Henrik Ibsen\'s a Doll\'s House

Henrik Ibsen's a Doll's House was published in 1879 and is a play about relationships; relationships with one's self and with others. Each of the main characters has to come to terms with decisions they have made in the past and the current conditions they find themselves in because of those decisions. At some level each character is fighting for authenticity: Nora wants to be her own person, Christina wants to reconnect with her true love, Dr. Rank must come to terms with his poor health and his friendship with Nora, Krogstad is desperate to overcome a mistake from his past and Torvald must face life without his beloved wife. Ibsen creates a personal crisis for each character, which together aid in the destruction of Nora and Torvald's marriage and more importantly, helps to free each of them from society's rigid gender roles.

A Doll's House begins with Nora returning from a Christmas shopping trip. She nibbles on some macaroons, which she must hide in her pocket because her husband forbids macaroons in the household. After setting her packages down, Nora goes to Torvald's study. This first encounter between husband and wife sets the tone of and foreshadows the entire play; Torvald's treats Nora as both a child and as a possession while Nora cajoles Torvald with cute and playful responses to his questions. Nora must also defend her spending, as well as beg for money. It is obvious that Torvald has complete control of the household -- he controls the family finances and his wife's actions and emotions. Nora appears to be a spoiled child disconnected from the world and is told by Torvald that she is little, incapable and he must take care of her or she would not survive. Torvald refers to Nora as his little lark, his little squirrel, and his little spendthrift and as the same little featherhead. Nora completely accepts her subservient role and relies on, and complies with, Torvald for her identity. In several scenes, Nora request that Torvald make decisions for her and help her live up to his expectations of her.

At the same time as Nora tries to be the perfect wife, Torvald tries to be the perfect man based on what society defines as the perfect man. He will soon begin a supervisor job at the bank and is looking forward to the increase in income and power. He takes great pride in his wife's obedience and her beauty. He feels his home, his family, his job, his high standards and his independent character makes him a valuable asset to society.

As this first scene unfolds, we learn that Torvald uses money to control and manipulate Nora. He scolds Nora for having purchased gifts and she begs him to be less strict with money this Christmas. She suggests he take out a loan, he responses with:

" That is like a woman! But seriously, Nora, you know what I think about that. No debt, no borrowing. There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt. We two have kept bravely on the straight road so far, and we will go on the same way for the short time longer that there need be any struggle."

With this statement the conflict between Nora and Torvald is complete. He controls and judges Nora while Nora holds a secret that she borrowed money and forged her father's signature in order to care for her husband when he was gravely ill.

The play continues on with Krogstad, a bank employee, Christina, a widow friend of Nora's and Dr. Rank all arriving separately at Torvald's home. The plot twists begin to take place: unbeknown to Torvald, a current employee Krogstad, is the person who extend the loan to Nora, and Nora's friend Christina, who was previously involved with Krogstad, asks and is given a job at the bank by Torvald. The job Christina is taking is Krogstad's position and Krogstad will be laid-off and then blackmails Nora in hope of returning to his position at the bank. In addition to this coincident, Dr. Rank is Nora's confidant and, in turn, Dr. Rank is secretly in love with Nora. All of this makes for the foundation of an English farce, however, Ibsen provides us with a tale of how far one must go to be able to survive.

All three of the female characters -- Nora, Christina and the nanny Anna -- have made sacrifices to obtain financial security. Christina married a man she did not love in order to care for her sick mother and her two younger brothers. Anna, an unwed mother, gave up her child to take a position as Nora's nanny and has continued to be the nanny of Nora's children. Nora, who is complete unaware of herself, never actualized her full emotional and intellectual capabilities in exchange for pleasing both her father and her husband.

Christina had been a widow for over three years and was no longer responsible for her mother or brothers. She learned to navigate her world through employment and being financially responsible for herself. She now longs for a life with a man and family, someone to care for and to receive care from. In direct opposition, Nora's way of dealing with the world is to flirt, cajole and manipulate others into doing what she wants and does not truly understand the consequences of her decisions.

As Nora begins to face her predicament of being blackmailed and having Torvald learn of her loan, Nora tells Krogstad to go ahead and tell Torvald because: "If my husband does get to know of it, of course he will at once pay you what is still owing, and we shall have nothing more to do with you."

As the play unfolds, Nora begins to understand that she is not helpless; she has saved her husband by securing the loan. Thus far she has not missed a loan payment; she has done so by finding money in the household budget, uses money given to her by Torvald for gifts and clothing and through a secret job copying manuscripts. Through comments made by Torvald she begins to learn that he may not perform a miracle and save her from Krogstad threats. When Torvald learns of the loan, he yells at Nora about how she has ruined his life -- this is ironic because the loan enabled Nora to save his life. Nora sees that Torvald will not listen to her explanation nor will he help her, Torvald only blames her for the misfortune that will come about when the forgery is revealed. He tells her that she has poisoned his children. Nora realizes that she is not really in a marriage, that she is an arm-piece to a man who needs to meet society's expectations. This is when Nora realizes she is not a human being; she is Torvald's doll.

The family crisis has come full circle. Nora now knows that she is not a fully developed person and has decided to leave Torvald and search for herself. When confronted by Nora, Torvald is in disbelief of Nora's unhappiness. Torvald now is confronted with his own crisis; he has been the husband society has dictated but he is now losing his wife. He does not understand why Nora is leaving.

Ibsen's a Doll's House appears to be about women's freedom and right to self-expression but when one digs deeper, it becomes a play about individualism and the confinement of role models dictated by society. In the literary analysis, the Subordination of Men and Women in Society, Andrew Ravenscroft states:

"Ibsen wrote to free both men and woman who were trapped in their gender roles during this period. Ibsen saw the need to revolt against the conventions of society through prevention of compliance with the immoral issues that faced society; and therefore recognising oneself as a "free agent." Ibsen demanded justice and freedom for every human being and wrote a Doll House to inspire society to individualism and free them from suppression." (http://www.helium.com/items/1121047-henrik-ibsen-dolls-house).