A Doll’s House explores the ways that societal expectations restrict individuals, especially women, as the young housewife Nora Helmer comes to the realization that she has spent her eight-year marriage, and indeed most of her life, pretending to be the person that Torvald, her father, and society at large expect her to be. At the beginning of the play, Nora believes that all she wants is to be happy, which she defines as “keep[ing] the house beautifully and hav[ing] everything just as [her husband] Torvald likes.” She further defines freedom as having more than enough money in order to create a life free from care. Yet her self-sacrificing actions—illegally obtaining a loan to save her husband’s life and then keeping this loan a secret in order to placate his manly pride—prevent her from attaining this freedom. As Nora realizes that her selfless actions are now the source of her sorrow, she begins to question whether the life she leads is capable of providing her with happiness.
The play begins with Nora cheerily returning home from Christmas shopping, but Torvald, emerging from his office, quickly creates an oppressive atmosphere with the diminutive titles he bestows on Nora and the ways he controls her life, from her spending to the food she consumes. Nora appears cheerful and childlike, her enthusiasm about Torvald’s raise and promotion unbridled even in the face of a downtrodden childhood friend, Mrs. Linde, arriving for a visit. However, as Nora speaks with Mrs. Linde, she hints at the fact that she is not as childlike as she may appear, for she saved Torvald’s life by raising the money to take him to Italy to recuperate from an illness. When Mr. Krogstad, an employee at Torvald’s bank, arrives, the main action of the play begins. Krogstad lent the money to Nora, and in order to secure his position at the bank, he will blackmail Nora with the fact that she illegally signed the contract for her dying father.
The play comes to a climax when Torvald reads Krogstad’s letter. Nora, convinced of Torvald’s utter love for her, believes that a “wonderful thing” will happen, showing once and for all that Torvald would sacrifice anything for her well-being. She believes that Torvald will take the blame for the forgery himself, sacrificing his own reputation for hers and balancing out the sacrifice she made to save Torvald’s life. But when Torvald reads the letter, he never considers sacrificing his reputation, as “no man would sacrifice his honor for the one he loves.” As Torvald rages at her, Nora’s delusions about her marriage and her life suddenly shatter, and she realizes that Torvald has always viewed and treated her as a doll to be shaped any way he pleases. In order to understand herself and engage with the world on her own terms, Nora leaves Torvald and her children to start a new life, where she knows herself as a human being above all.
Nora craves freedom and happiness, but up until the very end of the play, her definitions of these things are skewed by the conventional society she grew up in. Though the lie around the forgery initially threatens Nora’s marriage, its actual destruction comes via the revelation of the truth. In the face of Torvald’s rage, Nora sees that the real lie is the one she has been living. Her decision to leave Torvald represents her first chance to find true freedom, which she now defines as the ability to make her own choices. Nora’s entire outlook on life shifts by the end of the play, and she now understands that marriage needs equality to work. Whether Nora ever returns to Torvald and the children remains ambiguous, leaving the audience to wonder whether true, fulfilling matrimony is possible in a society that holds one gender in greater esteem than the other.
FAQs
A Doll's House sends many messages but the main one is about gender equality in marriage and in society. The play points out that a woman has the right to be considered an independent person just as much as a man does.
What is the deeper meaning of a doll's house? ›
Henrik Ibsen, A Doll's House (1897)
In particular, the play focuses on the limitations placed on women by marriage in a patriarchal society and the need for women to break free. The principal character, Nora, seems to have it all, a well-off middle-class life of comfort and affluence.
How did Dr. Rank get his disease? ›
Rank is a doctor who is best friends with Torvald and Nora, who he visits every day. Dr. Rank suffers from spinal tuberculosis, a condition he believes was caused by his father's vices, which included having extramarital affairs and consuming too much luxurious food and drink.
What is the main summary of doll's House? ›
A Doll's House explores the ways that societal expectations restrict individuals, especially women, as the young housewife Nora Helmer comes to the realization that she has spent her eight-year marriage, and indeed most of her life, pretending to be the person that Torvald, her father, and society at large expect her ...
What is the key point of the doll's House? ›
Themes
- 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. ...
- Parental and Filial Obligations. Nora, Torvald, and Dr. ...
- The Unreliability of Appearances. ...
- The Constrictive Nature of Gender Roles. ...
- Deceit. ...
- Reputation. ...
- Marriage.
What is the “wonderful thing” that Nora believes will happen? Nora believes that once Torvald finds out about the loan and the forgery, he will sacrifice his own reputation in order to save hers.
What does doll house symbolize? ›
The doll house symbolizes a woman's emancipation from the husband's proprietary rights over the wife. When children play with dolls, they make them do social roles whereby the doll has no control over their actions. It was similar to Nora's situation in her marriage life.
Who secretly confesses his love for Nora? ›
Before she is able to ask her favor, however, Dr. Rank confesses his love for her. This disclosure disturbs Nora, and afterward she refuses to request anything from him, even though he begs her to let him help.
What do the macaroons symbolize in a doll's house? ›
The macaroons come to represent Nora's disobedience and deceit.
Did Dr. Rank love Nora? ›
In his confession, Dr. Rank reveals his love for Nora to be more honest and real, as the emotion evolved while actually spending time with her.
Rank sees them both in a much clearer light, and he shows the audience deeper insights into their characters. During the events of the play, Dr. Rank reveals he has come to admire and eventually love Nora. Although she already suspected it, this declaration makes her uncomfortable.
Which character did Mrs. Linde abandon for a richer man? ›
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 circ*mstances.
What is the main message of the dolls House? ›
A Doll's House sends many messages but the main one is about gender equality in marriage and in society. The play points out that a woman has the right to be considered an independent person just as much as a man does.
What crime has Nora committed? ›
Years ago, Nora Helmer committed a forgery in order to save the life of her authoritarian husband Torvald.
What is Nora's secret? ›
This man, Nils Krogstad, is the person from whom Nora has borrowed her money. It is then revealed that she forged her father's signature in order to get the money. Krogstad threatens to reveal Nora's crime and thus disgrace her and her husband unless Nora can convince her husband not to fire him.
What is the moral of the play A Doll's House? ›
There are major opposing moral views between characters in Henrik Ibsen 's dramatic play A Doll 's House. One moral trail leads to the conclusion that once someone commits a bad deed, there is no saving them; that person is now a low-life degenerate with no redemption in sight.
What is the lesson of the story the doll's house? ›
The short story "The Doll's House" by Katherine Mansfield teaches several lessons. It highlights the unfair treatment of different social classes, especially through the actions of the privileged Burnell sisters. Despite their wealth, they only allow their upper-class peers to see their new doll's house.
What is the purpose of the Dolls House? ›
A Doll's House questions the traditional roles of men and women in 19th-century marriage. To many 19th-century Europeans, this was scandalous. The covenant of marriage was considered holy, and to portray it as Ibsen did was controversial.
What was the author's purpose of the Doll's House? ›
Ibsen's A Doll's House is perhaps his biggest statement regarding women and gender relations. The play centers on the Helmer family: Nora, Torvald, and their children. Ibsen demonstrates the inequality in the power dynamic between Nora and Torvald in the beginning of the play.
