A Doll's House Essay

To the Editor of the National Review:

Last night, Henrik Ibsen’s three-act play "A Doll’s House", one of the

Norwegian playwright's most characteristic works, was presented to the British public at the Novelty Theatre in London.

I am writing this letter to provide my view regarding the play, which I saw during its debut in our country. I will not be talking about the performance itself but about the nature of the play. I am negatively shocked by the artificial, unrealistic and radical attitude that Ibsen has displayed to us with “A Doll’s House”.

In ''A Doll’s House'', Ibsen has showed us the relationship between a lawyer,

Torvald Helmer, and his wife Nora. They seemed to be in a merry matrimony.

However, Nora had a secret to keep. In the early days of their

There is something indescribably phoney in this, and thus, in the final instance, outrageous. Even if one can accept that a woman who has done such a thing as leaving her beloved family may possibly exist, one still is indignant about it. If a woman can convince herself that she is protecting her independence, freedom and honour by behaving recklessly over a dejected husband and letting him sink down into his ruin, there is no religion or morals in her female nature.

Furthermore, the ethics of a Christian marriage demand that both partners are adequately respected as people, but in ''A Doll's House'', Nora fails to complete her spousal and motherly duties. She elects to dissolute the marriage and to entrust the children she herself has borne to the care of a nursemaid. Even Torvald receives a punishment far worse than his misconduct towards Nora. He becomes the remaining parental figure to the children and is left alone to take full responsibility of the household. Also, one must not forget that Nora, was a child-wife, who in many ways showed that she was not very astute and cautious; her flaws were many; she was used