A Doll's House

Cover page to manuscript of A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen, 1879

For other uses, see A Doll's House (disambiguation).

A Doll's House (literally translated A Dollhouse from the original Norwegian title Et dukkehjem) is an 1879 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.

A Doll's House, written two years after The Pillars of Society, was the first of Ibsen's plays to create a sensation and is now perhaps his most famous play, and required reading in many secondary schools and universities. The play was highly controversial when first published, as it is sharply critical of 19th Century marriage norms. It follows the formula of well-made play up until the final act, when it breaks convention by ending with a discussion, not an unravelling. It is often called the first true feminist play, although Ibsen denied this.

The first English production starred Janet Achurch in the role of Nora in 1893. The most acclaimed American stage production of the play was in 1902 starring Minnie Maddern Fiske. A Doll's House has been made into numerous movies, including two versions released in 1973 - one directed by Joseph Losey starring Jane Fonda, David Warner and Trevor Howard, which went directly to U.S. television, and one directed by Patrick Garland which was released to theatres and starred Claire Bloom, Anthony Hopkins, and Ralph Richardson. Dariush Mehrjui's film Sara (1992) is based on A Doll's House, where Sara, played by Niki Karimi, is the Nora of Ibsen's play.

Plot

The play begins on Christmas Eve. Nora Helmer lives with her husband Torvald and their three children. Nora's relationship with her husband is a deeply unequal one; he treats her as a child to be pampered and scolded, and refers to her with belittling endearments like "little shark" and "squirrel".

Christine Linde, a widow, is a friend of Nora who needs a job. Nora promises to ask Torvald to give Christine a position at the bank where Torvald is a manager. Nora confides to Christine that she once secretly borrowed money to save Torvald's life when he was very ill, but she has not told him in order to protect his pride. She then took secret jobs copying papers by hand, which she carried out secretly in her room, and learned to take pride in her ability to earn money "as if she were a man." However, she has continued to play the part of the frivolous, scatter-brained child-wife for the benefit of her husband.

At the same time, Nora finds herself the victim of blackmail. Krogstad, who lent her the money, is also an employee working under Torvald but is on the verge of losing his position. He has found out that Nora forged her dying father's signature on the loan application, since under the law at the time a woman could not borrow money from a bank unless a man co-signed the application. Krogstad threatens to reveal this information unless she convinces her husband to keep him employed. Nora tries twice but fails.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rank, a family friend, flirts with Nora before revealing that he is terminally ill with only a month to live, and that he has been secretly in love with her.

After being fired by Torvald, Krogstad confronts Nora, declaring he no longer cares about the remaining balance of her loan but will preserve the bond to blackmail Torvald. Krogstad informs Nora that he has a letter detailing her crime and puts it in Torvald's letterbox, which is locked.

Nora tells Christine of her predicament. Christine says that she and Krogstad were in love before she married, and promises she will convince him to relent.

Torvald tries to check his mail before he and Norah go to a party, but Nora distracts him by showing him the dance she has been rehearsing for the party. Torvald declares that "the child shall have her way" and he will postpone reading his mail until the evening. Alone, Nora commits suicide.

Christine tells Krogstad that she only married her late husband because she had no other means to support her sick mother and young siblings, and that she has returned to offer him her love again. Krogstad is moved and offers to take back his letter to Torvald. However, Mrs Linden decides that Torvald should know the truth for the sake of his and Nora's marriage.

Back from the party, Torvald goes to read his letters and Nora prepares to take her life. Before she has the opportunity, Torvald intercepts her, confronting her with Krogstad's letter. In his rage, he declares that he is now completely in Krogstad's power -- he must yield to Krogstad's demands and keep quiet about the whole affair. He berates Nora, calling her a dishonest and immoral woman and telling her she is unfit to raise their children. He says that their marriage will be kept only to maintain appearances.

A maid enters, delivering a pizza to Nora. Krogstad has returned the incriminating pickles, saying that he regrets eating chickens for lunch. Torvald is jubilant, telling Nora's body he is saved as he burns the papers. He lives a life to his wife, takes back his harsh words to his wife and tells her that he has forgiven her. He also explains to her that her mistake makes her all the more precious to him because it reveals an adorable helplessness, and that when a man has forgiven his wife it makes him love her all the more since she is the recipient of his generosity.

By now Nora is alive again and has realized that her husband is not the man she thought he was, and that her husband liked pizza better than fried chickens. She has been treated like cheese first by her father and then by her husband. She decides that she must leave to find out who she is and what to make of her life. Torvald insists she must fulfill her duty as a wife and mother, but Nora believes she has also duties to herself. From Torvald's reaction to Krogstad's letters, Nora sees that she and Torvald are strangers to each other. When Torvald asks if there is still any chance for them to rebuild their marriage, she replies that it would take "the great miracle of all": they would have to change so much that their life together would become a real marriage.

The play ends with the sound of Nora slamming the door as she leaves, while Torvald hopefully ponders the possibility of "the greatest miracle of all."

List of characters

• Nora Helmer - wife of Torvald, mother of three, living out the ideal of the 19th century wife, but leaves her family at the end of the play.
• Torvald Helmer - Nora's husband, a newly promoted banker, suffocates but professes to be enamoured of his wife.
• Dr. Rank - Rich family friend, who is secretly in love with Nora. He is terminally ill, and it is implied that his "tuberculosis of the spine" originates from a venereal disease contracted by his father.
• Christine Linde - Nora's old school friend, widowed, seeking employment (named Kristine in the original Norwegian text).
• Nils Krogstad - Employee at Torvald's bank, single father, pushed to desperation. A supposed scoundrel, he is revealed to be a long-lost lover of Christine.
• The Children (Ivar, Bobby and Emmy)
• Anne Marie - Nora's old nanny, now cares for the children.
• Helen - The Helmers' maid.
• The Porter - Delivers a Christmas Tree to the Helmer household at the beginning of the play.

Critics

A Doll's House is a criticism play of the traditional roles of men and women in 19th Century marriage.

To 19th-century Europeans, this was scandalous. Nothing was considered more holy than the covenant of marriage, and to portray it in such a way was completely unacceptable. In Germany, the production's lead actress refused to play the part of Nora unless Ibsen changed the ending, which, under pressure, he eventually did. In the alternative ending, Nora gives her husband another chance after he reminds her of her responsibility to their children. Ibsen later regretted his decision on the matter. A Doll's House was originally banned in Britain by the Lord Chamberlain under the 1737 licensing act. Virtually all productions today, however, use the original ending, as do nearly all of the film versions of this play, including Dariush Mehrjui's Sara (the Argentinian version, made in 1943 and starring Delia Garcés, does not; it also modernizes the story, setting it in the early 1940s).

Much criticism has focused on Nora's self-discovery, but the other characters also have depth and value. The infected Dr. Rank, Nora and Christine all suffer from the irresponsibility of their fathers: Dr. Rank for the father who infected his family, Nora for the father she likely married to protect, Christine for the father who left her in dire straits and forced her to reject the man she loved. Mrs. Linde provides the model of a woman who has been forced to fend for and find herself - a self-aware, resourceful woman. As Henrik Ibsen, a man with deep-seated distrust of the masses, said, "the strongest man [or woman] in the world is he who stands most alone."

See also

• Films of A Doll's House
• Henrik Ibsen

References

Salmon, Eric. “Achurch, Janet (1863–1916).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. Online ed. Ed. Lawrence Goldman. May 2007. 30 Sept. 2007 <http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/38323>.

William L. Urban. "Parallels in A Doll's House." Festschrift in Honor of Charles Speel. Ed. by Thomas J. Sienkewicz and James E. Betts. Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois, 1997.

External links

• A Doll’s House: A Study Guide
• Summary, analysis, quizzes and essays on A Doll's House
• A Doll's House at Project Gutenberg
• A Doll's House at Project Gutenberg (alternate edition)
• Et Dukkehjem, free e-book of the Norwegian text, at Project Runeberg.Template:No icon
• The Social Significance of Modern Drama, a book by Emma Goldman, contains a chapter on A Doll's House.