Patriarchal Femininity and Identity in Ibsen's A Doll's House

Within the patriarchal society that Ibsen portrays in A Doll's House, it is necessary that the roles of femininity — as defined by the context of this society — be played in order to keep its structure from disintegrating. Essentially, the family life depicted in the play has been constructed around the psychological needs of Torvald: the father, husband, and head of the household. This patriarchal structure is fundamentally based upon the notion that the man is the intellectual and monetary proprietor of the home; the individuals within the home are merely reflections of his status and objects for his personal gratification.

The roles that femininity demands, from this perspective, are certainly more complex than those demanded of children, but no less superficial. To Torvald, Nora is like a child intellectually, yet she also exists as a trophy — something desirable that he has managed to capture and situate within his home. In this way, she is similar to the mounted head of a prized wild animal: placed in the house, in a particular spot, for decoration, and also to reflect the qualities of the one who caught it — nothing more. Such an understanding of women demands that they be dependent upon the patriarchal leader for money, for direction, and for happiness.

In short, in A Doll's House, patriarchal femininity is shown to be an inaccurate reflection of humanity. Nora gradually comes to recognize that her apparent happiness is false; initially she believes she should be happy because she has nearly fit her role perfectly. Ultimately, however, the roles of femininity fall short of promising happiness to anyone other than the patriarchal leader — and then only if he is deluded enough to believe they are real.

The roles demanded of the feminine characters in A Doll's House are immediately alluded to at the opening of the play. The first theme to appear is the significance of money within this system. When the porter tells Nora that the price of his service is sixpence, she tells him, "There is a shilling. No, keep the change" (Ibsen 1). Torvald's reaction is a lighthearted chastising: "Bought, did you say? All these things? Has my little spendthrift been wasting money again?" (Ibsen 2).

This is a telling exchange because it characterizes Nora as something like a child with respect to monetary matters, and emphasizes the fact that her husband finds it somewhat amusing that, to his mind, she cannot fully grasp the scope of their financial situation. Although it might genuinely trouble Torvald that Nora is buying things he may not yet be able to afford, he is simultaneously pleased that his "little squirrel" is behaving as the empty-headed facet of his life that he wants her to be — "like a woman" (Ibsen 2). This pattern reinforces the notion that the male should be the member of the household in charge of earning and distributing money. Since her role is played perfectly, Torvald is contented and Nora believes that things are going well.

As the play progresses, the audience begins to learn that Nora's role as Torvald's "sweet little skylark" is not entirely accurate (Ibsen 4). Torvald recalls the previous Christmas, when things were not as easy financially: "For a full three weeks beforehand you shut yourself up every evening till long after midnight, making ornaments for the Christmas tree and all the other fine things that were to surprise us. It was the dullest three weeks I ever spent!" (Ibsen 5). Nora responds that she did not find it dull at all.

At this point in the play the event seems fairly insignificant — it appears to reveal only the Helmers' improving social status and Nora's shallow, womanly devotion to the family. Yet it presents one of the facades that Nora has placed between herself and her husband, allowing him to believe she is truly in need of his guidance. The truth is that Nora was working those three weeks to pay off the secret loan she took from Krogstad, which she forged in her father's name. Her cover story thus becomes simply another part of the role she plays for his benefit.

The feminine role is further on display during Nora's first conversation with Mrs. Linde. Nora perpetuates her characterization as a self-centered and impetuous little girl by revealing that she knew of Mrs. Linde's widowing yet sent no letter of condolence, and by repeatedly steering the conversation back to her own "successes" — her children, her husband, and her financial security. This self-centeredness, however, emerges as Nora's attempt to reassure herself that she has achieved exactly what she wants, when in truth she is jealous of Mrs. Linde's hardships. The exchange is pointed:

Mrs. L: My dear! Small household cares and that sort of thing! You are a child, Nora!
Nora: You ought not to be so superior.
Mrs. L: No?
Nora: You are just like the others. They all think that I am incapable of anything serious — (Ibsen 10).

It is this affront that prompts Nora to begin divulging her secret dealings. She is offended that another woman would be taken in by her role as Torvald's "little featherhead" (Ibsen 2). The fact that she tells Mrs. Linde about the loan afterward reveals that she believes her experience in the real, troubled world to be more valuable than the sheltered scope of her apparent accomplishments — husband, children, and money. This is how the feminine role begins to crack for Nora: she encounters a woman whom, according to the patriarchal rules of society, she should pity, yet she is somehow envious of Mrs. Linde's experience, as well as defensive of her own.

Both women, however, entered their marriages in an act of sacrifice. Nora and Mrs. Linde gave themselves to men in exchange for financial security. Nora is forced to become her husband's beautiful plaything in every overt aspect of her life, and in return she enjoys the comforts he can provide. Mrs. Linde, on the other hand, married in order to support her dying mother and younger siblings: "My mother was alive then and was bedridden and helpless, and I had to provide for my two younger brothers; so I did not think I was justified in refusing his offer" (Ibsen 8).