A Doll’s House From Isben’s Play, Thesis Paper Example

Subverting Conventional Roles for Women in Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”

Henry Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” tells the story of a disintegrating marriage, though neither partner realizes it is happening until it comes to a sudden end. Nora Torvald is at the center of the story, and it is her relationships with the other characters and the secrets they choose to keep and to reveal that bring Nora to an epiphany about her life. The entire play takes place in the Helmers household, and it soon becomes clear that Nora is trapped both in her marriage and in the confines of societal expectations of women in her day. The tension between the external demands on Nora and her growing determination to slip free of those demands forms the emotional centerpiece of “A Doll’s House.”

At first glance the Helmers appear to live in a happy household, one where the roles of Torvald as provider and Nora as the one whom he provides for are clearly defined and accepted by both parties. As she enters the house, Torvald calls out to her “is that my little lark twittering out there?” Just as cheerily, Nora replies “yes!” Their conversation soon turns to the topic of money, and Torvald’s concerns that Nora spends it too frivolously. Nora counters with the assertion that she needs the money to cover household expenses. Ibsen wastes little time getting to the point of this scene: Nora is entirely dependent on Torvald, and has no real autonomy. Torvald may be providing for Nora, but he appears to resent it a bit, while seemingly enjoying his view of her as almost a pet, his “little lark” whose entire life is centered on him. By the end of the scene it is clear that both Nora and Torvald’s happy marriage is an illusion that is soon to vanish.

With the unexpected arrival of Mrs. Linde, Nora gets a glimpse of how a lifetime of marriage can lead to an empty loneliness. Mrs. Line had no children, and her husband passed away, leaving her no money, and “not even any sorrow or grief to live upon.” It is later revealed that Mrs. Linde left her true love to marry for money, a choice which in the end proved ironic, as she was left with nothing. While the character of Nora does not realize it at the time, she is seeing a possible future for herself if she stays with Torvald. It is during this scene that Nora shares her secret with Mrs. Linde about the loan she accepted to pay for a vacation. This underscores the nature of Nora’s life, and how she has such few options for real agency and choice. It is not just her marriage to Torvald that keeps her from fulfillment; society also expects that women conform to the roles of dutiful wife and mother. For Mrs. Linde it is too late; for Nora it will not be.

Nora’s predicament is more fully revealed when Krogstad arrives, and it is learned that he is the one who lent her the money. Nora is not only beholden to Torvald for reasons having to do with money; she is equally (if secretly) beholden to Krogstad as well. Krogstad is blackmailing Nora over the loan, and threatens to tell Torvald if she does not intervene to save his job. Like earlier scenes, this seemingly-simple set of circumstances is symbolic of a larger idea. Krogstad represents yet another way that Nora is trapped and hemmed in by the people –specifically, the men- in her life. Nora borrowed money from Krogstad to pay for a vacation with Torvald, and she is now taking money from Torvald to repay Krogstad. Even if Nora’s secret was never revealed, it is the very existence of the secret that drives her eventual changes.

Dr. Rank serves as the third example of a man who has unrealistic expectations and feelings about Nora. He reveals to Nora that he is dying, while also professing his affection for her. Every person of any significance in Nora’s life is a man, and each of the men want something from her or place some demands or expectations on her. Torvald’s emotional outburst at the end is the moment of finality for Nora. She realizes that the expectations placed on her by her marriage and by society are a cage, and she chooses to break free. This scene is so powerful precisely because it is such a bold statement on Ibsen’s part that women could and even should be treated as equals in society.

Work Cited

Ibsen, Henrik, and E Haldeman-Julius. A Doll’s House. [Waiheke Island]: Floating Press, 2008. Print.