Valerie Chi
Erin Harris
Kendrick Ngor
Period 4
Title:A Doll’s House
Publication Date: December 1879
Author: Henrik Ibsen
Nationality: Norwegian
Author’s Birth / Death Dates: March 20 1828 - May 23 1906
Distinguishing Traits of Author:
Known as ‘the father of realism,’ Henrik Ibsen was not only an author but a playwright, theatre director, and a poet. Several of his major works include A Doll’s House, Ghosts, The Wild Duck, and An Enemy of the People. Ibsen was the second most performed dramatist in the world when A Doll’s House was performed in the 20th century. All of his works were written in Danish and had to be translated for most of his readers. Henrik Ibsen was born into a merchant family in Skien who went bankrupt when Ibsen was fifteen. He was forced out of school and wrote his first play Catilina in 1850. He was a Norwegian realist, dealing with the problems of everyday people. His plays mainly show his disapproval of empty social traditions that limit mankind’s success. He used psychological tension and shifts on the major characters to move along the play.
Setting (time & place) of Work:
Helmer’s Living Room: The play opens up in the Helmer’s living room in nineteenth century Norway. The room is shown as comfortable, tasteful, and well furnished. Torvald likes everything in his eyes to be a sight to look at; his reputation is really important to him. As for Nora, she continues to live in their home like a doll inside a dollhouse.
Christmas / New Years: As the play progresses, the time changes from Christmas Eve to New Years. The time is really important because Christmas is a time to give presents, celebrate Christ’s birth, and just enjoy the holiday seasons. Having the play set at Christmas is also important as it helps to push forward the plot. Nora says she is upstairs making decorations all week but in reality, she is copying down documents for Krogstad. As New Year comes along, Nora finally asserts her independence and awakens. She realizes that she does not want to be treated as a child by her husband, so she leaves. New Years is a time for changes, a time for new beginnings; it is the perfect time for Nora’s decision to leave her current home for a new start.
Brief Plot Synopsis:
Nora walks through the door after a day of shopping for Christmas. After overpaying the porter, Nora nibbles on a macaroon secretly because Torvald comes to greet her. He guesses she had been eating sweets but she denies it easily. She then asks her husband for more money and he degrades her by calling her little pet names. Nora wants an extravagant Christmas dinner so Mr. Rank and Mrs. Linde come to visit. Linde is a childhood friend of Nora’s who is in need for a job after recently losing her husband. Mrs. Linde believes Nora is very childish for simply looking and thinking only for herself even though her friend has suffered from a great loss. Nora reveals how she is stealthily trying to pay back what she borrowed to save her husband’s life when he was extremely ill. Krogstad, a lawyer from the Torvald’s banking company, also drops in to warn Nora that he is soon to be fired by Torvald. He implies that he would tell everyone of her wrongful act if she does not convince Torvald to letting Krogstad keep his job. Nora is thoroughly upset with the news.
Nora knows she must go to the dance that night and Mrs. Linde helps her fix her costume. Nora knows she needs to distract Torvald from the mail of else he will learn the truth of how she really got the money and her wrongful act: forging an official document just as Krogstad had done year ago. In desperation, she tries to beg Torvald again, but he will not budge because of what Krogstad had done in the past made him a shameful man. She vents her troubles to Dr. Rank after Torvald immediately sends the letter of dismissal. Dr. Rank tells Nora his true feeling for her even though he is a dying man. Nora then finally reveals to Mrs. Linde that she has been borrowing from Krogstad; Mrs. Linde offers to talk to him while Nora distracts Torvald from the mailbox by dancing horribly for him.
Mrs. Linde and Krogstad rekindle a flame since the two were once lovers but went separate ways after Mrs. Linde got married. Krogstad is willing to retrieve the letter to now be with her, but Mrs. Linde holds him back since she wants the truth to come out for Torvald. This causes conflict in the Helmer marriage. When Nora and Torvald return from the dance, Torvald attempts to seduce her but she is too stressed to agree. Torvald reads his letter and enters outrages at Nora for ruining their reputations. Nora is terribly upset. However, Torvald later receives news that Krogstad will not share the secret. Torvald tries to act ask if the earlier incident did not happen and that everything will go back to normal. Nora has an epiphany that she has not lived for herself her entire life but for her husband; she is simply a doll. Thus, she leaves.
Brief Description of Characters:
Nora: As the wife of Torvald Helmer, Nora is expected “to be able to keep the house beautifully and have everything just as [he] likes it” (Act I) Initially, she seems childlike and sheltered, blinded to the world outside of the house. In the beginning of the story, Nora is characterized as a naive child whom her husband calls as his “little squirrel” or “little skylark” (Act I). She is believed to be his perfect wife who is blinded by the outside world “for [she] know(s) so little of the burdens and troubles of life” (Act I). Also, she is thought to only please her husband as it is her sole purpose in life. However, behind Torvald’s back, Nora is actually accustomed to the outside world and how everything works because it was Nora “who procured the money” for their trip to Italy when Torvald was sick. (Act I). After her many acts of rebellion towards her family and even her own happiness, she begins to see what she really wants out of life and that she is “a reasonable human being.. that [she] must try to become one.” (Act III). Nora finally fulfills her own duties before others when she is rudely awakened to the shallow marriage she has been involved in for eight years.
Torvald Helmer: As a man in the late 1800’s, Torvald is one of whom is very proud of his authority of a husband and an employee of a bank. As a selfish and typically oppressive husband, Torvald cherishes his reputation over everything because he is not willing to “make [himself] ridiculous before [his] own staff, to let people think that [he is] a man to be swayed by all sorts of outside influence” (Act II). Also, his attitude towards Nora is one that is demanding as he tells her to “go play through the Tarantella and practice with [her] tambourine” (Act II). She must live up to his expectations as a wife who will entertain him when he wants. Torvald treats her as a little child, ordering her around and toying with her actions. Torvald keeps his elevated status by finding subtle ways of degrading Nora. His pet names such as ‘little wastrel’, ‘pouty squirrel’, and ‘little prodigal’ are small saying that has a large effect on Nora’s image. Once Nora has her awakening, he is shocked to see how “[she] would neglect [her] most sacred duties” (Act III). for deserting her husband, her children, and ruining their reputation.
Dr. Rank: He is good friends with Torvald, but has secret feelings for Nora which he hints at her while they have a conversation. Nora feels more comfortable talking freely to him than her husband. She feels that he truly ‘likes to listen to [her]’ (Act II). He is characterized as someone who does not care about other people’s concerns for him or their judgements towards him. He is open about everything because “it is no use lying to one’s self” (Act II). Rank tells Nora his illness and the death that soon comes afterwards but does not tell his good friend this because he knows that “Helmer’s refined nature gives him an unconquerable disgust at everything that is ugly; [Dr. Rank] won’t have him in [his] sick-room” (Act II). Rank is considerable in other people’s wishes and accepts his fate in his illness.
Mrs. Linde: As Nora’s childhood friend, she has changed so much since Nora has last seen her. She is woman with no money who married her husband “to provide for [her] two younger brothers; so [she] did not think [she] was justified in refusing his offer” (Act I). This goes to show that she knows her priorities in life when it comes to family which contrasts Nora who leaves her father when he was ill. Mrs. Linde serves to be the foil and confidante for Nora as well as a plot device in the play. She moves the plot along by allowing Nora to use her as an expositions for different conflicts.
Krogstad: At first glance, Krogstad seems like the antagonist of the play who is selfish and blackmails Nora only for his own needs and to take her down along with his own troubles. As reputation is important to him as well, “if [he] lose(s) [his] position a second time, [Nora] shall lose [hers] with [him]” (Act I). Wanting his position back at the bank, Krogstad likes to see Nora as vulnerable and does not think she will question his demands. However, as the play progresses, Krogstad actually changes as a person who is capable of seeing a change in himself, and soon believes Nora can do the same. Krogstad’s decision to commit a crime in the past has caused him to be viewed as immoral and devious in the present. However, there is evidence that he is not entirely as malevolent as Helmer portrays him as. He has a yearning to “rehabilitate [him]self” (Act 2, 44) and change his life around. Krogstad is a round character as he changes from seemingly evil to an individual striving to better himself and the public’s opinion of him.
Symbols, Motifs, Archetypes:
Symbol
New Year’s Day: Although it is just a season, in the play it represents the start of a new year. Not only is Torvald excited for his new job at the bank, but Nora looks forward to his higher pay in order for her to pay off the debts that she owes Krogstad. The special day also represents Nora and Torvald’s marriage, how goods things have to come to an end as new things will blossom in the new year. Due to the lack of trust and truth in their relationship, it goes to show the need for change in both Nora and Torvald in order for them to ever come together again. Torvald must change his attitude towards everything including his reputation and outlook on life. Nora wants to go out to find her own happiness and become her own person.
The Black Cross: Dr. Rank tells Nora his condition and how ills he is. He tells her to watch out for the black cross which will tell her when his day of death is coming near. The Black Cross not only symbolizes the death of Rank, but foreshadows the death of Nora and Torvald’s marriage. After Torvald finds out about Rank’s illness, everything begins to fall apart and their marriage crumbles shortly afterwards.
The Christmas Tree: The tree represents not only a decoration for the holiday season but shows Nora’s role inside her family, which is to entertain her husband. The tree is supposed to be festive and full of ornaments that are pleasing to the eye. In a way it mirrors Nora and her position as a wife who is there to please her husband when he wants it.
Macaroons: The macaroons symbolize the control and dominance in which Helmer possesses over Nora, but also Nora’s deception. She needs to consume them in secrecy because they are forbidden in their home. By banning macaroons from their home, Helmer is manipulating the power he has as the head of the family. He thrives in setting rules and running the household with a sense of control. However, Nora continues to eat macaroons and break rules. This reveals her hidden yearning to break from Helmer’s rules and enforcement, by going against his orders. This adds to the many truths Nora has kept from Helmer, emphasizing the deception between their relationship.This treat also represents Nora and the secrecy of things, how she betrays Torvald’s rules. This is just one of the few acts of rebellion Nora has before she finally breaks free from Torvald’s control.
Key: Helmer is the only person in the house to hold the key to the mailbox. A simple act such as opening a mailbox is only given to Helmer which shows how much power he has over his family. He gives himself the power over a simple task that a child could accomplish. His authority is to seem unrivaled with anyone else in the house, especially Nora. Although they are married, he wants to show that he is still the dominant parent. His decision is more important than Nora's and basically the only decision.
Motif
Letters: Throughout the play, there are lots of letters that are given and received. Inside contains plot twists or subtext that tell the truth and help to advance the plot as a whole. Inside letters are words that are not said out in the open because either someone is too nervous to or just simply cannot tell the truth straight out. Another reason letters are written are for blackmail, or something that a character has conflict with and tries to stray away from. For example, Krogstad’s letter to Helmer about the truth of Nora’s forgery pushed her to try to tell her husband the truth. Dr. Rank’s letter of his illness shows the truth behind the way he was acting towards Nora and showing her affection to her her while he still can. Lastly, the second letter from Krogstad to Torvald telling him that the contract has been returned changes the possible ending for the novel. Without this letter, Nora would have never see past her husband’s selfishness and not have wanted her own awakening. After seeing her husbands reaction towards the subject and apologizing so quickly just to save his reputation, Nora realizes that she wants to move out and become an individual who is no longer just a little doll to someone who tries to have more authority than her. The letters are important and continue to show up throughout the story to reveal secrets and to set relationships straight with the truth.
Money: The subject of money is apparent in the play as it is one of the main reasons for the entire conflict. From the start, Nora is already asking her husband for cash to buy presents and gifts with. She hints at him that she is really excited for him to have his new job with more salary. Little does Torvald know, Nora is more knowledgable of financial problems than he is. Money is to help push forwards the idea of the relationship between money and power. It shows how with more money ultimately means more power, but with more power comes conflicts with others. It is apparent through Nora’s mistake with the loan and huge debt she has to pay back. The more money she does not have, gives her vulnerability to others who have money and power to blackmail her.
Pet Names / Animals: From the moment Torvald is first introduced in the play, he is already calling Nora nicknames of little creatures like birds or other animals. The way he calls his wife is not sweet and filled with love but is more patronizing and is there to show his authority over hers. He always uses the word ‘little’ in front of a silly name he calls he to remind her or even himself that she is not compared to him and his position as a husband and worker. Pet names are usually used for creatures that are there for entertainment and to listen to orders, much like the actions of Nora. It mirrors her role as wife in the play and Torvald knows it from the start. His pet names give off a universal understanding of his control over Nora. Also, the fact that he uses bird names to label his wife is ironic due to the fact that birds are meant to be free. However he does say once that his bird is cages and needs to be sheltered by someone bigger and stronger. By using animal terms repeatedly, Torvald is belittling Nora as a person. He relates her to animals which can easily be tamed because of their limited intelligence.
Clothes: Nora uses clothes throughout the play to distinguish how she feels internally as well as to mask her true self. Internally, her opinion of her own freedom and identity changes while certain events in her life occurs. When she wants to please Torvald at the party, she wears a luxurious dress to represent the fake Nora Torvald is infatuated with. He does not realize that Nora only dances so that he stays happy, he believes she wants to do it for her. When Nora takes off the dance clothes and changes into her regular clothes, only then can she reveal who she really is to Torvald. In her own clothes, she speaks her mind when telling Torvald that she is leaving and never coming back.