A Doll's House
Metaphor Analysis
Metaphors:
Doll in a doll's house
In Act 3, Nora tells Torvald that both her father and Torvald have treated her like a
doll-child, with no opinions of her own, and have only played with her. Both men, she
says, have committed "a great sin" against her in discouraging her from growing up.
Torvald's pet names for her are often prefaced by "little," showing that he sees her as
a child. However, the responsibility for Nora's stunted state is not wholly his. In Act 1,
she acts like a silly, spoilt child; later, when she is practicing and dancing the
Tarantella (for which he dresses her as one would dress a doll), she acts the
captivating, decorative plaything. Both doll-like acts are for the benefit of Torvald, who
wants her to remain dependent upon him; she gains security and devotion from the
arrangement.
Some critics see Torvald as another doll in the doll's house. They point out that he is
as restricted by his chosen role as Nora is by hers; and that he is sheltered by Nora
and Dr Rank from disagreeable truths, as a child would be. As Torvald uses Nora for
amusement and as a decorative and beautiful object, so Nora uses Torvald as a
provider of money and security.
Little squirrel/skylark/songbird
These are all pet names of Torvald's for Nora that emphasize that he does not see her
as an equal. He believes her role is to amuse and delight him. But squirrels, songbirds
and skylarks are all wild animals that do not belong in a cage, any more than Nora can
tolerate living in the restricted atmosphere of Torvald's house.
Big black hat
In Act 3, Dr Rank has a coded conversation with Nora (designed to protect Torvald
from unpleasant truths) in which he says he will attend the next fancy dress ball
wearing a big black hat that will make him invisible. This is a way of saying that he will
be dead.
Symbols:
Nora's fancy dress costume
Torvald chooses Nora's fancy dress costume, a Neapolitan fisher-girl's dress that he
had made for her in Capri. In effect, she is wearing it for him: the sight of her dancing
in it throws him into a state of erotic fascination. This reinforces the idea that it is
Nora's superficial and transient qualities, such as her beauty, that Torvald most
appreciates. It is significant that when the Nurse first brings out the dress (Act 2), Nora
notices that it is torn and is tempted to rip it to shreds. This may be symbolic of the
flawed state of her marriage and of her feelings about it. Mrs Linde, who is less
impetuous and more mature than Nora, suggests repairing it, and it is Mrs Linde who
decides that Nora and Torvald must be made to face the truth about Nora's secret.
She believes it would be beneficial to the marriage, though in Nora's view the
marriage, like the dress, is beyond repair.
The Tarantella
The Tarantella was a wild southern Italian dance, generally danced by a couple or line
of couples. The dance was named after the tarantula spider, whose poisonous bite
was mistakenly believed to cause 'tarantism,' an uncontrollable urge for wild dancing.
The 'cure' prescribed by doctors was for the sufferer to dance to exhaustion. Modern
psychologists speculate that the true cause of the disorder, which achieved its highest
profile in the nineteenth century and which involved symptoms of what would now be
called hysteria, was not the spider's bite but the repressed morals of that age. The
only outlet for passionate self-expression, they reason, was the Tarantella.
In this light, it is significant that Torvald tells Nora to practice the Tarantella while he
shuts himself away in his office: "I shall hear nothing; you can make as much noise as
you please." While Torvald is ostensibly being indulgent towards his wife, the image of
her practicing this passionate dance alone and unheard emphasizes her isolation
within her marriage. She persuades him to watch her practice the dance in order to
prevent him opening Krogstad's letter. He tries to rein in her wildness with his
instructions, but she ignores his comments and dances ever more wildly, her hair
coming loose. The mythology of tarantism suggests that she is dancing in order to rid
herself of a deadly poison. Depending on how we wish to interpret this symbolism, the
poison may be the threat posed by Krogstad's revelations, or the poison of deception
and hypocrisy that characterizes the Helmer marriage.
Light
Light is most often used to symbolize Nora's state of awareness. After Torvald claims
to be man enough to take everything upon himself (Act 2) and while she is talking to
Dr Rank, the light begins to grow dark. This symbolism refers to two processes. First,
Nora is using her sexual attractiveness to manipulate the dying Dr Rank into giving her
money to pay off her loan. When Dr Rank confesses his love for her, she is shocked
out of her game. She brings in a lamp, telling Dr Rank that he must feel ashamed of
himself now that the lamp has come.
Light also appears to symbolize hope and spiritual redemption when Dr Rank is talking
in code to Nora about his coming death (Act 3). He talks of death as a big black hat
that will make him invisible, an image of obliteration of life. But Nora brings him a light
for his cigar as she wishes him goodbye. Dr Rank loves her, and in spite of her
sometimes dubious behavior towards him, she has given him understanding,
compassion and acceptance. She also means at this point, it seems, to join him in
death by committing suicide. Their bond is represented on stage by the image of them
standing together in the pool of light from her match - a frame that excludes Torvald.
Christmas tree
In Norway, Christmas is an important family celebration, but the focus of the festivities
and the opening of presents occurs on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day is something of
an anti-climax. This is paralleled by events in the play. At the beginning of the play on
Christmas Eve, Nora still believes her marriage to be happy. We see her ordering the
Christmas tree to be brought in and insisting that it is hidden until she has decorated it.
Symbolically, this alerts us to the fact that there are hidden aspects to life in this
household, that a carefully created appearance is what matters, and that Nora is the
keeper of appearances. Significantly, when she is trying to wheedle Torvald into
keeping Krogstad in his job, she draws his attention to how pretty the flowers on the
tree look.
By Christmas Day, the tree is stripped of its ornaments and its candles have burnt out
(a link with the symbol of light). By this point, Torvald has refused to keep Krogstad in
his job and Nora feels sure that Krogstad will reveal all to him. The carefully
maintained appearance of the happy marriage is disintegrating under the
encroachment of truth.
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is traditionally viewed as a new beginning, and the Helmers at the
beginning of the play are looking forward to just such a new beginning. Torvald is due
to start a new and better paid job at the bank, and Nora anticipates being "free" from
her debt. By the end of the play, Nora has indeed made a new beginning, though it is
of a quite different nature, consisting in leaving Torvald and her children.
Other characters too enter new phases in their life. Mrs Linde and Krogstad begin their
life together after long periods of suffering, and Dr Rank dies, which can be seen as an
end or a transition, depending on one's viewpoint.
Essay Q&A
1. Why did A Doll's House cause such controversy when it was first
performed? Give your own view of the argument.
When the play was first performed in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1879, it provoked a
storm. The theme of the play, a woman's right to individual self-fulfillment, was
considered highly subversive in an age when women were not allowed to conduct
business without the authority of a father or husband, and were considered to be their
property. Women were not allowed to vote, and divorce, though allowed, carried a
heavy social stigma and was available only when both partners agreed. The row about
the play centered on whether Nora was right to leave her husband and children. Critics
claimed that her decision to leave was unrealistic, since no "real" woman would do
such a thing. Ibsen was forced to write a second ending, in which Nora decides that
her children need her more than she needs her freedom, and stays with Torvald. Ibsen
called it "a barbaric outrage," and insisted that it must only be used when necessary.
Ibsen's views differed from those held by many modern feminists, since he believed
that women were inherently suited to being mothers and wives. However, he also felt
that a husband and wife should live as equal partners, free to become their own
human beings. This is a major theme of A Doll's House.
As in all his 'social' plays, Ibsen carefully avoids judging Nora's actions. He is
concerned simply to place social problems before the audience. He thought that it was
not a dramatist's job to identify ways of removing disease in the social system. He
merely diagnoses, and leaves the cure to others. Modern critics and audiences will
inevitably follow the critics of Ibsen's day in discussing whether or not it was necessary
for Nora to leave in order to find her identity. But Ibsen's point is surely to show us why
Nora felt that this was what she had to do, and why, conversely, Mrs Linde takes the
opposite journey and gives up her independence to be with Krogstad. It is clear from
Mrs Linde's case that Ibsen is not criticizing marriage as an institution, but pointing out
that many marriages suffered similar problems to those of the Nora-Torvald union.
Since Ibsen's day, women have made great strides in gaining the choice to determine
their role in relation to the family and society. However, the most cursory inquiries
made of an audience that has just watched a performance of A Doll's House will
confirm that the issues that caused such a stir in the nineteenth century continue to
touch raw nerves today.
2. Why is A Doll's House is considered a landmark in the genre called realism?
Ibsen was one of a few pioneers of the new theatrical movement of realism, and
accordingly he is often called the father of modern drama. We have become so used
to seeing drama (whether on the stage or in film or television) founded on the
principles of realism that it is easy to forget how revolutionary the concept was in
Ibsen's day.
Before realistic plays such as A Doll's House (first performed in 1879) burst upon the
scene, most European theatre fell into one of two genres: romanticism, or the French
'well-made play.' Romanticism placed royal or noble characters in heroic tragedies
written in formal rhymed verse. The acting style was declamatory and unrealistic. The
'well-made play' aimed for more everyday characters and subject matter, and used
prose dialogue, but contained little psychological insight into the characters and
depended on elaborate and scarcely credible plots. There was no serious purpose
conveyed by such plays, which were meant to entertain.
Realism gained ascendancy in Europe and America in the second half of the
nineteenth century. It demanded stories and characters that might be found in real life,
and shunned idealized situations, unnaturally heroic characters, and unlikely happy
endings. The characters spoke in a naturalistic style and dialogue was written in prose.
The growing interest in psychology during this period led to a strong focus on
psychological insight into the characters' natures and motives, along with an emphasis
on conflict and development of character. Serious social and ethical issues were
commonly addressed in these plays.
The realistic nature of the play was supported by Ibsen's adoption of concepts outlined
by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC) in his Poetics. Aristotle's classical
'unities' demanded that a drama should have only one plot, which should take place in
a single day and be confined to a single locale. The events of A Doll's House cover
about 60 hours (not the 24 stipulated by Aristotle) and are confined to a single locale,
the Helmers' apartment. These factors create a sense of reality and place an almost
claustrophobic focus on the characters' psychology within a confined space,
intensifying the sense of restraint and repression defined by the plot.
A Doll's House, with its believable, everyday characters, and its sense of opening a
door onto a real marriage facing common problems, shocked European theatre-goers
and critics. Not only was this not what they were used to seeing in the theatre, but also
addressed social problems that were under everyone's nose but that certain sectors of
society liked to pretend did not exist. These included the hidden aspects of the
outwardly respectable nineteenth-century marriage and the 'women question.'
3. How could the submissive, selfish and silly Nora of the first two acts
transform herself into an independent woman by the end of the last act? Is the
transformation realistic?
While Nora puts on a convincing performance of being a submissive, selfish and
foolish woman during the first act, there are early signs that this is not the real her.
When she asks Torvald for more money despite having just been on a spending
spree, she appears selfish and grasping. But we soon discover, in her conversation
with Mrs Linde, that she is not squandering the money to satisfy her own desires, but
using it to pay off the loan she took out in order to save her husband's life. In doing so,
she has denied herself new things so that her husband and children can have all they
need. Her arranging the loan and the trip to Italy - and her subsequent careful
management of money and of her secret - show an astonishing strength of character.
In addition, she secretly takes jobs to pay off the loan, a step towards the
independence she finally embraces. But in the first two acts, Nora does not dare to
acknowledge her own strength, let alone use it. There are many reasons for this. Chief
among them are that her beloved Torvald, and society in general, would not
comfortably countenance such strength in a woman. So it is easier for Nora to keep
her head below the parapet rather than risk the consequences of showing herself as
she is.
Nora's submissiveness to Torvald is not all it seems. By playing the doll-child
according to his wishes, she manipulates him into the role of indulgent father-figure.
But in spite of her skill at 'managing' him, there is one instance in which she
desperately wants him to adopt the manly and dominant role: she wants him to rescue
her from the ruin caused by Krogstad's revelations. When he fails to provide the
strength she needs, she realizes that she no longer loves him, as he is not the man
she thought him. It is almost inevitable that she is forced to find that strength within
herself. Her realization that she wants to pursue her independence is not so much a
transformation as an awakening to a strength she has possessed all along.
4. In what way does A Doll's House explore social issues?
A Doll's House shines a searchlight on Victorian society, drawing attention to its
hypocrisy and use of public opinion to suppress individuality. The critic Bjorn Hemmer,
in an essay in The Cambridge Companion to Ibsen, wrote: "The people who live in
such a society know the weight of 'public opinion' and of all those agencies which keep
watch over society's 'law and order': the norms, the conventions and the traditions
which in essence belong to the past but which continue into the present and there
thwart individual liberty in a variety of ways."
Torvald lives by society's norms, and when faced with a choice of whether to support
his wife or society, he sides with society. When he realizes that she has broken the
law in forging her father's signature on the loan document, he never questions the
morality of such a law: it is left to Nora to do that. His aim is to preserve the
appearance of respectability and ensure his continued acceptance in society. He has
become so shaped by society's conventions that he cannot see his wife's suffering. In
The Cambridge Companion to Ibsen, Gail Finney writes that in Ibsen's own notes for
this play, he notes that a mother in modern society is "like certain insects who go away
and die when she has done her duty in the propagation of the race." This view is
confirmed by Torvald's rejection of Nora when he discovers her secret; he says she is
not fit to bring up their children if her reputation is tarnished. For Torvald, public life has
obscured and overtaken private self. In order to find out who she is and what she
wants, Nora has to reject the life that society prescribes for her as a wife and mother,
and strike out on her own. "I am going to see," she tells Torvald in Act 3, "who is right,
the world or I."
But this is not simple. The nineteenth century saw a huge shift from the old social
order of self-improvement within a stable rural society to a new social order founded
on money. But women at the time could not control money without the authority of the
man who 'owned' them, be it husband, brother or father. Single and lone women like
Mrs Linde had more control over their lives and money than married women, who were
discouraged from taking jobs and had to surrender money matters to their husbands.
But as Mrs Linde's story shows, having no male 'provider' brought its own problems.
In sum, women had little power. Power lay with people like Torvald, who is a banker
and lawyer. Torvald is able to dictate the fate not only of his family but of Mrs Linde (by
giving her a job) and Krogstad (by giving away his job). He is gratified by the prospect
of sacking Krogstad because he disapproves of his morality. In effect, the Torvalds of
this world defined morality. As we have seen with regard to Nora's crime, they also
defined the law, and therefore, who was a criminal. It is worth noting that Ibsen based
the episode of Nora's forgery on a similar 'crime' committed by a female friend of his,
which ended tragically for her, so he was drawing attention to what he saw as a
genuine social problem. He supported economic reform that would protect women's
property and befriended European feminists.
Other social issues addressed in the play include how women should be educated,
both for the responsibilities of family and for self-fulfillment; the right of women to
define their role in the family and society; the degrading effects of poverty on selffulfillment (as with Mrs Linde and the Nurse); and the scourge of venereal disease (as
suffered by Dr Rank).
5. How do different characters use the words "free" and "freedom"? How does
the use of these words change throughout the play?
It is Torvald who introduces the concept of freedom in the play, claiming that "There
can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt."
He defines freedom in economic terms, as befits an age where power depended upon
money. He is also adopting society's values, as debt was disapproved of and
considered a sign of moral degeneracy. The dramatic irony behind his words lies in the
fact that Torvald would not have any life at all if his wife had not gone into debt, though
he does not realize this.
Like Torvald, Krogstad sees freedom as moral respectability in the eyes of society. His
job at the bank is the means by which he will "cut [himself] free" from the stigma of his
"indiscretion" of forgery. The problem with this approach is that his "freedom" depends
upon the whim of his employer, who also sits in moral judgment on him and can
withdraw his job if he finds that he falls short in that respect.
Mrs Linde feels proud that by working hard, she was able to support her brothers and
mother, and "I was privileged to make the end of my mother's life almost free from
care." Like Torvald, she is defining freedom in economic terms. But she is operating at
a lower economic level than he is. She is talking of being able to provide the
necessities of life, whereas he is talking of the relative luxury of being free from debt.
In Act 1, Nora is delighted that soon she will have paid off her debt to Krogstad and will
be "free from care, quite free from care; to be able to play and romp with the children;
to be able to keep the house beautifully and have everything just as Torvald likes it!"
At this point, she defines her freedom in terms of the very things that (as she later
realizes) restrict her: her role as a submissive wife and mother.
By the end of Act 2, Krogstad's letter revealing Nora's debt and forgery of her father's
signature is sitting in Torvald's letterbox. Nora, who fears yet hopes that Torvald will
shield her by taking the entire blame upon himself, means to disappear or commit
suicide, thereby saving him from disgrace. She tells him: "Then you will be free." Thus
Torvald will maintain his respectability by means of Nora's obliterating herself from his
world.
At the end of the play, Nora has been awakened to Torvald's narrow-mindedness and
no longer sees freedom in terms of bondage to him or obliteration of herself. On the
contrary, she defines freedom for herself and Torvald as complete independence from
each other, as she leaves the marriage to forge a new life for herself: "I set you free
from all your obligations. You are not to feel yourself bound in the slightest way, any
more than I shall. There must be perfect freedom on both sides."
A Doll's House
Character Profiles
Nora Helmer: Nora is the wife of Torvald Helmer, in whose
apartment the action of the play takes place. Nora first appears as
a silly, selfish and spoilt woman, Torvald's "doll-child." However, we
soon realize that she has strengths and depths that she has hitherto
kept hidden. She has saved Torvald's life by negotiating and almost
completely paying off a loan from Krogstad. The loan, which involved
her forging her father's signature, enabled her to take Torvald to Italy,
where he recovered. But she has never told him where the money
came from, as his pride would suffer. She believes that Torvald loves
her enough to take all blame upon himself, but she is mistaken. When
she realizes that he is more concerned with appearances and
respectability than with her happiness, she decides to leave him and
find her own way in life.
Torvald Helmer: Torvald, Nora's husband, is a banker and lawyer. He
treats his wife not as an equal but as a foolish child, plaything and
erotic fantasy-figure, as is revealed by his demeaning pet names for
her ("little songbird," "little skylark," "little person," etc.). In the early
part of the play he engages our sympathy because of his indulgent
devotion to his wife. He treats her generously, giving her extra money
when she asks for it. However, he is unable to cope with the
disagreeable truths of life. Thus Nora does not tell him the truth about
her loan, and Dr Rank does not tell him about his imminent death.
They feel they must protect him. Torvald claims that he would take all
upon himself if any burden were to fall upon her, and fantasizes about
rescuing her from some mortal danger. But when just such an event
occurs in the form of Krogstad's revelations, he fails to consider her
past sacrifice or her current and future happiness. His concern is only
for his public reputation. He is revealed as a shallow, vain man who is
incapable of understanding his wife or of properly returning her love.
Mrs Linde: Mrs Linde is an old schoolfriend of Nora's. She gave up
her true love, Krogstad, and married a man she did not love for
financial security, to support her brothers and invalid mother. Since her
husband died bankrupt, she has lived an independent life as a single
working woman. She has struggled financially and now that she has no
one to look after, she feels empty. Finally, she gets back together with
Krogstad and joyfully looks forward to their life together. Her journey
from independence to marriage is a foil to Nora's journey in the
opposite direction. Mrs Linde is a force for truth in Nora's life; she is
shocked by the deceptions in Nora's marriage and wants the Helmers
to face the truth. To this end she does not try to persuade Krogstad to
recall his letter revealing all.
Dr Rank: Dr Rank is a friend of the Helmers' who visits them daily. He
is a foil to Torvald in that he treats Nora as an intelligent human being
and she in return speaks more openly to him than she does to her
husband. Dr Rank is dying of tuberculosis of the spine, which he
inherited from his father, who contracted venereal disease due to
sexual excesses. He refrains from telling Torvald of his imminent death
because it is too "ugly" an idea for him to tolerate, but he does tell
Nora, an indication of the bond between them. He talks with her about
his coming death in a code that excludes Torvald and protects him
from harsh reality. However, Dr Rank is not entirely the straightforward
truth-teller of dramatic tradition. His real motive for visiting the Helmers
is that he is in love with Nora.
Krogstad: Krogstad is an employee at the bank at which Torvald is
made manager. He leant Nora the money to take Torvald to Italy to
recuperate. He has committed an "indiscretion" in the past involving a
crime similar to Nora's - forging a signature on a document. Since
then, he has struggled to regain and maintain his respectability in the
eyes of society. His job at the bank is a major part of this respectability.
So when Torvald, who sees Krogstad as irredeemably morally tainted,
decides to give his job to Mrs Linde, he resorts to blackmailing Nora.
Unless Nora persuades Torvald to keep Krogstad in his job (he later
extends this to a promotion), he will tell Torvald about her loan and her
forgery of her father's signature.
At first, Krogstad appears to be a grasping and vindictive villain. But as
soon as Mrs Linde tells him that she has always loved him and asks
him to resume their relationship, he reveals himself as a more loving,
joyful and merciful character. Mrs Linde, unlike Torvald, believes that
Krogstad can change for the better, and indeed, from this point on, his
life appears to be set on a positive course. He recants his threats to
the Helmers and sends Nora's bond back to her, relinquishing his
power over her. In effect, Krogstad's story is a testament to the
redeeming power of love and challenges the notion held by Torvald
that moral dissolution, like the Calvinist notion of 'original sin,' is
permanently ingrained.
The Nurse: The Nurse brought up Nora and is now helping to bring up
Nora's children. Having committed the 'sin' of having a baby out of
wedlock, she considers herself lucky to have been offered her job,
even though she had to give up her own child in order to take up her
position. She exemplifies the self-sacrificial role of women that Ibsen
highlights in this play. Nora finally leaves her children in the Nurse's
care, believing that they will be better off than they would be with her.
A Doll's House
Theme Analysis
Appearance and reality
In A Doll's House, very little is as it first seems. Nora at
first appears to be a silly, selfish girl, but then we learn
that she has made great sacrifices to save her
husband's life and pay back her secret loan. By the
end of the play, she has realized her true strength and
strikes out as an independent woman. Torvald, for all his
faults, appears to be a loving, devoted and generous
husband. But it later transpires that he is a shallow, vain
man, concerned mainly with his public reputation, and too
weak to deliver on his promise to shoulder any burden
that would fall upon Nora. The Helmer marriage appears
loving, but turns out to be based on lies, play-acting and
an unequal relationship.
Krogstad appears to be a bitter, vengeful extortionist until
he is reunited with his true love, Mrs Linde, when he
becomes more merciful and generous. Mrs Linde first
strikes us as self-sufficient, but we learn that she feels
"empty" now that she has no one to look after. Dr Rank
acts the role of friend to Torvald and Nora, but we later
discover the true motive for his daily visits: he is in love
with Nora.
Deception
The reason why there is such a gap between appearance
and reality is that the characters are engaged in various
sorts of deception. Often, this is to enable them to enjoy
acceptance or approval by others and society in general.
Nora deceives Torvald about the loan and hides her own
strength, even lying to him about trivial matters such as
eating sweets, because she intuits that he cannot tolerate
the truth about their marriage. Torvald in return deceives
Nora and himself when he claims, with apparent sincerity,
that if he would take upon himself any burden that fell
upon Nora. His claim appears to arise from his poor selfknowledge and tendency to fantasize about his and
Nora's life together. Dr Rank pretends to Torvald that
nothing is amiss with his health because Torvald cannot
deal with anything disagreeable, such as death.
The role of women
Ibsen's concerns about the position of women in society
are brought to life in A Doll's House. He believed that
women had a right to develop their own individuality, but
in reality, their role was often self-sacrifical. Women were
not treated as equals with men, either in relation to their
husbands or society, as is clear from Torvald's horror of
his employees thinking he has been influenced in a
decision about Krogstad's job by his wife.
Women could not conduct business or control their own
money, for which they needed the authorization of the
man who 'owned' them - husband, brother or father.
Moreover, they were not educated for responsibility. Nora
falls foul of both injustices, by taking out a loan without the
authority of her husband or father, and by believing, out of
ignorance of the world, that she could get away with
forging a signature.
In a sense, single women like Mrs Linde were freer than
married ones, in that they had a right to the money they
earned and did not have to hand it over to the man of the
family. But the employment open to women was restricted
and poorly paid, as we see in Mrs Linde's case: there was
clerical work, teaching or domestic service. Also, women's
work was grindingly dull, and likely to leave an intelligent
woman like Mrs Linde "empty" inside.
Marriage was a trap in another sense, too. Though
divorce was available, it carried such a social stigma (not
just for the woman, but also for her husband and family)
that few women saw it as an option. This is why Torvald
would rather have a pretend marriage, for the sake of
appearances, than a divorce or an amicable parting.
The female characters of Nora, Mrs Linde and the Nurse
all have to sacrifice themselves to be accepted, or even to
survive. Nora not only sacrifices herself in borrowing
money to save Torvald, but she loses the children she
undoubtedly loves when she decides to pursue her own
identity. Mrs Linde sacrifices the true love of her life,
Krogstad, and marries a man she does not love in order to
support her dependent relatives. The Nurse has to give up
her own child to look after other people's in order to
survive financially. What is more, she sees herself as
lucky to get her lowly job, since she has committed the sin
of having a child out of wedlock. In Ibsen's time, women
who had illegitimate babies were stigmatized, while the
men responsible often escaped censure.
Ibsen does not suggest solutions to what was called "the
women question," his aim being rather to shine a spotlight
on problems that few were willing to talk about. He left the
task of finding answers to others.
Letters
In a society in which difficult or 'taboo' topics were not
discussed openly, much of the truth in A Doll's House is
conveyed via letters and cards. Examples are Krogstad's
letter to Torvald revealing the facts of Nora's loan; his
subsequent letter retracting his threats and enclosing her
bond; and Dr Rank's discreet visiting cards, marked only
with a black cross, announcing his death.
The individual and society
Victorian society is portrayed as a repressive influence on
the individual. It has created a series of conventions and
codes that the individual defies at his or her peril. In the
character of the Nurse, Ibsen shows us how easy it would
be for a person's entire life to be ruined through one
youthful mistake - in her case, falling pregnant outside of
marriage.
Torvald defines his life by what society finds acceptable
and respectable. He is more concerned about the
attractive appearance of his wife and home than he is
about his wife's happiness. When she tries to convince
him to keep Krogstad in his job, his main concern is what
the bank employees will think of him if they believe he has
been influenced by his wife. And even after he has
rejected Nora, he wants her to remain under his roof to
preserve the image of a respectable marriage.
Much of Krogstad's life has been affected by society's
moral standards. He spent some time in disgrace after
committing an "indiscretion," and resorts to blackmail in
an attempt to keep his job as a mark of respectability. His
threat of blackmail gains its power from the immense
authority that individuals vested in society's moral
standards: if nobody cared much what society thought,
then Krogstad could tell all and no one would be harmed.
Nora begins the play fulfilling a role that society
prescribed for women - that of dutiful wife and mother. Her
role is restricted to such activities as creating a beautiful
home, meeting the needs of her husband and children,
and singing and dancing prettily and seductively for her
husband. Ibsen does not suggest that there is anything
inherently wrong with such duties, but he does point out
the dangers of having an individual's life defined by
society in a way that ignores their personal identity and
journey. In leaving Torvald and her children, she will
outrage society and stigmatize herself. This is a terrible
price to have to pay for self-fulfillment, but inevitable,
given that society and the individual are so much at crosspurposes. Society wishes to preserve the status quo,
whereas self-fulfillment often means pushing and breaking
boundaries.
Money
The nineteenth century saw huge social and economic
changes. Society shifted from a largely rural agricultural
community of 'landed gentry' and land workers, to urban
communities based on manufacturing. More than ever
before, what defined one's place in society was one's
ability to make and control money. Those who controlled
the money were the bankers and lawyers, like Torvald.
They were almost invariably male. Their ability to control
money enabled them to control others' lives, including
defining morals. Torvald, because of his position at the
bank, can afford to sit in moral judgment on Krogstad and
Mrs Linde, and decide which of them should be allowed a
job.
The first interactions we see between Nora and Torvald
are about money; she knows that if she behaves in a
certain subservient way, Torvald will give her more
money. She later uses similar manipulations on Dr Rank,
drawing attention to the way in which women in an
unequal society tend to barter sexual favors in return for
money.
Torvald teases Nora about being a spendthrift: this is his
way of displaying his dominance over her, since he who
controls the money controls the relationship. Nora's
attempt to take partial control of the money in their
marriage by taking out the loan ends in disaster, as
Torvald feels morally shamed by her action. It has put him
at the mercy of Krogstad and, it is implied, compromised
his standing as a man and a moral member of society.
Morality
The theme of morality relates closely to that of the
individual and society, in that society defines the
suffocating moral climate that A Doll's House satirizes.
Nora begins to question society's morals when she
realizes how it would criminalize her for forging her
father's signature, an action that she believes to be
morally acceptable in the circumstances, if legally
reprehensible. The most heroic action of her life, her
sacrifice to save her husband's life, becomes an
unforgivable crime in the eyes of society and its dutiful
representative, Torvald. It is not surprising that part of her
journey of self-discovery at the play's end is to consist of
finding out "who is right, the world or I."
Before Ibsen revolutionized drama through his embrace of
realism, many plays contained a character with the role of
'moral foil', a commentator on the actions of others. Ibsen
partially subverts the notion of the 'moral foil' in the
characters of Dr Rank and Mrs Linde. They arrive in the
play at the same time, which alerts us to the fact that they
share a dramatic purpose. To some extent, they are truthbringers in the false setup of the Helmer marriage. Mrs
Linde decides not to persuade Krogstad to recall his letter,
as she believes it is time the Helmers faced the truth
about their marriage. And Dr Rank talks to Nora as the
intelligent person she is, not as the silly doll-child that
Torvald prefers. But these characters turn out to be as
fallible and morally compromised as most people are in
real life. Mrs Linde has betrayed her true love, Krogstad,
by marrying another man for money and security, an act
which has left her "empty." And Dr Rank is not entirely the
selfless friend to Torvald that he first appears to be: he
visits because he is in love with Nora.
Inheritance
Nineteenth-century breakthroughs in genetic science led
to a growing interest in inherited disease and traits. A
Doll's House contains several references to the idea that
both physical disease and moral traits are passed down
through generations. Torvald, after he reads Krogstad's
first letter and rejects Nora, forbids her from bringing up
their children as he thinks she will taint them morally. She
herself is already convinced of this and has begun to
distance herself from them. Torvald believes that
Krogstad's children will be poisoned by their father's moral
crimes. Dr Rank has inherited tuberculosis of the spine,
the disease that kills him, from his father, who led a
promiscuous life and contracted venereal disease.
A Doll's House
Theme Analysis
Appearance and reality
In A Doll's House, very little is as it first seems. Nora at first appears
to be a silly, selfish girl, but then we learn that she has made great
sacrifices to save her husband's life and pay back her secret loan.
By the end of the play, she has realized her true strength and strikes
out as an independent woman. Torvald, for all his faults, appears to be
a loving, devoted and generous husband. But it later transpires that he
is a shallow, vain man, concerned mainly with his public reputation,
and too weak to deliver on his promise to shoulder any burden that
would fall upon Nora. The Helmer marriage appears loving, but turns
out to be based on lies, play-acting and an unequal relationship.
Krogstad appears to be a bitter, vengeful extortionist until he is
reunited with his true love, Mrs Linde, when he becomes more merciful
and generous. Mrs Linde first strikes us as self-sufficient, but we learn
that she feels "empty" now that she has no one to look after. Dr Rank
acts the role of friend to Torvald and Nora, but we later discover the
true motive for his daily visits: he is in love with Nora.
Deception
The reason why there is such a gap between appearance and reality is
that the characters are engaged in various sorts of deception. Often,
this is to enable them to enjoy acceptance or approval by others and
society in general. Nora deceives Torvald about the loan and hides her
own strength, even lying to him about trivial matters such as eating
sweets, because she intuits that he cannot tolerate the truth about their
marriage. Torvald in return deceives Nora and himself when he claims,
with apparent sincerity, that if he would take upon himself any burden
that fell upon Nora. His claim appears to arise from his poor selfknowledge and tendency to fantasize about his and Nora's life
together. Dr Rank pretends to Torvald that nothing is amiss with his
health because Torvald cannot deal with anything disagreeable, such
as death.
The role of women
Ibsen's concerns about the position of women in society are brought to
life in A Doll's House. He believed that women had a right to develop
their own individuality, but in reality, their role was often self-sacrifical.
Women were not treated as equals with men, either in relation to their
husbands or society, as is clear from Torvald's horror of his employees
thinking he has been influenced in a decision about Krogstad's job by
his wife.
Women could not conduct business or control their own money, for
which they needed the authorization of the man who 'owned' them husband, brother or father. Moreover, they were not educated for
responsibility. Nora falls foul of both injustices, by taking out a loan
without the authority of her husband or father, and by believing, out of
ignorance of the world, that she could get away with forging a
signature.
In a sense, single women like Mrs Linde were freer than married ones,
in that they had a right to the money they earned and did not have to
hand it over to the man of the family. But the employment open to
women was restricted and poorly paid, as we see in Mrs Linde's case:
there was clerical work, teaching or domestic service. Also, women's
work was grindingly dull, and likely to leave an intelligent woman like
Mrs Linde "empty" inside.
Marriage was a trap in another sense, too. Though divorce was
available, it carried such a social stigma (not just for the woman, but
also for her husband and family) that few women saw it as an option.
This is why Torvald would rather have a pretend marriage, for the sake
of appearances, than a divorce or an amicable parting.
The female characters of Nora, Mrs Linde and the Nurse all have to
sacrifice themselves to be accepted, or even to survive. Nora not only
sacrifices herself in borrowing money to save Torvald, but she loses
the children she undoubtedly loves when she decides to pursue her
own identity. Mrs Linde sacrifices the true love of her life, Krogstad,
and marries a man she does not love in order to support her
dependent relatives. The Nurse has to give up her own child to look
after other people's in order to survive financially. What is more, she
sees herself as lucky to get her lowly job, since she has committed the
sin of having a child out of wedlock. In Ibsen's time, women who had
illegitimate babies were stigmatized, while the men responsible often
escaped censure.
Ibsen does not suggest solutions to what was called "the women
question," his aim being rather to shine a spotlight on problems that
few were willing to talk about. He left the task of finding answers to
others.
Letters
In a society in which difficult or 'taboo' topics were not discussed
openly, much of the truth in A Doll's House is conveyed via letters and
cards. Examples are Krogstad's letter to Torvald revealing the facts of
Nora's loan; his subsequent letter retracting his threats and enclosing
her bond; and Dr Rank's discreet visiting cards, marked only with a
black cross, announcing his death.
The individual and society
Victorian society is portrayed as a repressive influence on the
individual. It has created a series of conventions and codes that the
individual defies at his or her peril. In the character of the Nurse, Ibsen
shows us how easy it would be for a person's entire life to be ruined
through one youthful mistake - in her case, falling pregnant outside of
marriage.
Torvald defines his life by what society finds acceptable and
respectable. He is more concerned about the attractive appearance of
his wife and home than he is about his wife's happiness. When she
tries to convince him to keep Krogstad in his job, his main concern is
what the bank employees will think of him if they believe he has been
influenced by his wife. And even after he has rejected Nora, he wants
her to remain under his roof to preserve the image of a respectable
marriage.
Much of Krogstad's life has been affected by society's moral standards.
He spent some time in disgrace after committing an "indiscretion," and
resorts to blackmail in an attempt to keep his job as a mark of
respectability. His threat of blackmail gains its power from the immense
authority that individuals vested in society's moral standards: if nobody
cared much what society thought, then Krogstad could tell all and no
one would be harmed.
Nora begins the play fulfilling a role that society prescribed for women that of dutiful wife and mother. Her role is restricted to such activities
as creating a beautiful home, meeting the needs of her husband and
children, and singing and dancing prettily and seductively for her
husband. Ibsen does not suggest that there is anything inherently
wrong with such duties, but he does point out the dangers of having an
individual's life defined by society in a way that ignores their personal
identity and journey. In leaving Torvald and her children, she will
outrage society and stigmatize herself. This is a terrible price to have
to pay for self-fulfillment, but inevitable, given that society and the
individual are so much at cross-purposes. Society wishes to preserve
the status quo, whereas self-fulfillment often means pushing and
breaking boundaries.
Money
The nineteenth century saw huge social and economic changes.
Society shifted from a largely rural agricultural community of 'landed
gentry' and land workers, to urban communities based on
manufacturing. More than ever before, what defined one's place in
society was one's ability to make and control money. Those who
controlled the money were the bankers and lawyers, like Torvald. They
were almost invariably male. Their ability to control money enabled
them to control others' lives, including defining morals. Torvald,
because of his position at the bank, can afford to sit in moral judgment
on Krogstad and Mrs Linde, and decide which of them should be
allowed a job.
The first interactions we see between Nora and Torvald are about
money; she knows that if she behaves in a certain subservient way,
Torvald will give her more money. She later uses similar manipulations
on Dr Rank, drawing attention to the way in which women in an
unequal society tend to barter sexual favors in return for money.
Torvald teases Nora about being a spendthrift: this is his way of
displaying his dominance over her, since he who controls the money
controls the relationship. Nora's attempt to take partial control of the
money in their marriage by taking out the loan ends in disaster, as
Torvald feels morally shamed by her action. It has put him at the mercy
of Krogstad and, it is implied, compromised his standing as a man and
a moral member of society.
Morality
The theme of morality relates closely to that of the individual and
society, in that society defines the suffocating moral climate that A
Doll's House satirizes. Nora begins to question society's morals when
she realizes how it would criminalize her for forging her father's
signature, an action that she believes to be morally acceptable in the
circumstances, if legally reprehensible. The most heroic action of her
life, her sacrifice to save her husband's life, becomes an unforgivable
crime in the eyes of society and its dutiful representative, Torvald. It is
not surprising that part of her journey of self-discovery at the play's end
is to consist of finding out "who is right, the world or I."
Before Ibsen revolutionized drama through his embrace of realism,
many plays contained a character with the role of 'moral foil', a
commentator on the actions of others. Ibsen partially subverts the
notion of the 'moral foil' in the characters of Dr Rank and Mrs Linde.
They arrive in the play at the same time, which alerts us to the fact that
they share a dramatic purpose. To some extent, they are truth-bringers
in the false setup of the Helmer marriage. Mrs Linde decides not to
persuade Krogstad to recall his letter, as she believes it is time the
Helmers faced the truth about their marriage. And Dr Rank talks to
Nora as the intelligent person she is, not as the silly doll-child that
Torvald prefers. But these characters turn out to be as fallible and
morally compromised as most people are in real life. Mrs Linde has
betrayed her true love, Krogstad, by marrying another man for money
and security, an act which has left her "empty." And Dr Rank is not
entirely the selfless friend to Torvald that he first appears to be: he
visits because he is in love with Nora.
Inheritance
Nineteenth-century breakthroughs in genetic science led to a growing
interest in inherited disease and traits. A Doll's House contains several
references to the idea that both physical disease and moral traits are
passed down through generations. Torvald, after he reads Krogstad's
first letter and rejects Nora, forbids her from bringing up their children
as he thinks she will taint them morally. She herself is already
convinced of this and has begun to distance herself from them. Torvald
believes that Krogstad's children will be poisoned by their father's
moral crimes. Dr Rank has inherited tuberculosis of the spine, the
disease that kills him, from his father, who led a promiscuous life and
contracted venereal disease.