Essay Example on A Doll's House: Ibsen's Controversial Play on Marriage

Introduction

A Doll's House is one of the controversial yet popular plays of ancient times. Ibsen, who was arguably a famous play writer during the 19th century, wrote it. The play was written in 1879 to address marriage as a major theme. Mainly, it centers on marriages, which happen during the early 1800s to mid-1900s (Johnston 315). A Doll's House became prevalent as tutors used it about academic studies. Mainly, the play was viewed from a feministic perspective, another reason for being popular. The essay starts by giving a synopsis about the book and later discuses the feminism and blackmail theme, which surrounds the play.

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Exploring the Themes of Marriage and Feminism in A Doll's House

The play begins mentioning returned home after going shopping. However, her husband, Torvald Helmer, is against her excessive shopping despite his pendant promotion and a subsequent pay rise. After sitting her down on his lap, he starts to reproach her concerning her shopping (Moi 260). Torvald adds insults to the curfew he already has instigated upon her. As such, he gives her name such as singing lark, spendthrift, little squirrel, and spendthrift, among others. Despite all the names, Nora seems to be charming, as she wants to please her husband. Also, she is excitable and flighty despite being reproached. However, beneath her humanity, she is possible to destroy their marriage and becoming a free woman.

The Synopsis: Nora's Struggle and Decision to Leave

As the play starts, Nora elaborates to her friend how she borrowed money t finance for her sick husband. This was several years ago when Torvald had fallen critically ill (Ghafourinia, Fatemeh, and Leila 427). However, the identity of the lenders is revealed towards the end of the play. Krogstad is the lender who is a blackmailer and a shrewd. He is an employer at Torvalds's bank. Krogstad threatens Nora that he will report his to his husband and also press charges for forging his father's signature. She could only secure the loan using her father's signature (Templeton, 38). Here, the catch is for Nora to ensure that Torvald does not fire him.

Feminism in A Doll's House: Challenging Gender Roles and Submissiveness

Upon being fired, Krogstad presents a final proviso, and Nora is supposed to influence Torvald to give him a higher job position instead. Since Nora is certain that convincing Torvald would be hectic, she decides to narrate the story to her friend Mrs. Linde (Ghafourinia, Fatemeh, and Leila 427). Mrs. Linde finds the act annoying and confronts Krogstad. Initially, Krogstad and Mrs. Linde were dating. However, Mrs. Linde left Krogstad for a more financially stable man. As a result of getting the letter back, Mrs. Linde and Krogstad get back together. Along the way, Mrs. Linde changes her mind, which significantly hurts Krogstad.

Blackmail as a Driving Force in the Play

On the other hand, Torvald gets the letter, which angers him greatly. He does not notice how Nora, the loving wife, was trying to save his life. At this point, Nora decides to leave her children and the husband (Moi 284). Torvald tries to convince her after getting the whole truth, but all that is in vain. Nora explains that after eight years of marriage, she is the doll in the house and has never been a partner in the relationship. She explains that she has to build her identity and know about people around her (Johnston, 323). She then starts exploring her life outside the marriage world. The play explains how women endure their husbands.

Ibsen's Advocacy for Women's Rights and Human Rights in A Doll's House

First, themes of feminism are evident from the play. Nora represents women who are governed by their husbands, and everything they do is regulated. However, like women during her time, she is deceptive and works on things behind the back of her husband (Templeton, 40). For instance, she finances his trip when she was sick and also finds personal pleasure from shopping and eating macaroons. Additionally, Nora feels the need to engage her important issues for her pride. It is until towards the end f the play that Nora discovers she needs to be fully capable and an aware adult who can make her decisions without deceiving a person (Johnston 320). At first, since the play never mentions what the funds were used for, it portrays Nora as a feminist. For instance, heavy shopping shows that she loves herself more than her family. Additionally, towards the end of the play, it is evident how she has made up her mind on living her life. This makes the audience perceive her as a feminist.

Analyzing Deceit, Blackmail, and Feminism in A Doll's House

The submissive aspect of Nora is confused with feminism (Ghafourinia, Fatemeh, and Leila 427). One could mention that she convinces her husband as a way of manipulating him to gain superiority. However, that is true; Nora's motive is to maintain her wife roles. When Nora rehearses for the dance, she asks her husband to help (Templeton, 35). She dances wildly, which the audience assumes she is trying to distract Krogstad from revealing the letter to her husband.

Secondly, the play is riled up with blackmail. First, Krogstad is financially unstable and needs a promotion. However, Torvald wants to fire and replace him with his ex-fiancee. To keep his job, Krogstad tries to extort Nora into pursuing his husband not to fire him (Moi, 278). While Nora and the husband were experiencing financial problems, it was Krogstad who helped her. He ensures the forged signature was not noticeable and allowed her to get the loan from the bank to finance the trip. Also, Mrs. Linde extorts Krogstad to get the letterbox back so that Nora's marriage can be maintained. Since Krogstad is eager to get her lover back, he gives in and produces the letter. However, Mrs. Linde changes her mind and leaves her.

Thirdly, through the play, it is evident how Ibsen advocates for women's rights. Nora mentions that she was a doll to her father's house and a doll to her husband (Johnston 300). She discovers on her own that there is much ground to cover for her pride to be restored. As such, she goes on to adventure about her surroundings and things, which can help her. Also, the play shows how hardworking women are, yet they are assumed. For instance, Nora solely ensures her husband's health is taken care of (Johnston 328). She forges her father's signature to acquire a loan behind the back of her husband.

Conclusion

A doll's house is one of the controversial yet popular plays of ancient times. Ibsen's plays have been confused to portray feminism while the writer is advocating for human rights. This essay explains the plot from the moment when Nora and her husband were broke until when they became wealthy. Mainly, themes of deceit, blackmail, and feminism are notable through the entire text. Additionally, the play advocates for human rights, also a significant idea. As such, the play turns drama into an act, which examines deep lying issues in families.

Works cited

Ghafourinia, Fatemeh, and Leila Baradaran Jamili. "The Women's Right in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House." Journal of Novel Applied Sciences 3.4 (2014): 424-429.

Johnston, Brian. "Three Stages of A Doll House." Comparative Drama 25.4 (1991): 311-328.

Moi, Toril. "''First and Foremost a Human Being'': Idealism, Theatre, and Gender in A Doll's House." Modern Drama 49.3 (2006): 256-284.

Templeton, Joan. "The doll house backlash: Criticism, feminism, and Ibsen." Publications of the Modern Language Association of America (1989): 28-40.