A Doll’s House
Final Essay Prompts
1. Nora, in Ibsen's A Doll's House, is a modern woman limited by a traditional society which
denies women power and autonomy. A Doll's House shows her development from rebellious
housewife to independent womanhood. Agree or disagree and use your interpretation of the
ending of the play to support your argument.
2. Is Torvald Helmer (Nora's husband in A Doll's House) a controlling chauvinist who must keep
his wife powerless at any cost or is he merely a man trying to live within the context of his
society? Does he act unreasonably in the play or is he merely trying to keep his family and life
together? Choose your interpretation of Helmer and explain and discuss.
3. How does the play present the idea that moral corruption may be passed from generation to
generation? Consider Krogstad and his sons, Nora and her children, Nora and her father, and Dr.
Rank.
4. How do the characters in A Doll’s House use the words “free” and “freedom”? Do different
speakers use the terms differently? Do they take on different connotations over the course of the
play?