Correlation between symbols and themes in Ibsen’s A Doll’s
House
Dr. Senem Üstün Kaya
Başkent University
Turkey
Abstract
Henrik Ibsen is assumed as one of the major Norwegian dramatist, social critic and thinker of
the 19th century, who criticized the social issues due to secularization, Darwinism, lost in
beliefs and faith and the independence desire of the individuals. He is described as ‘the realist,
the iconoclast, the successful or failed idealist, the poet, the psychologist, the romantic’
(Lyons, 1987, 4). Dealing covertly with the impacts of the changes of 19th century and the age
of Enlightenment in a patriarchal society, Ibsen suggest the significance of the realistic
depiction of hypocrisy and deceit of the middle-class people, of the individual freedom and of
self-assertion, particularly for women. Henrik Ibsen, as a modernist and feminist, focused on
the liberation of women in his literary works; particularly in his famous work A Doll’s House.
Ibsen’s main concern in his plays, particularly in A Doll’s House, is on the significance of
truth and individual freedom, not only for women but also for men, which can heal all the
cures of Victorian society. This study aims at the interpretation of symbols within the text
analysis of Ibsen’s famous play, A Doll’s House, to present one of the major themes of Ibsen:
the clash between the appearance and reality.
Key words: Ibsen, realistic presentation, liberation, individual freedom, truth, interpretation
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I.
Introduction:
Henrik Ibsen deals with the characters in real situations with a realistic and naturalistic
style from modern life. In his plays, he presents the problems without any demand of
solutions. If we analyze the world Ibsen represents, we can understand the man struggles and
conflicts of the characters in his fiction. In 19th century, the changes and developments after
the Industrial Revolution led to drawbacks in the order and cycle of society. People at that era
suffered from capitalism, identity crisis, lack of individual freedom, the impacts of the
bourgeoisie families, and gender inequalities, social oppressions, the cruel power of economy
over human relations and loss of values in the most sacred institutions of society.
In the seventies, women were oppressed by male domination culturally, economically,
socially and physically. The inequalities in life led to the struggles of women who were in
clash between the reality and the appearance. As Meyer (1971) stated, the moral conflict of
women who were judged by masculine standards (446) became the main concern for writers
and critics of that period. In Victorian society, the common criticism was on the hypocrisy of
the middle-class society with its false morality, deceits and values (McFarlane, 1994, 69). As
the capital power led to the suppression of the poor by the powerful, writers, including Ibsen
dealt with the economic, social and politic problems of that era in a vivid realistic way.
Many of Ibsen’s plays present these problems, and thus, are labelled as problem plays.
As a writer, Ibsen believed that it was the initial goal of a writer to realize the ‘truth’ and
educate the readers about it. As McFarlane (1994) stated Ibsen based his plays on the message
of ‘individual freedom’, ‘liberty of spirit’ and ‘truth’ (68). Ibsen’s A Doll’s House (1879) is a
perfect example, which represents the problems of Victorian society from the perspective of a
bourgeois family. The play is accepted as ‘the first full-blown example of Ibsen’s modernism’
in which the female sacrifice and male dominance are depicted (Moi, 2006, 225). The microsociety of the play mirrors the macro-society as stated by McFarlane (1994): ‘the power
structure within the walls of the domestic home reflects the hierarchal power which prevail in
the wider world’ (70).
In this article, I will analyze the correlation of symbols and themes of the clash
between reality and appearance in A Doll’s House, a play set with a background of 19th
century Victorian patriarchal society. I will try to interpret the symbols and analyze them
within text-analysis to provide one of the most significant themes of Ibsen. On purpose, Ibsen
creates two different worlds: the appearance (desired) and reality (actual). He achieves this
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duality through his employment of objects on the surface structure and their symbolical
meanings in the deeper structure.
On the surface structure of the play, the happy married couple Nora and Helmer lives
in a well- designed middle class house. In the deeper analysis provides the reader the
interpretation of symbols. Stage directions and symbols indicate the truth about their marriage
and lives (Johnston, 1989, 51). In a house decorated with the selected furniture and objects,
the reader realizes the clash between the appearance and reality. Beneath the surface, themes
of hypocrisy of bourgeois (Helmer), the power struggle between the individuals (Helmer,
Krogstad, Nora), the impacts of capitalism (Krogstad, Mrs Linde), the corruption and illnesses
of society (Dr. Rank), class distinctions and inadequacy of relations are presented.
Nora, the protagonist, is considered to be an obedient wife and a typical sacrificing
mother who has devoted her life for her family. At the beginning of the play, her childlike
attitudes make her a real ‘doll’ in a house.
She is the ‘creation of Torvald’s aesthetic
imagination’ (Johnston, 1989, 144) who dresses her and controls her whole life. Their
marriage seems to be a game and fun for Torvald. However, as they face a problem in life,
everything is revealed and Nora realizes the falsity of her marriage and turns out to be a
woman, who seeks freedom to find her real self. Having borrowed money from a banker
Krogstad by forging her father’s signature and without her husband’s consent, Nora has
committed the biggest sin. Threats of Krogstad lead her to a deeper tragedy. Her marriage is
at the stake and she needs a miracle to be saved. When Torvald learns the truth, he turns his
back on his ‘treasure’ and tries to save his own dignity. Nora, in the end, experiencing a selfrecognition, desires to be freed from the obligations of society, her husband and her family as
she discovers that their marriage is not based on love: ‘You have never loved me. You have
only thought it pleasant to be in love with me’ (Ibsen, p. 225).
On the other hand, Torvald, the Bank Manager, is the ideal representation of the men
in 19th century. He classifies people according to the importance and social status of people.
He appears to be a loving, yet selfish husband whose egoist and admiring behaviors towards
Nora lead him deceit and hypocrisy. Torvald has never had a serious conversation with Nora.
Nora realizes that her husband favors his honor above the love of Nora. Treating women as
inferior in 19th century, Torvald is the perfect representation of male attitudes towards female
identity. Torvald controls Nora in every aspect: housekeeping budget, her clothes, her
manners and her individual freedom. Nora, thus, throughout the end of the play faces with the
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limitations caused by the social rules imposed by males in her life, which causes her dilemma
and psychological sufferings.
As mentioned earlier, Ibsen aimed at presenting the truth within the clash between
appearance and reality. The Realistic Cycle of Ibsen is accepted as ‘the dramatization of the
struggle of the human spirit to achieve authenticity and adequacy as it journeys forward’
(Johnston, 1989, 34). The protagonist Nora has escaped from the realities and lived under the
shadows. In fact, she has ‘constructed a dream in which the man would spring forth as her
protector, as the Knight protecting his loved one’ (McFarlane, 1994, 81). As she realizes the
truth about her marriage and life, she realizes that her Knight has been a selfish, egoist
husband who cares about his dignity more than his love. In the end, she decides to find the
truth about herself, being saved from the false appearances. When Torvald reminds her about
her duties as a wife and mother, she reacts: ‘I believe that before everything else I’m a human
being’ (Ibsen, p. 228).
II.
Symbols in A Doll’s House
In order to represent the clash between reality and appearance, Ibsen prefers certain
symbols in A Doll’s House. The objects mentioned and used in the play have functions in the
surface structure within household of the family. However, in the deeper structure, the objects
are symbols that refer to certain meanings in the deeper structure, which provides the main
theme of the writer: in 19th century Victorian patriarchal society, the reality clashes between
the appearance and individuals suffer from the conflicts arouse from the clashes. Therefore, it
is no doubt that symbols have dramatic meanings, which contribute to the theme of clash
between reality and appearance presented by Ibsen.
The first correlation between the symbol and theme lies in the title itself of the play:
‘dolls’. Children play with dolls by creating imaginative situations and by putting them into
different social roles. Nora, as the doll of Torvald, has become a woman who has been
dehumanized and treated like a pet in the house. That is why, Torvald calls her with the
nicknames which dehumanize and humiliate her personality: ‘squirrel’, ‘scatterbrain’ or
‘songbird’. Torvald dresses her and entertains himself with her as he desires. Nora has long
become the childlike creature for Torvald from whom she hides the macaroons. Doll, indeed,
represents the position of women, who were accepted as mindless and selfless entities in a
male dominated society in Ibsen’s period. As Moi (2006) stated Nora has been the doll which
has was ‘perfected by mechanics and played by humans’ (236). In reality, Nora realizes the
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falsity of her marriage at the end and this provides the clash between appearance and reality
below the surface structure of the play.
The house has a symbolic meaning in the deeper structure to contribute to the theme of
the conflict between reality and appearance. Although house of the Helmers appears as a
perfect shelter for a middle-class happy family, it turns out to be the prison of a deceitful
marriage. The living room of the Helmers seems a happy and peaceful place for the family.
The closed door at the back of the stage is Torvald’s study room, which again symbolically
contributes to the theme of the play. As the stage directions indicate, only Torvald can this
room because he is the father of the family, the breadwinner. His male friends also enter the
room throughout the play. Nora never appears as entering the room, which indicates that
women cannot deal with the serious jobs of men. Torvald’s study room indicates that men
belong to the public sphere and real life while women belong to the house, the entertainment
place for men. The problems of real life are supposed to be handled by the men of the family
while singing and dancing women are considered to be the dolls of the house. The ‘decorated,
sheltered and protected Victorian house is captured by the Victorian problems’ (Johnston,
1989, 148).
Having an office at home also indicates Torvald’s attitude towards his work, which is
more important than her family. Whenever he wants entertainment, he leaves the office and
enters the living room to play with his doll, Nora. Consequently, Nora finds her exit, away
from all the restrictions of a traditional male-dominated society, which has oppressed and
dehumanized women. She closes the door of her doll’s house, by leaving the house for an
independent life, she exits for an independent life to discover her true self.
Money is the symbol of the impacts of Industrial Revolution. Torvald is waiting for a
better position and more money; Krogstad fights for a position at the bank to survive; Kristina
has sacrificed her life to earn her family’s living and Nora is trying to pay her debts to save
her marriage. To have a good position in society and to survive in life, all the characters are
obsessed with money. In reality all the characters have become the slave and victim of money,
yet in appearance money seems to be the least important thing in their lives.
The play is set at Christmas time and New Year’s Eve, which are associated with
‘rebirth’, a regeneration. Death of the old year is expected to bring the birth of a new one. The
Helmers are impatiently waiting for the New Year: Torvald is expecting a promotion and
better salary and Nora is hoping to repay her secret debt to Krogstad. Not only Nora but also
Torvald and other characters in the play experience rebirth. Nora realizes that she has been in
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a deceitful marriage with a selfish husband who cares about his honor more than his love for
his wife. As she leaves Torvald behind, Torvald realizes that he has lost ‘the dearest treasure’
(Ibsen, p. 215). Krogstad and Kristina also realize that they can find salvation with each other.
The festive object, Christmas tree (yuletree) itself is symbolic and it mirrors Nora’s
psychological state. Nora functions as the decorated tree in the house. Both symbolize a
plaything for Torvald and children. At the beginning of the play, Nora decorates the tree for
Christmas and she is playing with tree as her husband dresses and plays with her. The yuletree
has a significant symbolic and metaphoric function in the play. As explained by Johnston
(1989), the yuletree is the small tree cut before it grows. It is generally decorated and put in
houses as ornament for Christmas. In that sense, Nora and the tree have many in common.
She is treated like a child by Torvald who controls her physically and emotionally. It is highly
evident when he forbids Nora eating macaroons to prevent her ‘sweet teeth’ (Ibsen, p. 151) to
be destroyed. Besides, after the party, as Torvald fantasies about her, he declares that she
should stay young and charming forever. Helmer dreams about Nora as: ‘….I imagine that
you are my little bride, that we have just come from the wedding, and that I am bringing you
back to my home for the first time’ (Ibsen, p. 215).
She wants the maid to hide the tree before the children see it: ‘Hide the Christmas tree,
Helena. The children mustn’t see it till this evening’ (Ibsen, p. 147). Later on, as Nora
‘walking about uneasily’ in the room after Krogstad’s visit, the stage directions tell that ‘The
Christmas Tree is […] stripped and disheveled, with the stumps of burn-out candles’ (Ibsen,
p. 181). The tree disheveled and the decorations of it fall down as the deceits and lies of Nora
are coming into light. She is confused and lost her light as the Christmas tree. In the actual,
the tree is bare and disheveled but Nora wants the desired: an ornamented Christmas tree.
Although in appearance, Christmas tree symbolizes charity, hope and joy of a new year, in
reality it becomes the main symbol of Nora’s tragedy. Throughout the play, whenever she
faces the hazardous tragedy approaching towards her little house, she appears closer to the
tree and tries to decorate it to hide the ugly realities, which would ruin her happy life (Ibsen,
p. 176, 177, 178, 180). As Nora is threatened by Krogstad, she wants only the Christmas tree,
which reminds her the hope and salvation of her soul:
Nora: Helena - bring me the tree, please….
Maid: [with the Christmas tree]: Where shall I put it, Madam?
Nora: Here, in the middle of the room.
Maid: Is there anything else you want?
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Nora: No, thank you. I’ve got all I want (Ibsen, p. 176).
Tarantella dance is another influential symbol that serves to the theme of the conflicts
between the desired and reality and self and the society. Tarantella dance, derived from the
tarantula spider, is a pagan religion dance which later became popular in Europe. It takes its
name from the ancient city of Taranto in Italy. This dance is a dance stimulating the furious
whirling movement of people bitten by tarantula spider. The person who was bitten by the
tarantula had to dance to be saved from the deadly poison (Johnston, 1989, 158). It is with fast
movements, exaggerated gestures, jumping and running at corners. The bite of tarantula leads
to hysteria, a condition of tarantism, explained by Thompson (1929) as the impact of a
‘Dianic or Dionysiac cult’ (164). Only a miracle can save people from the poison. In the play,
tarantella dance takes place at the climax of the action. In order to divert her husband’s
attention from the letterbox, Nora dances wildly as if she were trying to be saved from the
poison that Krogstad has brought in her life:
Nora: [as she dances]: Oh, this is fun, Kristina!
Helmer: But, Nora, darling, you are dancing as if your life depended on it!
Nora: So it does (Ibsen, p. 204).
Dancing the tarantella, ‘Nora’s body expresses the state of her soul’ (Moi, 2006, 239).
For Torvald, her dance seems total madness, yet he calls it as ‘too realistic’ (Ibsen, p. 212). At
this time of the year, Nora appears in struggle and she eventually experiences a rebirth. In
appearance, dancing the tarantella represents a sense of madness and violence, in reality, it
becomes the symbol of a cure for the poison and saves Nora spiritually. After the dance ends,
Torvald learns about her secret and Nora realizes the falsity of her marriage, she is saved from
the poison which has covered her body and life. From then on, the poison would fill Torvald’s
doll’s house as he says: ‘An atmosphere of lies that infects and poisons the whole life of a
home’ (Ibsen, p. 179). She decides to leave this false life and deceitful husband. The dance
reveals the actual state of Nora, which annoys Torvald who wants her to stop. In desired
world, Torvald wants to see her in an obedient and loving soft ways.
Letters function as motives in the subtext of the play and they reveal the true nature of
events between Torvald and Nora. Krogstad sends two letters to the Helmers. The first letter
in the letterbox reveals Nora’s secret against her husband and the second one is the promise to
retract Krogstad’s blackmail. Although Nora tries hard to avoid Torvald read the first letter,
she fails to do so. As Torvald learns about the wife’s deceit, Nora sees the hypocrisy of her
husband and the falsity of her marriage. She realizes that she has no identity apart from being
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a wife and mother and she has been living with a stranger (Johnston, 1989, 144). The second
letter seems to save Nora; however, she experiences an awakening and decides to leave
Torvald for the sake of self-assertion.
III.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Norwegian playwright Henri Ibsen is one of the major playwrights
of the 19th century Victorian period. In his many plays, he dealt with impacts of the Industrial
Revolution and its outcomes. He probed the problems of human beings with a critical eye in
an aesthetic, yet realistic nature. By reading deeper into the play, A Doll’s House, we can
observe the clash between the actual objects and their hidden meanings as symbols, which
contribute to the theme of the playwright: the clash between reality and appearance lead to
sufferings and the salvation is through self-assertion and individual freedom. Indeed, Ibsen’s
message is stated by Nora who decides to leave her family to find her true self: ‘I must try to
educate myself…I must stand on my own feet’ (Ibsen, p. 227).
References:
Ibsen, H. (1987). (ed.) A Doll’s House. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University.
Johnston, B. (1989). Text and Supertext in Ibsen’s Drama. USA: The Pennsylvania State
University.
Lyons, C. R. (1987) (ed.) Critical Essays on Henrik Ibsen. Boston: Hall Print.
McFarlane, J. (1994). The Cambridge Companion to Ibsen. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Meyer, M. (1971). Ibsen. A Biography. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Company.
Moi, T. (2006). Henrik Ibsen and the Birth of Modernism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Thompson, R. L. (1929). The History of the Devil. Paul, Trench, Tubner and Co.
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