A Doll House Drama Analysis

Drama Essay: A Dollhouse

A Dollhouse is a play written by Henrik Isben which tells the story of Nora’s decision to leave her current life; husband, Torvald Helmer; and children. I believe Isben’s main idea is to bring awareness to the mistreatment of women during that time. A time when it is unheard of for a woman to borrow money from the bank. However, Nora did just that; she borrowed money to pay for a trip to Italy where her husband’s life would be saved. “Papa didn’t give us a shilling. It was I who procured the money.” (Act 1, line 179). A time so tough on women that saving the life of your own husband is not reason enough for being the provider. Nora deceived her husband by letting him think the money was a gift from her father;

At times, Nora can seem quite childish in her talk and behavior, asking for money and hiding macaroons from Torvald. Likewise, Torvald speaks to Nora as if she is a child. So, who is to blame? Does Nora act like a child because Torvald treats her like so? Or, does Torvald treat Nora like a child because she is immature? We already know that Nora was responsible enough to seek out a loan without help from the man in the house. That alone says Nora is more independent than she portrays at times. Again, given the time, Torvald most certainly sees himself as a higher being than his wife. Her whole life Nora has been controlled by men, “When I was at home with papa… if I differed from him I concealed the fact, because he would not have liked it. He called me his doll-child, and he played with me just as I used to play with my dolls. And when I came to live with you-” (Act 3, line 280). “I mean that I was simply transferred from papa’s hands into yours.” (Act 3, line 282). She went from being a doll-child to a doll-wife; living her whole life in a dollhouse. Nora has made nothing of her life and she blames her father and her husband. The characters of Nora and Torvald and the difference between men and women of the time is supportive of Student Learning Outcome #2: Communicate effectively about literature and its function in the context of

As discussed, Nora has taken out a loan without the help of a man, and she is very proud of herself for doing so. The ironic part is that no one should ever know; this selfless deed that she has done, in honor of her husband, can never be known for it will hurt his pride. The next ironic piece of the play is when Nora helps her friend, Christine, get a job at Torvald’s bank. She had no way of knowing her assistance was going to put Krogstad out of a job. Nils Krogstad is the bank clerk who helped Nora retain her loan; he had helped keep the secret from Torvald, but now he is ready to use it against her by means of getting his job back, “Mrs. Helmer, you will be so good as to use your influence on my behalf.” (Act 1, line 345). According to Isben’s stage notes, Krogstad says so with a change in his tone, and it is a statement rather than a question. Equally ironic is Krogstad’s pursuit of Christine. As it turns out, the two had previously been involved in a relationship years ago, “I could do nothing else. As I had to break with you, it was my duty also to put an end to all that you felt for me.” (Act 3, line 19). So, not only has she just taken his job, but Christine was the responsible party for the end of their former relationship. However, she is truly sorry for having hurt Krogstad; Christine is still holding onto her love for him, and she lets those feelings be known, “Nils, give me someone and