction after learning of Nora’s deception and forgery is the final catalyst for Nora’s awakening. But even in the first act, Nora shows that she is not totally unaware that her life is at odds with her true personality. She defies Torvald in small yet meaningful ways—by eating macaroons and then lying to him about it, for instance. She also swears, apparently just for the pleasure she derives from minor rebellion against societal standards. As the drama unfolds, and as Nora’s awareness of the truth about her life grows, her need for rebellion escalates, culminating in her walking out on her husband and children to find independence. Torvald Helmer Torvald embraces the belief that a man’s role in marriage is to protect and guide his wife. He clearly enjoys the idea that Nora needs his guidance, and he interacts with her as a father would. He instructs her with trite, moralistic sayings, such as: “A home that depends on loans and debt is not beautiful because it is not free.” He is also eager to teach Nora the dance she performs at the costume party. Torvald likes to envision himself as Nora’s savior, asking her after the party, “[D]o you know that I’ve often wished you were facing some terrible dangers so that I could risk life and limb, risk everything, for your sake?” Although Torvald seizes the power in his relationship with Nora and refers to her as a “girl,” it seems that Torvald is actually the weaker and more childlike character. Dr. Rank’s explanation for not wanting Torvald to enter his sickroom—”Torvald is so fastidious, he cannot face up to anything ugly”—suggests that Dr. Rank feels Torvald must be sheltered like a child from the realities of the world. Furthermore, Torvald reveals himself to be childishly petty at times. His real objection to working with Krogstad stems not from -deficiencies in Krogstad’s moral character but, rather, Krogstad’s overly friendly and familiar behavior. Torvald’s decision to fire Krogstad stems ultimately from the fact that he feels threatened and offended by Krogstad’s failure to pay him the proper respect. Torvald is very conscious of other people’s perceptions of him and of his standing in the community. His explanation for rejecting Nora’s request that Krogstad be kept on at the office— that retaining Krogstad would make him “a laughing stock before the entire staff”—shows that he prioritizes his reputation over his wife’s desires. Torvald further demonstrates his deep need for society’s respect in his reaction to Nora’s deception. Although he says that Nora has ruined his happiness and will not be allowed to raise the children, he insists that she remain in the house because his chief concern is saving “the appearance” of their household. Krogstad Krogstad is the antagonist in A Doll’s House, but he is not necessarily a villain. Though his willingness to allow Nora’s torment to continue is cruel, Krogstad is not without sympathy for her. As he says, “Even money-lenders, hacks, well, a man like me, can have a little of what you call feeling, you know.” He visits Nora to check on her, and he discourages her from committing suicide. Moreover, Krogstad has reasonable motives for behaving as he does: he wants to keep his job at the bank in order to spare his children from the hardships that come with a spoiled reputation. Unlike Torvald, who seems to desire respect for selfish reasons, Krogstad desires it for his family’s sake. Like Nora, Krogstad is a person who has been wronged by society, and both Nora and Krogstad have committed the same crime: forgery of signatures. Though he did break the law, Krogstad’s crime was relatively minor, but society has saddled him with the stigma of being a criminal and prohibited him from moving beyond his past. Additionally, Krogstad’s claim that his immoral behavior began when Mrs. Linde abandoned him for a man with money so she could provide for her family makes it possible for us to understand Krogstad as a victim of circumstances. One could argue that society forced Mrs. Linde away from Krogstad and thus prompted his crime. Though society’s unfair treatment of Krogstad does not justify his actions, it does align him more closely with Nora and therefore tempers our perception of him as a despicable character. Nora Helmer - The Protagonist of "A Doll's House" Nora's Child-like Personality One of the most complex characters of 19th century drama, Nora Helmer prances about in the first act, behaves desperately in the second, and gains a stark sense of reality during the finale of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House. In the beginning, Nora exhibits many childish qualities. The audience first sees her when she returns from a seemingly extravagant Christmas shopping excursion. She eats a few desserts which she has secretly purchased. When her condescending husband, Torvald Helmer, asks if she has been sneaking macaroons, she denies it whole-heartedly. With this minor act of deception, the audience learns that Nora is quite capable of lying. She is most child-like when she interacts with her husband. She behaves playfully yet obediently in his presence, always coaxing favors from him instead of communicating as equals. Torvald gently chides Nora throughout the play, and Nora good-naturedly responds to his criticism as though she were some loyal pet. Nora's Clever Side: However, Nora has been leading a double life. She has not been thoughtlessly spending their money. Rather, she has been scrimping and saving to pay off a secret debt. Years ago, when her husband became ill, Nora forged her father's signature to receive a loan to save Torvald's life. The fact that she never told Torvald about this arrangement reveals several aspects of her character. For one, the audience no longer sees Nora as the sheltered, care-free wife of an attorney. She knows what it means to struggle and take risks. In addition, the act of concealing the ill-gotten loan signifies Nora's independent streak. She is proud of the sacrifice she has made. Although she says nothing to Torvald, she brags about her actions with her old friend, Mrs. Linde, the first chance she gets! Basically, she believes that her husband would undergo just as many hardships, if not more, for her sake. However, her perception of her husband's devotion is quite misplaced. Desperation Sets In: When the disgruntled Nils Krogstad threatens to reveal the truth about her forgery, Nora realizes that she has potentially scandalized Torvald Helmer's good name. She begins to question her own morality, something she has never done before. Did she do something wrong? Were her actions appropriate, under the circumstances? Will the courts convict her? Is she an improper wife? Is she a terrible mother? Nora contemplates suicide in order to eliminate the dishonor she has wrought upon her family. She also hopes to prevent Torvald from sacrificing himself and going to prison in order to save her from persecution. Yet, it remains debatable as to whether or not she would truly follow through and jump in the icy river. Krogstad doubts her ability. Also, during the climactic scene in Act Three, Nora seems to stall before running out into the night to end her life. Torvald stops her all too easily, perhaps because she knows that, deep down, she wants to be saved. Nora's Transformation: Nora's epiphany occurs when the truth is finally revealed. As Torvald unleashes his disgust towards Nora and her crime of forgery, the protagonist realizes that her husband is a very different person than she once believed. Torvald has no intention of taking the blame for Nora's crime. She thought for certain that he would selflessly give up everything for her. When he fails to do this, she accepts the fact that their marriage has been an illusion. Their false devotion has been merely play acting. She has been his "child-wife" and his "doll." The monologue in which she calmly confronts Torvald serves as one of Ibsen's finest literary moments. Since the premiere of Ibsen's A Doll's House, much has been discussed regarding the final controversial scene. Why does Nora leave not only Torvald but her children as well? Many critics and theater-goers questioned the morality of the play's resolution. In fact, some productions in Germany refused to produce the original ending. Ibsen acquiesced and grudgingly wrote an alternate ending in which Nora breaks down and cries, deciding to stay, but only for her children's sake. Some argue that Nora leaves her home purely because she is selfish. She does not want to forgive Torvald. She would rather start another life than try to fix her existing one. Or perhaps she feels that Torvald was right, that she is a child who knows nothing of the world. Since she knows so little about herself or society, she feels that she is an inadequate mother and wife. She leaves the children because she feels it is for their benefit, painful as it may be to her. Nora Helmer's last words are hopeful, yet her final action is less optimistic. She leaves Torvald explaining that there is a slight chance they could become man and wife once again, but only if a "Miracle of miracles" occurred. This gives Torvald a brief ray of hope. However, just as he repeats Nora's notion of miracles, his wife exits and slams the door, symbolizing the finality of their relationship. Character Roles Analysis Protagonist - Nora Helmer Nora is the play's undisputed protagonist. The dramatic action is driven by her frustrated efforts to keep her big secret. She begs, flirts, manipulates, and even dances to try and keep the truth from Torvald. We're asked to root for her as she hopes for and fears the "wonderful thing" (2.320). Arguably, she also goes through the biggest journey out of all the characters. At the beginning of the play, we see a submissive housewife who seems almost content to play the role. By the end, she's an articulate, liberated woman. Some argue that the play's three day time period is far too short for such a drastic change. Others say that the horrible stress she was under, which forces her to consider suicide, is more than enough to make a person do some serious soul searching. What do you think? Antagonist - Nils Krogstad For a lot of the play, creepy Krogstad seems to be a grade A villain (A, of course, is for antagonist). He is the force that our protagonist, Nora, is constantly butting up against. He is the foe to be defeated. Krogstad brings the trouble into Nora's seemingly perfect world by threatening, blackmailing, and turning Nora's life into an all around hellhole. It's pretty ironic that all of his shenanigans are motivated by a desire to be seen as a respectable person by the community. In the end, however, Krogstad is reformed. When his old flame, Christine, offers her love, Krogstad is reborn and retracts his threatening letter to Torvald. It's too late for the Helmers, though; the damage has been done. We called him a villain earlier, but, now that we think about it, maybe he's a hero. If he'd never put Nora through all that turmoil, she'd never have woken up to the emptiness of her life. We still wouldn't invite him over for a barbecue, but there's no denying that, without his plots and scheming, Nora would still be nothing but a doll. Guide Mentor - Mrs. Christine Linde Throughout the play, Nora goes to her old friend, Christine, for advice. Mrs. Linde is the first person Nora confides in about her secret debt. Though at first Nora doesn't tell Christine the lender's identity, Nora gives up the information pretty quickly when the kitty litter hits the fan. Also, it seems to be Christine's influence that eventually convinces Nora to let Torvald see that letters. Over the course of the whole play, Christine's message to her old friend is that she should be honest with her husband. In the end, Nora finally gets the courage to let the truth come out. We wonder if Christine had any inkling as to how that little scene was going to play out. We'd love to be a fly on the wall, when Nora gets to Christine's place after her dramatic exit. What does Nora say to her? Of course, without Christine's advice Nora would never come to the spiritual awakening that she finds at the end of the play. Foil - Nora Helmer to Mrs. Christine Linde Nora and Christine move in directly opposite paths over the course of the play. Christine begins as a woman who is alone without any obligations to family; Nora has a dutiful husband and several children. While Christine has lived a life of toil and hardship, Nora has had it relatively easy. Nora did have to work a few odd jobs and skim from her allowance to make payments on her debt over the years, but that hardly compares to the sheer drudgery that Christine's life has been. When the play concludes, the two women have switched places. Nora deserts her family and walks out the door into a life of hardship, whereas Christine unites with Krogstad to form a new, hopefully happy home. By the end of the play, Nora is on the road to becoming the wise woman of the world that Christine already is. Foil - Torvald Helmer to Nils Krogstad For the most part, Torvald and Krogstad stand out in stark relief to each other. Torvald has a bright future and the respect of the community; Krogstad's prospects are pretty dismal and everybody hates him. Torvald is a law abiding do-gooder while Krogstad is a shady blackmailer. When Torvald is willing to submit to Krogstad's blackmail, we see that all his talk of being honest and forthright was really just talk. Torvald is ultimately just concerned with appearances. In this way, he's actually similar to Krogstad, who'll do anything to regain his standing with the community. Still, despite Torvald's numerous flaws, you don't see him resort to blackmail. Life hasn't forced him to sink to the levels that Krogstad has. It's interesting that Krogstad is Torvald's childhood friend, just as Nora's foil, Christine, is a friend from earlier days. Ibsen sets up a direct parallel between the two pairs. Krogstad is like the dark version of Torvald, the version that's seen real hardship. Nora and Christine could be compared similarly. Also, just like Nora and Christine, Torvald and Krogstad move in opposite paths. Torvald ends up alone, whereas Krogstad is about to embark on a hopeful future. Romantic - Torvald Helmer It seems that, more than anything else, Nora wants Torvald's love. She's been wanting it for her entire marriage. During the Helmers' final confrontation she says, "I have waited so patiently for eight years […] Then this horrible misfortune came upon me; and then I felt quite certain that the wonderful thing was going to happen at last" (3.340). The wonderful thing seems to be some proof of love from Torvald, something beyond pet names and little indulgences. Nora has a whole melodramatic scenario mapped out in her head. Torvald will find out her secret crime, then gallantly take all the blame onto himself. She, of course, would never let that happen, so, she'll be forced to commit suicide in the black water of a frozen lake. When this doesn't happen, and Torvald shows himself to be something of a coward who is actually only concerned with appearances, Nora's hope for the wonderful thing evaporates. She tells her husband, "For eight years I had been living here with a strange man […] I can't bear to think of it! I could tear myself into little bits!" (3.348). Tools of Characterization Social Status Social status is arguably the most important characterization tool in A Doll's House. Most every character is strictly bound into the roles that society places them in. Nora must be the dutiful housewife. Christine only knows how to be happy if she's fulfilling the same role. Torvald must be the dominant husband. Krogstad struggles against the negative perception the community has of him. For the vast majority of the characters, social status is the defining feature. It is when the characters struggle against these roles that the play's main conflicts are ignited. Actions As in most drama, the character's actions define them. Krogstad spends most of his time threatening and blackmailing, showing us what a nasty sort of person he can be. When he does the whole switch-a-roo at the end and releases the Helmers from his clutches, we see that he's capable of compassion. (He just needed to be loved. Aww, how sweet.) Christine tries her best to help Nora throughout the play, which gives us an idea of her caring nature. She thrives on helping people. We see this again in her union with Krogstad. She's not always warm and squishy though. When she hangs Nora out to dry at the end, by forcing Nora to confront Torvald, we see that that this motherly figure isn't afraid of some tough love. Then there's Torvald. His actions paint him as overbearing and superficial. He's the archetypal overbearing husband. His little concessions to Nora show, though, that he does love her in his way. Also, for most of the play, he seems like an upstanding citizen, even if he is kind of a jerk. In the end, however, when says he'll give in to Krogstad's wishes, we see that it's just the appearance of things that he's concerned with, not the morality behind it. Lastly we have Nora. Her doomed struggle to keep her secret is the central action that drives the play. Her underhanded methods tell us a lot about who she is as a character. We see what society has forced her to resort to in her desperation. In the end, however, Nora allows Torvald to know the truth. Then she deserts him. The old Nora would never have done these things. The change in her character is all too clear through these final actions. She won't be anyone's doll any longer. Names If you examine the names of the two couples in the play, some pretty interesting ideas are unearthed. Take Christine for instance. Notice that it's Christ-tine. Mrs. Linde has definitely lived a Christ-like life of self sacrifice. Then there's Krogstad. His name comes from the Old Norwegian word for crooked, we certainly see him doing a lot of crooked things over the course of the play. Is he perhaps the Satan to Christine's Jesus? Now we come to Torvald and Nora. Both of their names have pagan origins. Torvald = Thor, Norse god of thunder; Nora = Elenora or Helen. Throughout the play, we see the Helmers engaging in pagan-like activities. There's the Christmas or Yule tree, which was originally a pagan thing before Christians adopted it. Then, of course, there's the feasting, dancing, and celebrating, which all go along with the old pagan celebration of Yule. Krogstad and Christine are in a way the "Christian" couple, while Nora and Torvald are the "pagan" pair. That's not to say that the Helmers are literally pagan, it just means that, in some ways, their lifestyle resembles a sort of pagan insouciance. Krogstad and Christine have both lived lives of hard work and sacrifice. These are some of the major tenants of Christianity. The Helmers, on the other hand, seem to live lives of innocent celebration. By the end of the play, it seems that the "Christian" couple is rewarded for their lives of toil and sacrifice. Nora and Torvald, for their part, are awakened like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Their innocence is shattered. When Nora walks out of the house she's only just beginning to toil. Objects/Places The tarantella: The tarantella is an Italian dance that Nora performs at the neighbor's holiday party on Christmas. She rehearses it throughout the play, using its intense music at times to delay Torvald from discovering the truth of her past actions, and other times to play the dutiful doll to her doting husband. Italy: The Helmers spend a substantial period of time in Italy while Torvald regains his health and recuperates from his illness. Nora finances this expensive medical R&R, although Torvald believes her father is the man behind the money. It is this trip that pushes Nora into the deal with Krogstad. The Bank: When Torvald is promoted in the bank, he becomes the manager and is in charge of hiring and firing employees. He plans to fire Krogstad after discovering of his past lies and forgeries. He intends to hire Mrs. Linde in his place. Torvald's Study: Torvald often retires to his private study when he wants quiet study and discussion time with friends. Nora generally stays in the living room when speaking with friends. Dr. Rank typically walks into Torvald's study when he wants to speak with him privately. It is also the location of Krogstad's initial visit to Torvald. Living Room: The entire action of the play takes place in the open living room of Nora and Torvald Helmer. People walk in and out and have access to both the staircase and Torvald's studio from this central room. Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The Sacrificial Role of Women In A Doll’s House, Ibsen paints a bleak picture of the sacrificial role held by women of all economic classes in his society. In general, the play’s female characters exemplify Nora’s assertion (spoken to Torvald in Act Three) that even though men refuse to sacrifice their integrity, “hundreds of thousands of women have.” In order to support her mother and two brothers, Mrs. Linde found it necessary to abandon Krogstad, her true—but penniless—love, and marry a richer man. The nanny had to abandon her own child to support herself by working as Nora’s (and then as Nora’s children’s) caretaker. As she tells Nora, the nanny considers herself lucky to have found the job, since she was “a poor girl who’d been led astray.” Though Nora is economically advantaged in comparison to the play’s other female characters, she nevertheless leads a difficult life because society dictates that Torvald be the marriage’s dominant partner. Torvald issues decrees and condescends to Nora, and Nora must hide her loan from him because she knows Torvald could never accept the idea that his wife (or any other woman) had helped save his life. Furthermore, she must work in secret to pay off her loan because it is illegal for a woman to obtain a loan without her husband’s permission. By motivating Nora’s deception, the attitudes of Torvald—and society—leave Nora vulnerable to Krogstad’s blackmail. Nora’s abandonment of her children can also be interpreted as an act of self- sacrifice. Despite Nora’s great love for her children—manifested by her interaction with them and her great fear of corrupting them—she chooses to leave them. Nora truly believes that the nanny will be a better mother and that leaving her children is in their best interest. Parental and Filial Obligations Nora, Torvald, and Dr. Rank each express the belief that a parent is obligated to be honest and upstanding, because a parent’s immorality is passed on to his or her children like a disease. In fact, Dr. Rank does have a disease that is the result of his father’s depravity. Dr. Rank implies that his father’s immorality—his many affairs with women—led him to contract a venereal disease that he passed on to his son, causing Dr. Rank to suffer for his father’s misdeeds. Torvald voices the idea that one’s parents determine one’s moral character when he tells Nora, “Nearly all young criminals had lying -mothers.” He also refuses to allow Nora to interact with their children after he learns of her deceit, for fear that she will corrupt them. Yet, the play suggests that children too are obligated to protect their parents. Nora recognized this obligation, but she ignored it, choosing to be with—and sacrifice herself for—her sick husband instead of her sick father. Mrs. Linde, on the other hand, abandoned her hopes of being with Krogstad and undertook years of labor in order to tend to her sick mother. Ibsen does not pass judgment on either woman’s decision, but he does use the idea of a child’s debt to her parent to demonstrate the complexity and reciprocal nature of familial obligations. The Unreliability of Appearances Over the course of A Doll’s House, appearances prove to be misleading veneers that mask the reality of the play’s characters and -situations. Our first impressions of Nora, Torvald, and Krogstad are all eventually undercut. Nora initially seems a silly, childish woman, but as the play progresses, we see that she is intelligent, motivated, and, by the play’s conclusion, a strongwilled, independent thinker. Torvald, though he plays the part of the strong, benevolent husband, reveals himself to be cowardly, petty, and selfish when he fears that Krogstad may expose him to scandal. Krogstad too reveals himself to be a much more sympathetic and merciful character than he first appears to be. The play’s climax is largely a matter of resolving identity confusion—we see Krogstad as an earnest lover, Nora as an intelligent, brave woman, and Torvald as a simpering, sad man. Situations too are misinterpreted both by us and by the characters. The seeming hatred between Mrs. Linde and Krogstad turns out to be love. Nora’s creditor turns out to be Krogstad and not, as we and Mrs. Linde suppose, Dr. Rank. Dr. Rank, to Nora’s and our surprise, confesses that he is in love with her. The seemingly villainous Krogstad repents and returns Nora’s contract to her, while the seemingly kindhearted Mrs. Linde ceases to help Nora and forces Torvald’s discovery of Nora’s secret. The instability of appearances within the Helmer household at the play’s end results from Torvald’s devotion to an image at the expense of the creation of true happiness. Because Torvald craves respect from his employees, friends, and wife, status and image are important to him. Any disrespect—when Nora calls him petty and when Krogstad calls him by his first name, for example—angers Torvald greatly. By the end of the play, we see that Torvald’s obsession with controlling his home’s appearance and his repeated suppression and denial of reality have harmed his family and his happiness irreparably. Doll's House The whole play takes place in one room. Until the last act, Nora is in every scene; she never seems to leave the room. The action of the play all comes to her. She is literally trapped in domestic comfort. She is given her “housekeeping” money by Helmer as though she is a doll in a doll's house. The play suggests that this treatment is condescending and not an appropriate way to treat one’s wife. Gender This play focuses on the ways that women are perceived in their various roles, especially in marriage and motherhood. Torvald, in particular, has a very clear but narrow definition of women's roles. He believes that it is the sacred duty of a woman to be a good wife and mother. Moreover, he tells Nora that women are responsible for the morality of their children. In essence, he sees women as childlike, helpless creatures detached from reality on the one hand, but on the other hand as influential moral forces responsible for the purity of the world through their influence in the home. Ideas of 'manliness' are present in more subtle ways. Nora's description of Torvald suggests that she is partially aware of the inconsistent pressures on male roles as much as the inconsistent pressures on female roles in their society. Torvald's own conception of manliness is based on the value of total independence. He abhors the idea of financial or moral dependence on anyone. His strong desire for independence may put him out of touch with the reality of human interdependence. Frequent references to Nora's father often equate her with him because of her actions and her disposition. Although people think he gave Nora and Torvald the money for their trip to Italy, it was actually Nora. She has more agency and decision-making skills than she is given credit for. Nora seems to wish to enjoy the privileges and power enjoyed by males in her society. She seems to understand the confinement she faces simply by virtue of her sex. Materialism Torvald in particular focuses on money and material goods rather than people. His sense of manhood depends on his financial independence. He was an unsuccessful barrister because he refused to take "unsavory cases." As a result, he switched jobs to the bank, where he primarily deals with money. For him, money and materialism may be a way to avoid the complications of personal contact. Children Nora is called a number of diminutive, childlike names by Torvald throughout the play. These include "little songbird," "squirrel," "lark," "little featherhead," "little skylark," "little person," and "little woman." Torvald commonly uses the modifier "little" before the names he calls Nora. These are all usually followed by the possessive "my," signaling Torvald's belief that Nora is his. This pattern seems like more than just a collection of pet names. Overall, he sees Nora as a child of his. The Helmer children themselves are only a borderline presence in the play, never given any dialogue to speak, and then only briefly playing hide-and-seek (perhaps a nod toward the theme of deception). Ibsen's alternate ending had Nora persuaded not to leave by the presence of the children. But the play as we have it does not really emphasize their importance. The story focuses on the parents. Light Light is used to illustrate Nora's personal journey. After the turning point of Torvald's claim to want to take everything upon himself and while Nora is talking to Dr. Rank, the light begins to grow dark just as Nora sinks to new levels of manipulation. When Dr. Rank reveals his affection, Nora is jolted out of this fantasy world into reality and insists on bringing a lamp into the room, telling the doctor that he must feel silly saying such things with the light on. Light, enlightenment, and shedding light on something all function as metaphors or idioms for understanding. Dress and Costume Nora's fancy dress for the party symbolizes the character she plays in her marriage to Torvald. Take note of when Nora is supposed to be wearing it and for whom. Note too that when she leaves Torvald in the last act, she first changes into different clothes, which suggests the new woman she is to become. Religion The play takes place around Christmas. The first act occurs on Christmas Eve, the second on Christmas Day, and the third on Boxing Day. Although there is a great deal of talk about morality throughout the play, Christmas is never presented as a religious holiday. Moreover, religion is directly questioned later by Nora in the third act. In fact, religion is discussed primarily as a material experience. Once again, what normally are important values for people and their relationships—children, personal contact, and, here, religion—are subordinate to materialism and selfish motives. Corruption Dr. Rank has inherited his tuberculosis from his father, who lived a morally questionable life, and in much the same way Nora worries that her morally reprehensible actions (fraudulently signing her father's name) will infect her children. Corruption, the play suggests, is hereditary. As he does in other plays, such as The Wild Duck, Ibsen explores the tension between real life and moral ideals. The Life-Lie Are you really alive, if, like Nora, you are living in a delusional world? This question resounds throughout Ibsen's canon, particularly in The Wild Duck, and the question is important in judging how to respond to the play. Is the end of the play, for instance, the glorious triumph of individualism, the moment at which Nora really becomes herself, or is it a foolish, idealistic decision which is the beginning of the end of Nora's happiness? Individual vs Society Several characters in the play base their life decisions based on society’s expectations. Throughout this play, Ibsen demonstrates the idea that social dictates often conflict with, or restrict, individual desires. Morality and Values Distinctions are made between public and private morality. Many of the characters witness the transformation of their values or the values of those around them in the course of the play as they react to unexpected events that disrupt their stable lives. Acts of deception and disloyalty taint many of the characters, and money or financial issues often pose a challenge to personal morality. Gender Roles Ibsen draws heavily upon the debate surrounding the role of women in contemporary society. Nora is a middle-class housewife whose primary duties are as a mother and a spouse. She is expected to defer to her husband in every situation and has no independent means. On one hand, Nora is successful in her role as Torvald’s obedient wife. On a deeper level, however, her belief in traditional gender roles is less sincere, and she often defies her husband’s wishes. The Inability to Escape One’s Past or Heritage Health, sickness, and heredity figure heavily in A Doll’s House. External symbols, such as illness, reflect internal qualities, such as moral decay. Characters repeatedly confront elements of their past or conflicts they have inherited from their predecessors, and at times these issues surface on a physical level. We are reminded again and again how difficult it is to escape one’s past and how deeply we are impacted by our actions and those of others close to us. Pay attention to: imagery and/or symbolism related to animals, clothing, and disease; the importance/significance of financial instruments; the social expectations required of various characters; Nora’s role as a wife and mother. Motifs Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. Nora’s Definition of Freedom Nora’s understanding of the meaning of freedom evolves over the course of the play. In the first act, she believes that she will be totally “free” as soon as she has repaid her debt, because she will have the opportunity to devote herself fully to her domestic responsibilities. After Krogstad blackmails her, however, she reconsiders her conception of freedom and questions whether she is happy in Torvald’s house, subjected to his orders and edicts. By the end of the play, Nora seeks a new kind of freedom. She wishes to be relieved of her familial obligations in order to pursue her own ambitions, beliefs, and identity. Letters Many of the plot’s twists and turns depend upon the writing and reading of letters, which function within the play as the subtext that reveals the true, unpleasant nature of situations obscured by Torvald and Nora’s efforts at beautification. Krogstad writes two letters: the first reveals Nora’s crime of forgery to Torvald; the second retracts his blackmail threat and returns Nora’s promissory note. The first letter, which Krogstad places in Torvald’s letterbox near the end of Act Two, represents the truth about Nora’s past and initiates the inevitable dissolution of her marriage—as Nora says immediately after Krogstad leaves it, “We are lost.” Nora’s attempts to stall Torvald from reading the letter represent her continued denial of the true nature of her marriage. The second letter releases Nora from her obligation to Krogstad and represents her release from her obligation to Torvald. Upon reading it, Torvald attempts to return to his and Nora’s previous denial of reality, but Nora recognizes that the letters have done more than expose her actions to Torvald; they have exposed the truth about Torvald’s selfishness, and she can no longer participate in the illusion of a happy marriage. Dr. Rank’s method of communicating his imminent death is to leave his calling card marked with a black cross in Torvald’s letterbox. In an earlier conversation with Nora, Dr. Rank reveals his understanding of Torvald’s unwillingness to accept reality when he proclaims, “Torvald is so fastidious, he cannot face up to -anything ugly.” By leaving his calling card as a death notice, Dr. Rank politely attempts to keep Torvald from the “ugly” truth. Other letters include Mrs. Linde’s note to Krogstad, which initiates her -life-changing meeting with him, and Torvald’s letter of dismissal to Krogstad. Symbolism and Allegory Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. The Christmas Tree The Christmas tree, a festive object meant to serve a decorative purpose, symbolizes Nora’s position in her household as a plaything who is pleasing to look at and adds charm to the home. There are several parallels drawn between Nora and the Christmas tree in the play. Just as Nora instructs the maid that the children cannot see the tree until it has been decorated, she tells Torvald that no one can see her in her dress until the evening of the dance. Also, at the beginning of the second act, after Nora’s psychological condition has begun to erode, the stage directions indicate that the Christmas tree is correspondingly “dishevelled.” The Christmas tree itself can also be seen as symbolic. For one, its presence reminds us what season it is, and brings to mind all the points made in the above section. Beyond that, however, it can be seen as being directly symbolic of Nora. How, you ask? First of all, the tree seems to mimic Nora's psychological state. At the beginning of Act Two, stage directions tell us, "The Christmas Tree is […] stripped of its ornaments and with burntdown candle-ends on its disheveled branches" (2.1). But what does that have to do with Nora? Stage directions go on to say that, "[Nora] is alone in the room, walking about uneasily" (2.1). Basically, Nora is a mess and so is the tree. She's gotten the bad news from Krogstad, and as a result her mind is just as disheveled as the tree. You could also interpret the tree's state as symbolic of Nora's disintegrating web of lies. The pretty decorations which Nora used to cover up her deceit are falling away. Soon the bare ugly truth will emerge. Lastly, Nora's function in the household is pretty much the same as the tree. She's merely decorative, ornamental if you will. She dresses up the tree just as Torvald dresses up her for the Stenborgs' party. It's interesting that she tells the maid not to let the children see the tree until it's decorated. This is reminiscent of when she tells Torvald that she can't be seen in her costume until the party. It seems that Ibsen built in many parallels between Nora and her tree. New Year’s Day The action of the play is set at Christmastime, and Nora and Torvald both look forward to New Year’s as the start of a new, happier phase in their lives. In the new year, Torvald will start his new job, and he anticipates with excitement the extra money and admiration the job will bring him. Nora also looks forward to Torvald’s new job, because she will finally be able to repay her secret debt to Krogstad. By the end of the play, however, the nature of the new start that New Year’s represents for Torvald and Nora has changed dramatically. They both must become new people and face radically changed ways of living. Hence, the new year comes to mark the beginning of a truly new and different period in both their lives and their personalities. Christmas and New Year's The play is set during the holidays. Yes, it's Christmas time for the Helmers and New Year's is swiftly approaching. Chances are that this isn't random. Christmas and New Year's are both associated with rebirth and renewal. Several of the characters go through a kind of rebirth over the course of the play. Both Nora and Torvald have a spiritual awakening, which could be seen as a rebirth. Nora's trials and tribulations wake her up to the pitiful state of her marriage. When the "wonderful thing" fails to happen, she realizes she'll never be a fully realized person until she severs herself from her husband. When she slams the door behind her, she is in a way reborn. Nora is not alone in her spiritual awakening, however. Torvald's last line, "The most wonderful thing of all?" (3.381), seems to indicate that Nora's words haven't fallen on deaf ears. Torvald, like his wife, has realized the complete inadequacy of his existence. By the end of the play, both Helmers have been reborn. Krogstad and Christine are reborn as well. When these "two shipwrecked people […] join forces" (3.42), they each get a fresh start in life. Both of them view their renewed love affair as a chance for salvation. Krogstad hopes that it will help increase his standing with the community, and that Christine's influence will make him a better person. Christine is overjoyed that she will have someone to care for. She once again has purpose in her life. Yes, it seems that, in A Doll's House, 'tis the season for rebirth. Alternative ending It was felt by Ibsen's German agent that the original ending would not play well in German theatres; therefore, for the play's German debut, Ibsen was forced to write an alternative ending for it to be considered acceptable.[9] In this ending, Nora is led to her children after having argued with Torvald. Seeing them, she collapses, and the curtain is brought down. Ibsen later called the ending a disgrace to the original play and referred to it as a 'barbaric outrage'.[9] Title The title of the play is most commonly translated as A Doll's House, though some scholars use A Doll House. John Simon argues that the only significance in the alternative translation is the difference in the way the toy is named in Britain and the United States. Egil Törnqvist argues that the alternative "simply sounds more idiomatic to Americans." See Simon (1991, 55), Törnqvist (1995, 54), and Worthen (2004, 666-691). Inspiration and Composition Real-life inspiration A Doll's House was based on the life of Laura Kieler (maiden name Laura Smith Petersen), a good friend of Ibsen. Much that happened between Nora and Torvald happened to Laura and her husband, Victor, with the most important exception being the forged signature that was the basis of Nora's loan. In real life, when Victor found out about Laura's secret loan, he divorced her and had her committed to an asylum. Two years later, she returned to her husband and children at his urging, and she went on to become a well-known Danish author, living to the age of 83. Ibsen wrote A Doll's House at the point when Laura Kieler had been committed to the asylum, and the fate of this friend of the family shook him deeply, perhaps also because Laura had asked him to intervene at a crucial point in the scandal, which he did not feel able or willing to do. Instead, he turned this life situation into an aesthetically shaped, successful drama. In the play, Nora leaves Torvald with head held high, though facing an uncertain future given the limitations women faced in the society of the time. Kieler eventually rebounded from the shame of the scandal and had her own successful writing career while remaining discontented with sole recognition as "Ibsen's Nora" years afterwards.[10] Composition Ibsen started thinking about the play around May 1878, although he did not begin its first draft until a year later, having reflected on the themes and characters in the intervening period (he visualised its protagonist, Nora, for instance, as having approached him one day wearing "a blue woolen dress").[11] He outlined his conception of the play as a "modern tragedy" in a note written in Rome on 19 October 1878.[12] "A woman cannot be herself in modern society," he argues, since it is "an exclusively male society, with laws made by men and with prosecutors and judges who assess feminine conduct from a masculine standpoint."[3] Review IN "A Doll's House" Ibsen returns to the subject so vital to him,--the Social Lie and Duty,--this time as manifesting themselves in the sacred institution of the home and in the position of woman in her gilded cage. Nora is the beloved, adored wife of Torvald Helmer. He is an admirable man, rigidly honest, of high moral ideals, and passionately devoted to his wife and children. In short, a good man and an enviable husband. Almost every mother would be proud of such a match for her daughter, and the latter would consider herself fortunate to become the wife of such a man. Nora, too, considers herself fortunate. Indeed, she worships her husband, believes in him implicitly, and is sure that if ever her safety should be menaced, Torvald, her idol, her god, would perform the miracle. When a woman loves as Nora does, nothing else matters; least of all, social, legal or moral considerations. Therefore, when her husband's life is threatened, it is no effort, it is joy for Nora to forge her father's name to a note and borrow 800 cronen on it, in order to take her sick husband to Italy. In her eagerness to serve her husband, and in perfect innocence of the legal aspect of her act, she does not give the matter much thought, except for her anxiety to shield him from any emergency that may call upon him to perform the miracle in her behalf. She works hard, and saves every penny of her pin-money to pay back the amount she borrowed on the forged check. Nora is light-hearted and gay, apparently without depth. Who, indeed, would expect depth of a doll, a "squirrel," a song-bird? Her purpose in life is to be happy for her husband's sake, for the sake of the children; to sing, dance, and play with them. Besides, is she not shielded, protected, and cared for? Who, then, would suspect Nora of depth? But already in the opening scene, when Torvald inquires what his precious "squirrel" wants for a Christmas present, Nora quickly asks him for money. Is it to buy macaroons or finery? In her talk with Mrs. Linden, Nora reveals her inner self, and forecasts the inevitable debacle of her doll's house. After telling her friend how she had saved her husband, Nora says: "When Torvald gave me money for clothes and so on, I never used more than half of it; I always bought the simplest things. . . . Torvald never noticed anything. But it was often very hard, Christina dear. For it's nice to be beautifully dressed. Now, isn't it? . . . Well, and besides that, I made money in other ways. Last winter I was so lucky--I got a heap of copying to do. I shut myself up every evening and wrote far into the night. Oh, sometimes I was so tired, so tired. And yet it was splendid to work in that way and earn money. I almost felt as if I was a man." Down deep in the consciousness of Nora there evidently slumbers personality and character, which could come into full bloom only through a great miracle--not the kind Nora hopes for, but a miracle just the same. Nora had borrowed the money from Nils Krogstad, a man with a shady past in the eyes of the community and of the righteous moralist, Torvald Helmer. So long as Krogstad is allowed the little breathing space a Christian people grants to him who has once broken its laws, he is reasonably human. He does not molest Nora. But when Helmer becomes director of the bank in which Krogstad is employed, and threatens the man with dismissal, Krogstad naturally fights back. For as he says to Nora: "If need be, I shall fight as though for my life to keep my little place in the bank. . . . It's not only for the money: that matters least to me. It's something else. Well, I'd better make a clean breast of it. Of course you know, like every one else, that some years ago I--got into trouble. . . . The matter never came into court; but from that moment all paths were barred to me. Then I took up the business you know about. I was obliged to grasp at something; and I don't think I've been one of the worst. But now I must clear out of it all. My sons are growing up; for their sake I must try to win back as much respectability as I can. This place in the bank was the first step, and now your husband wants to kick me off the ladder, back into the mire. Mrs. Helmer, you evidently have no idea what you have really done. But I can assure you that it was nothing more and nothing worse that made me an outcast from society. . . . But this I may tell you, that if I'm flung into the gutter a second time, you shall keep me company." Even when Nora is confronted with this awful threat, she does not fear for herself, only for Torvald,--so good, so true, who has such an aversion to debts, but who loves her so devotedly that for her sake he would take the blame upon himself. But this must never be. Nora, too, begins a fight for life, for her husband's life and that of her children. Did not Helmer tell her that the very presence of a criminal like Krogstad poisons the children? And is she not a criminal? Torvald Helmer assures her, in his male conceit, that "early corruption generally comes from the mother's side, but of course the father's influence may act in the same way. And this Krogstad has been poisoning his own children for years past by a life of lies and hypocrisy--that's why I call him morally ruined." Poor Nora, who cannot understand why a daughter has no right to spare her dying father anxiety, or why a wife has no right to save her husband's life, is surely not aware of the true character of her idol. But gradually the veil is lifted. At first, when in reply to her desperate pleading for Krogstad, her husband discloses the true reason for wanting to get rid of him: "The fact is, he was a college chum of mine--there was one of those rash friendships between us that one so often repents later. I don't mind confessing it--he calls me by my Christian name; and he insists on doing it even when others are present. He delights in putting on airs of familiarity--Torvald here, Torvald there! I assure you it's most painful to me. He would make my position at the bank perfectly unendurable." And then again when the final blow comes. For forty-eight hours Nora battles for her ideal, never doubting Torvald for a moment. Indeed, so absolutely sure is she of her strong oak, her lord, her god, that she would rather kill herself than have him take the blame for her act. The end comes, and with it the doll's house tumbles down, and Nora discards her doll's dress--she sheds her skin, as it were. Torvald Helmer proves himself a petty Philistine, a bully and a coward, as so many good husbands when they throw off their respectable cloak. Helmer's rage over Nora's crime subsides the moment the danger of publicity is averted--proving that Helmer, like many a moralist, is not so much incensed at Nora's offense as by the fear of being found out. Not so Nora. Finding out is her salvation. It is then that she realizes how much she has been wronged, that she is only a plaything, a doll to Helmer. In her disillusionment she says, "You have never loved me. You only thought it amusing to be in love with me." Helmer. Why, Nora, what a thing to say! Nora. Yes, it is so, Torvald. While I was at home with father he used to tell me all his opinions and I held the same opinions. If I had others I concealed them, because he would not have liked it. He used to call me his doll child, and play with me as I played with my dolls. Then I came to live in your house-- . . . I mean I passed from father's hands into yours. You settled everything according to your taste; and I got the same tastes as you; or I pretended to--I don't know which--both ways perhaps. When I look back on it now, I seem to have been living here like a beggar, from hand to mouth. I lived by performing tricks for you, Torvald. But you would have it so. You and father have done me a great wrong. It's your fault that my life has been wasted. . . . Helmer. It's exasperating! Can you forsake your holiest duties in this way? Nora. What do you call my holiest duties? Helmer. Do you ask me that? Your duties to your husband and children. Nora. I have other duties equally sacred. Helmer. Impossible! What duties do you mean? Nora. My duties toward myself. Helmer. Before all else you are a wife and a mother. Nora. That I no longer believe. I think that before all else I am a human being, just as much as you are--or, at least, I will try to become one. I know that most people agree with you, Torvald, and that they say so in books. But henceforth I can't be satisfied with what most people say, and what is in books. I must think things out for myself and try to get clear about them. . . . I had been living here these eight years with a strange man, and had borne him three children--Oh! I can't bear to think of it--I could tear myself to pieces!. . . . I can't spend the night in a strange man's house. Is there anything more degrading to woman than to live with a stranger, and bear him children? Yet, the lie of the marriage institution decrees that she shall continue to do so, and the social conception of duty insists that for the sake of that lie she need be nothing else than a plaything, a doll, a nonentity. When Nora closes behind her the door of her doll's house, she opens wide the gate of life for woman, and proclaims the revolutionary message that only perfect freedom and communion make a true bond between man and woman, meeting in the open, without lies, without shame, free from the bondage of duty. Criticism A Doll's House criticises the traditional roles of men and women in 19th-century marriage.[27] To many 19th-century Europeans, this was scandalous. The Swedish playwright August Strindberg attacked the play in his volume of short stories Getting Married (1884).[28] Nothing was considered more holy than the covenant of marriage, and to portray it in such a way was completely unacceptable;[29] however, a few more open-minded critics such as the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw found Ibsen's willingness to examine society without prejudice exhilarating.[30] In Germany, the production's lead actress refused to play the part of Nora unless Ibsen changed the ending, which, under pressure, he eventually did.[27] In the alternative ending, Nora gives her husband another chance after he reminds her of her responsibility to their children. This ending proved unpopular and Ibsen later regretted his decision on the matter. Virtually all productions today, however, use the original ending, as do nearly all of the film versions of this play, including Dariush Mehrjui's Sara (the Argentine version, made in 1943 and starring Delia Garcés, does not; it also modernizes the story, setting it in the early 1940s). Because of the radical departure from traditional behavior and theatrical convention involved in Nora's leaving home, her act of slamming the door as she leaves has come to represent the play itself.[31][32] One critic noted, "That slammed door reverberated across the roof of the world."[33] Analysis of Literary Devices Setting - Where It All Goes Down The Helmers' Living Room, Victorian Era, Norway George Bernard Shaw said that A Doll's House is set in "every suburb in Europe" (source). You could probably tack America and a good portion of the rest of the world onto that as well. Though the play is set in Ibsen's native Norway, the characters don't spend a lot of time talking about things that are specifically Norwegian. The Helmers' living room is typical of any "respectable" middle-class room you might've found at the time. The choice of making the setting a bit generic seems to have been good one, as it allowed audiences everywhere to immediately superimpose their own lives onto the lives of the Helmers. In this way, there was no room to hide from Ibsen's message of a necessary spiritual awakening. The play is also heavily influenced by its Victorian time period. This era was especially strict in many respects. Talk of sex and even babies was distasteful. Gender roles were pretty darn confining. Women were expected to be submissive to their husbands; husbands were expected to dominate. Women raised the children; men brought home the bacon. So it went. Anyone who challenged these deeply entrenched values faced some serious consequences. This charged atmosphere of gender division was the reason that the play became such a phenomenon. There's a good chance that, without the controversy, we'd have never even heard of A Doll's House. Needless to say, the pressure of strict Victorian values is the spark that ignites the play's central conflicts. Narrator: Who is the narrator, can she or he read minds, and, more importantly, can we trust her or him? Though all works of literature present the author's point of view, they don't all have a narrator or a narrative voice that ties together and presents the story. This particular piece of literature does not have a narrator through whose eyes or voice we learn the story. Genre Family Drama; Tragedy It's a drama because it's a play, a piece of literature that's never fully realized until it's put on stage in front of an audience. We call it a family drama for the obvious reason that it concerns a family. Over the course of the play, we watch the Helmer family disintegrate as fast as Kool Aid in water. We also dub it a tragedy, though it's a bit different than the Greek or Elizabethan versions. Ibsen's version of tragedy is all about the individual vs. a corrupt popular society. This is the opposite trajectory of a lot of previous tragedy. In Hamlet, for example, the good society has been thrown out of wack by the murderous, incestuous actions of Prince Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet must restore the kingdom to the lovely place of goodness that it once was. In Ibsen's version of tragedy, society was never any good to begin with. A Doll's House, for example, shows Nora (and debatably all its characters) trapped in a society defined by restrictive gender roles. In order to become more than a doll, Nora must shatter the cornerstone that her entire society is based on: marriage. There you go: individual vs. corrupt popular society. In this tragedy, we don't get blood and death at the end; we get the death of a marriage and of the characters' old selves. Ibsen presents these things as the price of self-fulfillment. Tone Take a story's temperature by studying its tone. Is it hopeful? Cynical? Snarky? Playful? Biased for a while, but ultimately objective In the beginning, the play seems to be biased toward Nora. We're definitely asked to sympathize with her. It's pretty hard to get on Torvald's side. From the moment he gets on her case about eating macaroons, we know that he's overbearing, even for a Victorian era male. His demeaning little pet names for Nora don't help his case. To Ibsen's credit, however, Torvald does seem to be redeemed in the end. His last line, "The most wonderful thing of all?" indicates that he's gone through the same spiritual awakening as Nora (3.381). Overall, it seems that the play shifts in tone. We go from seeing Nora as Torvald's prisoner to seeing that all the characters, Torvald included, have been prisoners in some way. In the end, the tone of the play becomes more objective. Sympathy can be found for all its characters. Style The play is written in a realistic style. The setting alone was highly unusual for its time—within the living room of a middle-class house. Ibsen lets life speak for itself to allow for rich psychological identities of characters Explores controversial issues of his day In a modern context it is considered a feminist play given Nora’s journey from a somewhat oppressive marriage to her eventual independence. It is a critique of patriarchal society. Ibsen argued that anyone, not just women, should be true to their own nature and not be restricted by repressive social conventions or values. Ibsen believed that women would revolt against conventions of society which were oppressive. Critics disagreed and he was forced to write an alternative ending for German audiences. (In the second ending, Nora sees her children and decides not to leave. Ibsen called this ending a barbaric outrage against the play.) Writing Style Realism Ibsen is often thought of as the founder of realist drama. Other playwrights who wrote in this genre include Chekhov, Strindberg, Shaw, and O'Neill. In realist drama, the characters talk in a close approximation of everyday speech. The vast majority or modern plays, TV shows, and movies, are written in a similar style, though most fail to rise to the same level of social critique. Realism shouldn't be confused with its Naturalism. Though the two styles were being developed around the same time, they have some significant differences. Basically, Naturalism was just a lot more hard core about representing everyday life exactly as it is. Naturalist plays wanted to show a slice of life exactly as it is. Characters might talk on and on about nothing in particular and the plays might have no obvious climax – just like most days are for most people. Realism, however, is unafraid to be a little unrealistic. Look at A Doll's House. Sure the characters talk in a generally conversational way, but the plot is obviously and unapologetically contrived. There are melodramatic devices like secret revealing letters. The doorbell rings at convenient times, bringing trouble for Nora. People enter and exit just when Ibsen needs to move on to the next scene and bring on new ideas. This wasn't a bad thing to Ibsen. His goal was to examine ideas, to challenge individuals to really think about their society, not to present photographic reality. A Doll's House is widely considered to be one of the prime examples of realism. What’s Up With the Title? Not long before her famous door slamming exit, Nora has a little something to say to her husband, Torvald: "Our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife" (3.286). With statements like this, it's probably not too hard to guess where the play's title might have come from. Torvald has never treated Nora as anything more than a plaything. He admires her beauty. He gets her to dance for him. He even dresses her up in costumes. In effect, she is his doll. The home they live in seems perfect and picturesque, but in reality it is just like the Helmers' marriage: all for show. Nora adds, "at home I was papa's doll-child" (3.286). She's never been anything but a man's plaything. Every house she's ever lived in has been just as artificial. It's interesting to note that not all translators dub the play with the exact same title. In Norwegian, it's Et Dukkehjem. Some translators, like the one we've chosen to reference, interpret this as A Doll's House, while others simply call it A Doll House. In one version, doll is possessive; in another it's merely descriptive of what kind of house it is. Which do you think more accurately describes the play? Is it really Nora's house, since Torvald controls everything? Or is she equally as responsible for building the fantasy world that she and Torvald live in? What’s Up With the Ending? A Doll's House ends with the slamming of a door. Nora turns her back on her husband and kids, and takes off into the snow to make her own way in the world. It's a pretty bold decision, to say the least. Some might even call it foolish. She doesn't have a job. Not a whole lot of marketable skills. No home. No prospects of any kind. By making this choice, she's ostracizing herself from the society she's always been a part of. Most "respectable" people just aren't going to hang out with her. The comfortable life she's leading will be totally destroyed. So, why does she do such a thing? Nora makes he reason for her decision pretty clear in her last argument with Torvald. Before she makes her grand exit, he scathingly criticizes her, saying that by deserting her husband and children she is forsaking her "most sacred duties" (3.309). Nora doesn't see it this way. She tells him that the duties that are most sacred to her now are the "duties to [herself]" (3.314). It seems like Nora has gone through a kind of personal awakening. She's come to the conclusion that she's not a fully realized person. She has to spend some time figuring out who she is as an individual or she'll never be anything more than someone's doll. This would be impossible under the smothering presence of Torvald. She must force herself to face the world alone. Nora knows that she is about to suffer. It seems that some part of her may even welcome it. In a way Nora is like the Biblical Eve after she ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. All of a sudden, she is enlightened, but that enlightenment comes with a heavy cost. But is there any hope for Torvald and Nora getting back together? The last line of the play seems to suggest that maybe there is. Torvald is alone in the living room. Stage directions tell us that, "A hope flashes across his mind" and then Torvald says, "The most wonderful thing of all?" (3.381) He's referring to the conversation he and Nora had right before she walked out of the room. Nora says that if they're ever to be more than strangers "the most wonderful thing of all would have to happen," that their "life together would be a real wedlock" (3.376). So, has Torvald realized what this means? Has he figured out that they both have to respect each other as individuals in order to have a real marriage? Has he taken a bite of the forbidden fruit as well? Ibsen doesn't tell us for sure. Maybe Torvald runs out into the snow and makes it all better. Maybe his pride keeps him in the apartment. What do you think? Plot Analysis Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice. Initial Situation The Helmers have a seemingly perfect happy home. In the beginning, all seems well. Nora and Torvald Helmer appear to be the perfect happy couple. Torvald is getting a new job, managing the bank. They won't have to worry about money ever again. We meet Nora's old friend Mrs. Linde who's fallen on hard times. Torvald gives her a job. Also, there's Dr. Rank, a Helmer family friend who is slowly dying from tuberculosis. (So not everything is great.) Conflict Krogstad brings trouble. Nora is afraid. Things start to go bad for Nora when Krogstad shows up. She borrowed money from him and forged a signature in the bargain. Now Torvald wants to fire him from his job at the bank. He threatens to reveal Nora's little secret if he gets fired. Complication Nora begs. Torvald fires. Krogstad blackmails Nora begs Torvald not to fire Krogstad. Her begging only makes her husband mad and fires Krogstad anyway. Krogstad tells Nora that he's going to blackmail both her and Torvald and there's nothing she can do about it. He drops a letter detailing everything in the mailbox. Nora tells Christine her troubles, and Christine runs off to try and talk to Krogstad. Climax Nora dances the tarantella. To stall Torvald from opening the mail, Nora dances a wild and crazy tarantella. She convinces him that he must do nothing but help her practice until they go to a party the next night. For one night at least she is safe. Suspense Nora allows Torvald to open the letter. Krogstad and Mrs. Linde get together. Krogstad has a change of heart about the blackmail, but Christine tells him to still let Torvald read the letter. She thinks there are too many lies in the Helmer household. Nora and Torvald come home from the party. Dr. Rank stops by to let everybody know he's dying. Nora finally allows Torvald to open the letter. Denouement Torvald flips out. Nora severs the marriage. When Torvald finds out Nora's secret, he flips out on her, saying all kinds of terrible things. Krogstad, overjoyed at being with Christine, sends a letter, saying he's not blackmailing them anymore. Torvald forgives Nora, but she doesn't forgive him. She tells him that they're strangers and that they've never had real marriage. She's been his doll, not his wife. Conclusion Torvald hopes. Nora slams the door. The play concludes with Torvald alone in the room. He seems to have a last-minute revelation. Perhaps he's realized what the most wonderful thing of all really is. We don't know for sure. The last thing we hear is Nora slamming the door as she leaves. Is it really for forever? Who knows? Either way both Helmers have finally woken up to the emptiness of their lives. Booker's Seven Basic Plots Analysis: Tragedy Plot Christopher Booker is a scholar who wrote that every story falls into one of seven basic plot structures: Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, the Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. Shmoop explores which of these structures fits this story like Cinderella’s slipper. Plot Type : Anticipation Nora has a secret. At first the Nora and Torvald Helmer appear happy. Their troubled friends, Dr. Rank and Mrs. Linde, envy their seemingly perfect live. When Krogstad shows up, however, we find out that all is not what it seems in the Helmer household. Nora once secretly borrowed money from Krogstad to save Torvald's life. She had to forge her dead father's name to do so. Now, Krogstad threatens to expose Nora, if Torvald doesn't let him keep his job. Will Nora keep her secret? Dream Stage Doesn't really exist. We don't get much of a dream stage in A Doll's House. It never really looks like it's going to work out for Nora. Frustration Stage Nora struggles to keep her secret. Nora is frustrated to say the least. She begs Torvald to not fire Krogstad, but Torvald does so anyway. She ponders asking Dr. Rank for the money, but feels bad about it because he's dying and is in love with her. Nightmare Stage Nora contemplates suicide. Things are getting nightmarish to say the least. Krogstad returns, furious about getting fired. He tells Nora that he's going to blackmail Torvald into giving him an even better job than before. Eventually he'll control the whole bank. He leaves a note detailing everything to Torvald. Nora dances a crazy dance to distract Torvald from opening his mail. At the end of the act, Nora contemplates suicide. Destruction or Death Wish Stage Nora lets Torvald read Krogstad's letter. Nora leaves. Nora finally lets Torvald read the letter. When he fails to sacrifice himself for her, she realizes that he's not the man she thought he was. This tragedy doesn't end with blood and guts. Instead, Nora, our tragic heroine, destroys her family. She deserts them to go off alone and find her individuality. Whether this is happy or sad is up to you. Either way it's tragic, because our heroine metaphorically destroys her old self by seeking a new life. Three-Act Plot Analysis For a three-act plot analysis, put on your screenwriter’s hat. Moviemakers know the formula well: at the end of Act One, the main character is drawn in completely to a conflict. During Act Two, she is farthest away from her goals. At the end of Act Three, the story is resolved. Act I At first Nora and Torvald Helmer seem happy. Torvald is overbearing, but Nora doesn't seem to mind. They're both really happy because Torvald will soon start a new job as bank manager. The only grey cloud in the sky seems to be their friend Dr. Rank, who is slowly dying of tuberculosis of the spine. Nora's old friend, Mrs. Christine Linde, turns up. She's fallen on hard times. No worries, though, because Helmer gives her a job at the bank. Troubles arise when Krogstad arrives. Nora secretly borrowed money from him in the past, to fund a trip, which saved Torvald's life. In order to do so, she had to forge her father's signature. Krogstad is mad because Torvald wants to fire him from his job at the bank. He threatens to expose Nora if she doesn't convince Torvald to not fire him. As the act draws to a close, Nora asks her husband to spare Krogstad's job. Torvald says he gets sick when he's around corrupt lawbreakers like Krogstad. Act II Act Two begins with Nora talking to her old wet-nurse, Anne. She asks Anne to look after her children if she's ever not around anymore. Nora makes a second attempt at begging Torvald for Krogstad's job. This attempt backfires. Torvald gets angry and sends Krogstad his notice. Nora is getting desperate. She begins to ask Rank for the money to pay off the loan, but feels guilty when he tells her that he will soon die and that he's in love with her. Krogstad returns, steaming mad about getting fired. He tells Nora that he's going to blackmail the heck out of both of them now. Krogstad plans to force Torvald into giving him an even better job than before. He drops a letter in the mailbox, detailing his demands to Mr. Helmer. Nora confesses everything to Christine, who runs off to try and appeal to Krogstad. At the end of the act, Nora dances a wild tarantella to distract Torvald from opening the mail. She convinces him that he must spend every waking second helping her practice her dance for the party the next night. Torvald agrees to not open the mail until after the party. Act III At the top of Act Three Mrs. Linde is hanging out in the Helmers' living room by herself. Krogstad comes by. Christine tells him that she wants to be with him. He is super-happy and decides not to blackmail the Helmers anymore. Christine tells him to let Torvald still receive the letter. She thinks there are too many lies between Nora and Torvald. The Helmers return from the party. Christine tells Nora that she needs to fess up. Dr. Rank stops by and intimates that he's dying. Nora eventually lets Torvald open his mail. When he reads Krogstad's blackmail letter, he goes nuts and calls her all kinds of awful things. A new letter from Krogstad arrives, saying that he's no longer blackmailing them. Torvald tells Nora he forgives her. Nora, however, doesn't forgive him. She tells him that she's leaving him because the wonderful thing didn't happen. He didn't try to sacrifice himself for her. She tells him that they've never had a real marriage. She's just been his doll wife. At the end, Nora leaves, slamming the door behind her. Important Quotations Explained 1. One day I might, yes. Many years from now, when I’ve lost my looks a little. Don’t laugh. I mean, of course, a time will come when Torvald is not as devoted to me, not quite so happy when I dance for him, and dress for him, and play with him. Explanation for Quotation 1 >> In this quotation from Act One, Nora describes to Mrs. Linde the circumstances under which she would consider telling Torvald about the secret loan she took in order to save his life. Her claim that she might consider telling him when she gets older and loses her attractiveness is important because it shows that Nora has a sense of the true nature of her marriage, even as early as Act One. She recognizes that Torvald’s affection is based largely on her appearance, and she knows that when her looks fade, it is likely that Torvald’s interest in her will fade as well. Her suggestion that in the future she may need something to hold over Torvald in order to retain his faithfulness and devotion to her reveals that Nora is not as naïve as she pretends to be. She has an insightful, intelligent, and manipulative side that acknowledges, if only in a small way, the troubling reality of her existence. 2. Free. To be free, absolutely free. To spend time playing with the children. To have a clean, beautiful house, the way Torvald likes it. Explanation for Quotation 2 >> In this quotation from her conversation with Mrs. Linde in Act One, Nora claims that she will be “free” after the New Year—after she has paid off her debt to Krogstad. While describing her anticipated freedom, Nora highlights the very factors that constrain her. She claims that freedom will give her time to be a mother and a traditional wife who maintains a beautiful home, as her husband likes it. But the message of the play is that Nora cannot find true freedom in this traditional domestic realm. As the play continues, Nora becomes increasingly aware that she must change her life to find true freedom, and her understanding of the word “free” evolves accordingly. By the end of the play, she sees that freedom entails independence from societal constraints and the ability to explore her own personality, goals, and beliefs. 3. Something glorious is going to happen. Explanation for Quotation 3 >> Nora speaks these prophetic-sounding words to Mrs. Linde toward the end of Act Two as she tells her about what will happen when Torvald reads Krogstad’s letter detailing Nora’s secret loan and forgery. The meaning of Nora’s statement remains obscure until Act Three, when Nora reveals the nature of the “glorious” happening that she anticipates. She believes that when Torvald learns of the forgery and Krogstad’s blackmail, Torvald will take all the blame on himself and gloriously sacrifice his reputation in order to protect her. When Torvald eventually indicates that he will not shoulder the blame for Nora, Nora’s faith in him is shattered. Once the illusion of Torvald’s nobility is crushed, Nora’s other illusions about her married life are crushed as well, and her disappointment with Torvald triggers her awakening. 4. From now on, forget happiness. Now it’s just about saving the remains, the wreckage, the appearance. Explanation for Quotation 4 >> Torvald speaks these words in Act Three after learning of Nora’s forgery and Krogstad’s ability to expose her. Torvald’s conversations with Nora have already made it clear that he is primarily attracted to Nora for her beauty and that he takes personal pride in the good looks of his wife. He has also shown himself to be obsessed with appearing dignified and respectable to his colleagues. Torvald’s reaction to Krogstad’s letter solidifies his characterization as a shallow man concerned first and foremost with appearances. Here, he states explicitly that the appearance of happiness is far more important to him than happiness itself. These words are important also because they constitute Torvald’s actual reaction to Nora’s crime, in contrast to the gallant reaction that she expects. Rather than sacrifice his own reputation for Nora’s, Torvald seeks to ensure that his reputation remains unsullied. His desire to hide— rather than to take responsibility—for Nora’s forgery proves Torvald to be the opposite of the strong, noble man that he purports himself to be before Nora and society. 5. I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald. That’s how I’ve survived. You wanted it like that. You and Papa have done me a great wrong. It’s because of you I’ve made nothing of my life. Explanation for Quotation 5 >> Nora speaks these words, which express the truth that she has gleaned about her marriage, Torvald’s character, and her life in general, to Torvald at the end of Act Three. She recognizes that her life has been largely a performance. She has acted the part of the happy, child-like wife for Torvald and, before that, she acted the part of the happy, child-like daughter for her father. She now sees that her father and Torvald compelled her to behave in a certain way and understands it to be “great wrong” that stunted her development as an adult and as a human being. She has made “nothing” of her life because she has existed only to please men. Following this -realization, Nora leaves Torvald in order to make something of her life and—for the first time—to exist as a person independent of other people. Study/Essay Questions 1. Compare Torvald’s and Nora’s attitudes toward money. Answer for Study Question 1 >> Torvald and Nora’s first conversation establishes Torvald as the member of the household who makes and controls the money and Nora as the one who spends it. Torvald repeatedly teases Nora about her spending, and at one point Mrs. Linde points out that Nora was a big spender in her younger days. These initial comments paint Nora as a shallow woman who is overly concerned with -material delights. Yet Nora’s generous tip to the porter in the play’s opening scene shows that she is not a selfish woman. More important, once the secret of Nora’s loan is made known to the audience, we see that Nora’s interest in money stems more from her concern for her family’s welfare than from petty desires. We realize that the excitement she has expressed over Torvald’s new, well-paying job results from the fact that more spending money means she can finally pay off her debt to Krogstad. While Torvald seems less enthralled by money because he doesn’t talk about it except to chastise Nora for her spending, he is obsessed with having a beautiful home, including a beautiful wife. He considers these things important to his reputation, and keeping up this reputation requires money. Although Torvald accuses Nora of wasting money, Nora spends her money mostly on worthy causes, whereas Torvald uses his for selfish, shallow purposes. 2. Why does Torvald constantly reprimand Nora for her wastefulness and foolishness while simultaneously supporting her behavior? What insight does this contradiction give us into Torvald and Nora’s relationship? Answer for Study Question 2 >> Torvald perceives Nora as a foolish woman who is ignorant of the way society works, but he likes Nora’s foolishness and ignorance because they render her helpless and therefore dependent on him. It soon becomes clear to us that Nora’s dependence, not Torvald’s love for Nora as a person, forms the foundation of Torvald’s affection for her. In Act One, Torvald teases Nora about wasting money but then tries to please her by graciously giving her more. Similarly, he points out her faults but then says he doesn’t want her to change a bit. He clearly enjoys keeping Nora in a position where she cannot function in the world without him, even if it means that she remains foolish. In general, Torvald disapproves of any kind of change in Nora’s constant, obedient demeanor because he needs to control her behavior. When Nora begins to dance the tarantella wildly in Act Two, he is unsettled. In Act One, Nora says that it would humiliate Torvald if he knew he was secretly in debt to her for his life, indicating that Torvald wants the power in his marriage to be one-sided rather than mutual. 3. Compare and contrast Mrs. Linde and Nora at the end of the play. Answer for Study Question 3 >> By the end of Act Three, both Nora and Mrs. Linde have entered new phases in their lives. Nora has chosen to abandon her children and her husband because she wants independence from her roles as mother and wife. In contrast, Mrs. Linde has chosen to abandon her independence to marry Krogstad and take care of his family. She likes having people depend on her, and independence does not seem to fulfill her. Despite their apparent opposition, both Nora’s and Mrs. Linde’s decisions allow them to fulfill their respective personal desires. They have both chosen their own fates, freely and without male influence. Ibsen seems to feel that the nature of their choices is not as important as the fact that both women make the choices themselves. Suggested Essay Questions 1. The play is usually considered one of Ibsen's “realist” plays. Consider how far the play might be anti-realist or symbolic. Answer: Consider the symbols, metaphors, and imagery of the play, and weigh their importance against the elements that seem realistic. It also should be very helpful to define “realism” over against the uses of symbols and elements that are absurd, grotesque, or fantastic. Note that “realism” and “symbolism” have gained specific connotations within Ibsen criticism. 2. When Nora says in Act One, “I can't think of anything to wear. It all seems so stupid and meaningless,” Ibsen illustrates the symbolism of clothing in the play. Describe how Ibsen’s use of clothing works in the play. Answer: Consider, especially, Nora's tarantella costume and fancy-dress box, as well as her black dress when taking the clothing is a symbol. Explore the metaphor of clothing as something which covers up, something which disguises, or as something which confers identity. Ibsen also uses clothing to make points about agency and gender. Consider who dresses whom and who wears certain clothes for the sake of personal expression or in order to please someone else. 3. Why is freedom important in the play? Answer: Nora sees herself as not free when she is confined in the domestic life of her husband’s home. The direction of the play is to perceive Nora’s awakening as someone who deserves freedom. Consider, too, that Torvald becomes free of his marriage obligations, which also have been oppressive of his own liberties. Finally, consider the ambiguous nature of the freedom Nora wins. She is going from a fairly predictable life into something unknown. Remember that Mrs. Linde would rather be tied to a family rather than alone and on her own. Is that because of human nature or because of her individual choice? 4. Is Torvald Helmer a deeply abhorrent character? Answer: To answer this question, perform a detailed character study of Torvald Helmer. Do not jump to a conclusion based on your initial feelings about his words and actions in the play. Weigh both sides of the argument—what specifically is the problem in the marriage and in his choices? If you decide to abhor the character, how bad is he? Consider the ways in which he genuinely loves his wife, earns money for the household, and pays attention to her against his selfishness, oppression of his wife, and ability to handle stress. 5. How does the play illustrate inheritance, the passing along of traits from parent to child? Answer: Consider Dr. Rank's illness as attributed to his father’s indiscretions. Krogstad's shame for his own alleged errors is inherited by his children by way of reputation. Consider, most of all, Nora's relationships with her father and her nurse as influences on how she treats her own children. 6. What is the importance of the title of the play? Answer: This is a reasonably straightforward question that could be taken in a number of directions. How far is Nora a doll, an object or toy for others? How does her home represent a doll’s house, from which the doll cannot escape on her own? When Nora leaves the house, she is breaking free of the metaphor, though it is unclear what will happen if she is going to return to her earlier family home, where she was something of a doll to her father. 7. Ibsen once described Mrs Alving in his play Ghosts as a version of Nora in later life. Imagine what Nora’s earlier life might have been like, based on her characterization in the play. Answer: If up till the last day, Nora has been living in a fantasy world, she must have been even less self-aware or independent when she was younger. She probably married by being enthralled by her society’s ideas of love and marriage. Under her father and nurse, she seems to have had few opportunities to get anything like a liberal education; instead, she seems to have learned only how to be a traditional girl and a traditional woman. 8. To what extent is the play a comedy? Answer: As well as considering smaller touches, such as individual lines, or jokes that might be funny or comedic, it is worth learning about the theatrical definitions of comedy and tragedy to consider how the structure of the play and the main plot elements might count as part of the tradition of comedy. Consider the roles of marriage, death, friendship, self-awareness, irony, family, holidays and parties, and the various themes of the play in this context. 9. Is A Doll's House a feminist play? Answer: Ibsen claimed that his play was about liberation in a more general, human sense, rather than specifically about female liberation. If feminism focuses on both men and women, it is reasonable to see the mutual liberation of Torvald and Nora as a feminist goal, liberating people of both sexes from social and cultural limitations based on gender. Consider the various women in the play as well. How are we to know whether Ibsen wants us to approve or disapprove of their various choices in relation to men and to their own goals? How do the characters themselves exhibit any goals or points that could be described as feminist? 10. How does Ibsen provide suspense in the play? Answer: The audience wonders when Torvald will read the letter and what will happen when he does. We also do not know if Nora is going to decide to kill herself, leave, or stay home, but we do know that the pressure on her is building and that something in her is going to burst. Foreshadowing contributes to these issues, such as when Nora tells Mrs. Linde that she has plans Mrs. Linde cannot understand. 11. Compare the relationship between Mrs. Linde and Krogstad with that of Nora and Torvald. Answer: Nora and Torvald have lived in something of a fantasy marriage for years, and finally they are separating. Meanwhile, Mrs. Linde and Krogstad have been apart, thinking about one another, and finally they are getting together with a larger degree of self-understanding and maturity. Critical Essays Analysis Daddy? Why Leave to Me Suffering and Pain? Ibsen uses debt and inheritance in A Doll's House to show how easy it is to tear the fabric of home life, this shows how fragile the world we build around ourselves is, with inheritance illustrating chance and debt illustrating control, we only have so much power over what happens to us in life. Torvald views debt and inheritance in a negative light. This play is seen through Torvald's opinions as is Nora's whole life. Nora's viewing inheritance in a positive light foreshadows her epiphany at the end of the play. Torvald makes many comments about the role of inheritance and its negative effects. "You are an odd little soul. Very like your father. You always find some new way of wheedling money out of me, and as soon as you have got it, it seems to melt in your hands. You never know where it has gone. Still, one must take you as you are. It is in the blood; for indeed it is true that you can inherit these things, Nora."(pg 4) In this quote Torvald uses his opinions to belittle Nora when he calls her an "odd little soul". He comparers Nora to her father in that neither of them seem to be very thrifty with money. He then removes responsibility from her and places the total blame for how she is on her father. He says that it is in the blood and that you can inherit these things as if it were an illness or a birth defect. By absolving Nora of all responsibility there is never even the anticipation that she could change or alter her position in any way. Torvald views not only inheritance in a negative light but he puts more power on the mother having the significant effect. "Almost everyone who has gone to the bad early in life has had a deceitful mother."(pg27) In this quote Torvald gets gender specific with his disdain of inheritance. It is obvious throughout the play that Torvald views women in a low light, in his interactions with Nora and his near dismissal of her friend Christine as a person in her own right. This quote can also be taken as if it were to be used in order to frighten Nora into good behavior. He continues on to illustrate his point. "It seems most commonly to be the mother's influence, though naturally a bad father's would have the same result. Every lawyer is familiar with the fact. This Krogstad, now, has been persistently poisoning his own children with lies and dissimulation; that is why I say he has lost all moral character" (pg 27) Blaming the mother more severely shows perhaps two sides of Torvald's theory it shows that woman have more to do with the child's upbringing and it shows that woman is the more vile sex. Earlier in the play Torvald makes the comment when his children come home that the place is only fit for a mother now. This shows how removed he is from the job of parenting and how he places the responsibility for that task on the mother. This is not the first time he has been derogatory in his comments on woman. It is this persistent onslaught of negativity towards women that in many ways characterizes Torvald's actions in the play. Nora takes on her husband's beliefs when she speaks of Doctor Rank's medical condition. "His father was a horrible man who committed all sorts of excesses, and that is why his son was sickly from childhood, do you understand?" (pg31) This takes the theory that the sins of the father are passed on to the son down to a severe extreme. To literally believe that a child suffers for life because his father was given to excesses is unreal. This view of inheritance being so extreme and so horribly negative characterizes much of the play that we have no control over the evils that chance puts upon us. In contrast to biological inheritance Nora views financial inheritance in a positive light. When she talks with Christine about the debt that she owes and how she wishes that some rich admirer would leave all his money to her so she could pay her debt and lift the weight off her shoulders that having to make these payments has caused her. At the same time she shows how childishly she has conducted her business by not keeping tabs on how much she has paid vs. owes. Nora's views on inheritance seem, like most of Nora's views, to be quite childish. She views biological inheritance in the view of her husband and yet she views financial inheritance against his wishes, in a glorious light. This view towards inheritance and her desire to borrow are so far the only areas in which she differs from her beloved Torvald. This sense that she does have a slight bit of freedom in her thoughts allows for the epiphany she has at the end to be accepted. In many was Nora is too dominated to have her own views and opinions and yet at the same time, she has these little inklings that are not only different but in direct contrast to those opinions that she is surrounded with. When Torvald finds out about what it is that Nora has done he is obviously very disturbed and angry with her, yet in almost the same breath he absolves her of her sins and blames it on her father instead. "What a horrible awakening! All these eight years.- she who was my joy and pride - a hypocrite, a liar - worse, worse - a criminal! The unutterable ugliness of it all! For shame! For shame suspected that something of the sort would happen. I ought to have foreseen it. All your father's want of principle - be silent! - all your father's want of principle has come out in you. No religion, no morality, no sense of duty - How I am punished for having winked at what he did! I did it for your sake, and this is how you repay me." (pg62) He doesn't directly blame Nora for doing what she did or tell her that her actions were wrong so much as he blames her father for what she has become. When she tries to interject about the assault on her father he silences her and continues his tirade. It seems as if he is most upset at having ignored what her father had done and taken Nora in anyways rather than at the crime that Nora actually committed. I think it is this fact that causes Nora to snap the most, that her actions are not even worthy enough of being acknowledged when they are the reason he is angry. Even when it is blatantly her fault that something happened, he still doesn't see her actions in them and sees only her father to blame. In the very beginning of the play Torvald manages to demean Nora and to state rather seriously his opinion on debt. "That is like a woman! But seriously, Nora, you know what I think about that. No debt, no borrowing. There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt. We two have kept bravely on the straight road so far, and we will go on the same way for the short time longer that there need be any struggle". (pg2) To be so vehement about the topic is rather well, interesting, there is no foundation for his insistence that borrowing will destroy lives but since he believes it, it sets the stage for what will happen if such an event comes about. In this sense it is like a self fulfilling prophecy if you believe that debt will bring ruin upon you than having debt will ruin you. In this play there is little concept of free will. Everything is either predetermined or the power is taken out of your hands. Inheritance seems to take on the part of chance in that you are only able to deal with what you get handed in life and have little control in the matter. Debt takes the part of controlling ones life. Either way your sense of free will is gone, your live is either predetermined or controlled. Based on Torvald's views there is no hope of gaining power over ones life other than to "live bravely on the strong road" and to ignore anything that has been passed down as bad. One must wonder if Torvald's views would have been very different if he had had a worse heritage. If he were in Dr Rank's position, for example, would he still feel the same way? It would be interesting to find out what Torvald's lineage is and to know what demons if any he faces. Character Arc - Analyze the Protagonist When studying a character in dramatic literature, there are several vital questions that should be explored: What motivates the character? What strengths and weaknesses does the character possess? Does the character undergo a transformation? If so, in what way? Act One: Dissatisfaction and Conflict At the beginning of most plays, the protagonist feels a sense of dissatisfaction. This might be something minor or comical, such as Cornelius Hackl from Hello Dolly – the young man who has yet to kiss a girl. Or, the level of dissatisfaction might be extreme, such as Hamlet’s potentially suicidal melancholy at the beginning of Shakespeare’s great tragedy. There needs to be an emotional piece of the puzzle missing from the protagonist. This missing element will allow the main character to experience growth by the final act of the play. After the protagonist's traits are established, then conflict storms into the storyline. Conflict forces characters to change, to react to new and challenging situations. Think of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. After the audience learns that Dorothy does not feel a strong sense of home and security, a tornado whisks her away to Oz -- a strange and frightening place that makes her appreciate Kansas! Act Two: Escalation of Conflict As the saying goes, "Out of the frying pan and into the fire!" To keep the attention of the audience, and to further the transformation of the protagonist, things must get worse before they get better. The conflict must intensify. Examples: Nora Helmer in A Doll's House experiences increased pressure with each passing moment of Ibsen's drama. In Sophocles' Oedipus the King the conflict escalates as messengers continually delivery evidence to implicate the protagonist of a heinous crime. The escalation of conflict is also known as "raising the stakes." Act Three: Climax and Resolution Eventually the protagonist reaches a "tipping point," a moment when a crucial decision must be made or a truth must be revealed. Most climactic moments in literature stem from choices of the protagonist: Romeo decides to drink the poison. Scrooge chooses to embrace Christmas. Danny Zuko gives up his Greaser ways to prove his love for Sandy. Sometimes the climax and/or resolution is out of the protagonist's hands. Sometimes fate, or God, or luck steps in. This is known as deus ex machina, and it is usually a disappointing way to wrap up a story. After the climax, the conflict fades and the resolution unfolds. Most main characters experience a valuable lesson at the play's end. Some protagonists transform in positive ways and refect upon what they have learned. (Think of Dorothy's last line, "There's no place like home!") Some plays end with the protagonist feeling sadder but wiser, such as the introspective Tom Wingfield from The Glass Menagerie. And of course some protagonists die at the end of the play. Some main characters end their lives by defiantly standing up for their ideals, such as John Proctor in The Crucible. Other protagonists die without learning a thing, but the audience gains a valuable lesson from their demise. Tip for Essay Writing: When writing an essay about a protagonist, begin by outlining the character arc. It will help you understand the main character's transformation throughout the play.