Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House

Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House

Plot and Sub-plots

The play begins on Christmas Eve of the late 19th century, in the

living room of a middle class family, the Helmers. Nora is the female

lead role in this play who is treated very child-like by her husband,

Torvald. He appears to have taken over her father’s role which in

turn allows their marriage to be built on unstable foundations and

although both parties have each other’s best interests in mind, it is

clear to the audience from the start that the relationship has

elements of deception that could possibly be destructive.

As the play opens Nora enters with a contented disposition, setting

down parcels after a constructive days shopping. A porter brings in a

Christmas tree so the audience immediately registers that the play

takes part in the festive season which becomes more significant as the

play continues as the tree will be symbolic of the relation between

Helmer and his wife. Ibsen allows the audience to see already that

Nora can be quite frivolous with money due to her many parcels and her

generous tipping of the porter. The stage directions describe her as

tiptoeing across to her husband’s door which shows her childish

temperament as she does not want to be heard, and her eating the

macaroons becomes more significant as the scene progresses when

Torvald interrogates her about doing so and she outright denies it

giving the audience an insight on her deception which obviously

develops as the play continues.

When Torvald enters the room she quickly hides the macaroons and the

audience learn of his promotion as bank manager so they speak of how

they can be slightly more extravagant, this gives Helmer the

opportunity to condescend her using phr...

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...gstad containing the I.O.U. of Nora. Torvald sees this as them

both being saved from the humiliation he would have suffered had it

have leaked out but Nora can see past this and knows that enough is

enough. Regardless of being forgiven by Torvald he still treats her

like child, “Just lean on me, I shall counsel you. I shall guide

you.” It is here that Nora can see fully how she is treated and

expresses her discontent for being fathered by her own father then

being passed on and treated identically by her own husband. She

realises that it is necessary for her to go out into the world without

his ‘molly-coddling’, mature and become a woman in the true sense of

the word. She leaves him as sadly the ‘miracle of miracles’ did not

happen for her, he did not change the way he needed to and with that

the last occurrence of the play is the door slamming behind her.