Theme Of Irony In A Doll's House

Of equal importance in A Doll House, is the dramatic irony that is scattered throughout the play. The most prevalent irony is the parallel between Nora and Krogstad. At the end of Act I, Nora and Torvald are discussing the immorality of Krogstad committing forgery. Torvald renders a horrifying depiction for Nora explaining “Just imagine how a man with that sort of guilt in him has to lie and cheat and deceive on all sides, has to wear a mask even with the nearest and dearest he has, even with his own wife and children” (1268-1269), this is a complete parallel of Nora, her actions, and the mask she herself wears. Krogstad is considered morally corrupt by society and Nora is starting to realize this is how she will be viewed as well. This conversation

She was oppressed her entire life, first by her father and then by her husband, as Nora describes “I’ve been wronged greatly, Torvald—first by Papa, and then by you” (Ibsen 1294). Nora had existed for her husband, she had always assumed that he would come to her rescue if she was ever in trouble, and now she was proven wrong. She had been waiting for childlike miracles to happen “when the miraculous thing didn’t come—then I knew you weren’t the man I’d imagined” (Ibsen 1296). Nora feared that Krogstad would expose everything and that their family would come undone and she was right. Contrary to her expectation, Torvald behaved like a hypocrite, who was concerned more with societies idea of morality and a notion of social prestige, then with his wife 's well-being and care. Torvald exposed where his true loyalties lie, with himself. Nora realized with complete clarity that her husband didn 't see her as an individual, as she explicated “But you neither think nor talk like the man I could join myself to. When your big fright was over—and it wasn’t from any threat against me, only for what might damage you—when all the danger was past, for you it was just as if nothing had happened” (Ibsen 1297). She realized that to become an independent individual, she had to dissolve her bonds with Torvald and the children by abandoning

Nora felt she could be neither of these things if she didn’t identify and recognize herself as a human being first, like she avows to Torvald “I believe that, before all else, I’m a human being, no less than you—or anyway, I ought to try to become one” (Ibsen 1296). Her status was someone who was a non—entity. Nora wanted and needed to educate herself and establish her own identity “There’s another job I have to do first. I have to educate myself” (Ibsen 1295), before being anything