A Doll's House Analysis

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen questions many socially inappropriate ideas for the particular time period of this play. Ibsen believed that a "dramatist's business is not to answer questions, but only to ask them.” Ibsen’s play brings up many different social issues that were deemed unacceptable at the time that made the viewers think about the questions he was deliberately posing.

We see in the beginning of the play the gender schemas that are in the Helmer household. Nora Helmer walks into the house with packages and pays the porter more than what she owes him and eats macaroons. With Torvald’s calling her his “skylark” and “squirrel”, you can notice the dynamic of both characters and their seemingly fake personas. Nora seems as though she is a doll right from the beginning of the play from the comments Torvald makes with scolding her for spending lots of money and reminding her that he had not gotten his promotion yet; almost like scolding a child. Nora replies to this by saying to Torvald, “Everything as you wish Torvald”. Ibsen questions in this scene the importance of gender schemas in households during this time period with this scene, and the way women were seen as less than a man in the fact that Nora went along with Torvald’s requests. We also see later on that Torvald gives into Nora’s disappointment by offering money to her for Christmas, which Nora becomes enthusiastically excited. Nora is then asked what she wants for Christmas and Nora becomes hesitant to tell Torvald. We can see that Nora isn’t truly herself around him. Nora also lies to him about the macaroons when he asks if she had eaten something sweet, almost like a child.

We see a quick change in Nora’s character with Ms. Linde’s arrival in Act One. Nora seems very unconcerned about Ms. Linde’s problems and is quick to talk of her own happiness. Then, we see a shift in Nora, and she starts to talk of the part of her life when things were hard. She tells Ms. Linde she had to do crocheting and sewing while Torvald became ill. Their family had to take a trip to Italy for Torvald to get better. Nora then explains they got the money from her father. As the story goes on, we realize this is a lie she told to Ms. Linde because Nora actually got the money from a loan with Krogstad. Nora seems to be living a huge lie, which Ibsen questions to the audience. He questions if living life in a lie with luxuries provided by her husband is worth her unhappiness in her life.

As the play goes on, we see the dynamic power of money in the Helmer household. It seems that it is one of the forces that is driving the social conflict between many of the characters throughout the play. Nora is quick to spend her husband’s money in the beginning of the play, which makes Torvald believe she is a spendthrift and has no knowledge about financial matters by saying, “Nora, my Nora, that is just like a woman” which shows his ignorance on gender schemas. As the play goes on, we find out Nora’s little secret; her loan with Krogstad. She tells Ms. Linde she had to borrow it to save Torvald’s life, and that if he were to find out,