Breaking Free from the Doll House

Despite the overwhelming sexist stereotypes that flood the pages of A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen depicts his beliefs on how the women of the time should break free from their confinements in the “doll house” reality in order to find their true identity separate from the identity of which society forces upon them.

To demonstrate his point, Ibsen uses Torvald to represent the flaws of the present form of marriage. The play begins by depicting the typical middle-class family, with the dominant husband and submissive wife relationship. At the beginning of the play, Ibsen depicts the husband-wife relationship as immensely superficial. Characterized by childish behavior, Nora uses flirtation and childish manipulative tactics to get money and other favors from her husband. Initially Nora and Torvald seem equally content in their relationship with one another, but as Nora’s past deception, when she forged her father’s signature in order to get a loan, comes to light Torvald begins to distance himself from his wife. Though Nora ¬committed this felony for the sake of love in her hopes to help her too prideful of a husband, Torvald ¬¬¬shows no loyalty to his wife in fear of the effects that will befall his career and reputation. And finally when a letter arrives containing Krogstad’s apology and Nora’s forged signature arrives, Torvald exclaims, “I’m saved!” forgetting the implications that would have ensued for Nora and only caring about himself. By depicting Torvald as a disloyal husband, Ibsen demonstrates the superficiality of men, thereby warning women of the importance of being independent from their husbands.

Along with sending a warning on the treacheries of marriage, throughout the play Ibsen makes Nora grow more and more defiant as she learns of the disloyalty of her husband. Initially, Nora disobeys her husband in small measures like eating macaroons when he detests the eating of treats in his house. Her rebellious ways manifest for she begins to work as a copier in a time when married women were not supposed to hold jobs since their work resided at home. As Nora begins to realize she means little to her husband although she has sacrificed so much for him, including her reputation for falsifying documents, she takes the greatest step by leaving home. Nora finally realizes her need for her own independent identity when she states "I believe that, before all else, I'm a human being, no less than you-or anyway, I ought to try to become one." Although she even realizes that it is against the way of the times for she states, "I know the majority thinks you're right, Torvald, and plenty of books agree with you, too. But I... have to think over these things myself,” she knows she can no longer live as a doll, an echo of her husband’s wishes. Nora realizes she must take it upon herself to leave the “doll house” and become her own person.

By depicting untrustworthy, self-centered husband and the joys that follow Nora as she tastes the fruits of independence, Ibsen uses his play to encourage women to break from the norm and pursuer their own independence.