How Does Ibsen Use Dramatic Irony In A Doll's House

Ironic Love: How Ibsen uses Dramatic Irony in A Doll House. In the play A Doll House, Henrik Ibsen uses dramatic irony in order to convey how Torvald does not truly love Nora. Throughout the book, Ibsen gives the audience clues to piece together that Torvald and Nora’s marriage is not one founded on love. The most important instances of dramatic irony in A Doll House are the relationship between Krogstad and Mrs. Linde, Dr. Rank’s love for Nora, and Nora’s lies to Torvald. Near the beginning of the play, the character of Nils Krogstad is introduced. He is shown as a ruthless man who is disgraced in his community. In this first chapter the character of Kristine Linde is also introduced. Mrs. Linde is a widower who has moved near Nora as she

She saves Torvald from dying by taking him on a trip to Italy, and dotes on him and the children throughout the play. In order to take Torvald on this trip, Nora had to borrow money from the bank and because her father was dead, and because Torvald refused to borrow the money, she had to forge his signature. Throughout the play, Nora lies to Torvald in order to keep him from finding out about the loan. This is evidenced later when she is telling Mrs. Linde about the loan, she tries to keep her quiet by saying “Not so loud. What if Torvald heard! He mustn’t, not for anything in the world . Nobody must know, Kristine. No one but you,” (Ibsen 16). Nora tries to keep up this illusion as the play goes on, and becomes more and more scared and desperate as it becomes clear that the secret will be revealed. When it finally does slip, Torvald berates her, and she crumbles. It becomes clear to her that she doesn’t love Torvald, and tells him that she realized this that “evening when the miraculous thing didn’t come -- then I knew you weren’t the man I expected,” (Ibsen 80). Torvald’s outburst and Nora’s realization finally allows the audience to piece together that Torvald has never loved Nora. When pressure was applied and the worst scenario came up, Torvald turned against his wife, calling her “a hypocrite, a liar- worse, worse- a criminal!” (Ibsen 72). Torvald has never thought highly of her, treating her like a

Rank’s love for Nora, or Nora’s lies to Torvald. In a time when it was believed that one needed a family to have a good life, a conclusion like this was shocking and horrifying. Torvald’s patronizing of Nora and his eventual betrayal is still shocking and disgusting in our modern society, which is why this book is a classic still beloved to this