A Doll's House

A Doll’s House opens on Christmas Eve with Nora Helmer entering her house carrying several packages and parcels. Her husband Torvald hears her enter the house and goes over to playfully greet her. As Nora is settling down Torvald and her talk about their money and Nora insists that she has been careful in spending the money Torvald has given her for gifts. They have had to be careful with how they spend their money for years but Torvald happily tells Nora about a promotion he has been given at the bank. Their friend Dr. Rank has come to visit and another woman Mrs. Linde, one of Nora’s old friends have come to visit. Mrs. Linde heard about Torvald’s promotion and asks Nora for a favor because she needs a job after being recently widowed.

Once Nora and Mrs. Linde sit down to catch up on their own, Mrs. Linde implies that Nora has no sense of what the real world is like. Nora reveals to her friend of a deed she is very proud of. While her husband Torvald was ill, she made it her responsibility to do whatever she could to nurse him back to health. She borrowed money illegally to save her husband’s life but has kept this information from her husband, letting him think the money was given to Nora by her dead father. She has carried her own debt but has been working secretly to pay back her loan, which she takes pride in because she feels independent when earning her own money.

A man named Krogstad arrives at the Helmer household to speak with Torvald. Nora seems uncomfortable with his visit. After finishing his business with Krogstad, Torvald comes in to talk Nora is then left alone until her children come in to play with her. She suddenly stops and shoos the children away once she sees Krogstad standing in front of her. Through their conversation we find out that Nora borrowed the money from Krogstad to fund her husband’s recovery. He tells her that Torvald wants to relieve him of his position at the bank and that Nora must do something so that he can keep his position or else he will tell Torvald and everyone else of her illegal loan.

It is Christmas Day and Nora is deeply anxious because of Krogstad’s visit the previous day and Mrs. Linde notices her anxiety, but Nora does not tell her what is on her mind. Torvald appears and Nora tries to convince her husband to allow Krogstad to keep his position but he refuses because he dislikes Krogstad due to his bad reputation, so he sends the maid with Krogstad’s letter of dismissa. Dr. Rank comes in to visit and reveals to Nora that he is very ill, and wants to tell her that he has always loved her while he still has the chance to do so.

Krogstad later comes back to tell Nora that he has written a letter to Torvald revealing everything about their loan and Nora’s actions. He has placed the letter in the mailbox which is locked and only Torvald has access to. Nora speaks with Mrs. Linde and she reveals that before being widowed she had a relationship with Krogstad. She agrees to speak with him to try to be reasonable with Nora.

Nora grows even more anxious when Torvald comes out of his office after Krogstad’s visit and he tries to collect the mail from the mailbox. Nora tries to distract him in any way that she can so that he does not get to his mail and she insists that he not do any work until after the holiday party. He agrees and he helps Nora practice for a dance that she will be performing at the party.

After the party, Torvald goes to check the mail and Nora is preparing herself for his reaction. She contemplates leaving and committing suicide because she knows that if this information is leaked that this will destroy their family’s image. Torvald comes out of his study after reading the letter and he is furious with Nora for her foolishness to the point where he tells her that he does not wish to be with her but will stay with her only so that they do not look bad in the public eye. In his anger he tells her that she is unfit to care for their children and she is immoral. Nora is completely destroyed and it isn’t until the maid comes in with some papers from Krogstad that Torvald’s mood changes.

Torvald receives the incriminating papers from Krogstad along with a where he apologizes for his behavior. Torvald reads this and turns to Nora saying he is no longer upset with her and he has forgiven her for this scare. Nora however does not react the way Torvald does and she is deeply upset with his sudden change reaction. She realizes that all the time she has been married to Torvald she has been treated as his little plaything wrapped around his finger. She has not been treated as an equal and so she decides to leave, ending the play with “the door slam heard ‘round the world.”

Nora Helmer

The protagonist of this story is Nora who has two sides to her personality. At first she is portrayed as a naïve woman that Torvald treats like a little girl. He calls her nicknames like his “little spendthrift” and his “little squirrel” to tease her and play around with her. Nora is treated like a toy or Torvald’s little doll and is submissive when it comes to men because she feels they have more authority over her. We later learn that there is more to Nora than just money spending and entertainment. Nora is much more determined to be independent than initially anticipated. We see that she is a lot stronger when she tries to handle certain situations on her own by managing to gather enough money to help her husband when he is ill. Although she had good intentions she is still relatively sheltered. It isn’t until the end of the play when we see Nora mature and finally take charge of her own life, instead of settling for Torvald’s manner of treating her like a little doll.

Torvald Helmer

Torvald Helmer is Nora’s husband who represents the power and authority of the household. Although he has a lot of power at the bank due to his new promotion, we see that some of that power is carried over into the household, partly because he works out of his study. By the way he speaks to Nora we can see that he looks down on Nora and he does not really take her seriously. He treats her as if she cannot think for herself and at times treats her like a child instead of a wife by telling her not to eat macaroons, and playing with her for his own entertainment. Torvald takes pride in what he has and is concerned with what others think of him. We see this when he decides to let go of Krogstad because he has a bad reputation which could taint Torvald’s own name. After he reads Krogstad’s letter Torvald doesn’t consider what his wife went through to try to save him, but instead worries about what others will think of him and his family of they ever found out what Nora did and how it would taint his name. Torvald for the most part has the final word and makes the decisions in the house and it isn’t until the end of the play that he is put in his place by Nora once she decides to leave him.

Feminism

This work addresses the idea that women are naïve and they cannot do anything on their own. This play helped ignite the spark of the feminist movement which led to women asking for more respect and equality between the sexes. This work clearly shows how men and women are not equal by illustrating the assumed roles of men and women. As the man of the house, Torvald is the typical male figure who works to support the family and keep it together. It is assumed that men have all of the authority and say in the family and it is up to him to make sure that the family name remains pure. They seem very proud of their accomplishments which can vary from promotions, wealth, and even their wife’s beauty. However, women in this work portrayed more negatively as little playthings for men instead of a companion or equal. To a man, his wife was more of a trophy to walk around with as can be seen when Torvald expects Nora to show off her dancing skills at the holiday party.

Misogyny

We see light examples of misogyny from Torvald who does not necessarily dislike women, but instead expects nothing of them. He does not necessarily think that women are capable of accomplishing much except spending money and worrying about looking pretty for their husband. We can also sense some discomfort in Mrs. Linde’s visit because she is taking charge of her own life, which is rare for the given time period. In a way she demands more authority with her presence compared to Nora, whom he has wrapped around his finger for his own enjoyment. Mrs. Linde, because she was widowed, has had to endure more hardships than Nora which adds to her maturity level. Torvald obviously treats them differently because he grants Mrs. Linde a job while he is busy teasing and even babying his wife Nora, even though the two women are about the same age.

During the time Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House was publicized, the start of the feminist movement was already present. Women of that time period had very limited rights and their place in society belonged inside the home. Based on their economic background women were either homemakers or worked in low paying jobs such as factory workers, to support their family. Due to growing industrialization, urbanization and the flourishing economy the role of women was starting to shift once women realized there were more opportunities for them outside of the home. Women at the time were taught to be submissive to men, tend the children until their husband came home, and abide by the Cult of Domesticity to create a haven for their family. When Nora, the protagonist of A Doll’s House, walked out on her husband at the end of the play, her exit was known as “the door slam heard around the world,” which was a very strong example of the emerging feminist movement. The ending of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House shocked many people because during the time the play was written, it was not typical of a woman to walk out of her house on her own. When Nora walked out, the shock produced a wave of emerging feminists which later led to their unity in fighting for equality between the sexes. However, the ending of the play is somewhat unclear. Some may believe Nora left her family and never came back while others think she would go back eventually. Though this ending is shocking, there is still some space left for those who want to believe that Nora went back home to be with her family once again.