Literary Analysis Essay on Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House" Play

Introduction

The three-chapter play A Doll's house by Eric Ibsen highlights several themes within its structure. Among one of the most outstanding styles that the play applies is the dramatic irony. The beginning of the play portrays the character of the people in a very different manner compared to the image that is painted of them at the end of the play. An excellent example is when Nora is seen as a child at the beginning of the play, but in the end, it is noted that she was the one who used to help her husband some years earlier. In this play, most of the characters change to reveal an almost opposite phase of their lives as highlighted at the beginning of the play.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Synopsis of the Play

The play begins with Nora buying a lot of shopping and bringing it into the house. The leading cause of this spendthrift nature is because her husband, Torvald Helmer being promoted to a higher rank in his current job. In the new position, he will be working for a bank which meant that he would receive a higher sale compared to his previous post. In this chapter, Nora is seen as a child who is taken care of by her husband who even claims that she does not know the essence of money. Her husband treats her like a child as a result of his conception of her. A friend of Nora, Kristine (who Nora has not seen for ten years) comes into the house with the expectation that Nora's husband will offer her a job due to the promotion. It is in their discussion that Nora tells Kristine the secret that she hid the most. She explains to her how about eight years earlier, she had borrowed money to treat her husband after a significant illness. Since women were not allowed to take loans using theirmnames, she had forged her fathers signature to access the loan claiming that her father was near death. Since the incident, she had been looking for money to pay the debtor. Kristine later leaves and coincidentally, the man who Nora had borrowed money from - Krogstad arrives in the house. He is aware of the news that her husband is likely to be his boss in the workplace and also explains his understanding for the forgery that Nora had done earlier. The incident makes Nora fear that he would tell her husband who later punishes her for speaking Krogstad who had a bad reputation (Ibsen).

The Chauvinistic Nature of Torvald Helmer

In the second chapter, Tovald expresses his desire to fire Krogstad who threatens Nora that he would tell him of her past fraud. Nora tries to convince her husband against the idea. She also promises to pay Krogstad of the money that she had borrowed from him, but he refuses and claims that he wants respect and a better job offered by Tovald. He threatens Nora to leave a letter in her mailbox to tell her husband of the mistake that she had made earlier. She tries to plead with Kristine to talk Krogstad out of the idea and tries to keep her husband from getting the latter by asking him to help her in preparation for the Christmas festivities.

Kristine's Betrayal and Hidden Motives

In act three, Mrs. Lindie - who had replaced Krogstad in his job, tries to talk to him to retrieve his letter. In their discussion, it is seen that he and Kristie were lovers sometime earlier, but Kristine had moved in with a more prosperous man. After the death of her husband though, Kristine wanted to return to Krogstad who seems overjoyed by the news. Due to his happiness, he says that he will take back the letter, but Kristine advises him that it is better if Nora's husband found out the truth. Tovaldfind out about the incidence in the letter, and he insults her for her actions and blames it on her father for the bad behavior. Later, however, after the arrival of a new letter from Krogstad, he promises to take care of her in the future. Nora claims that she needs to leave him and discover who she was without the influence that he had on her. Torvald asks if she will come back, but she only leaves it as a possibility.

Primary Theme

The play has one theme that runs all through it - that every face has a mask. In the play, Nora is seen as a child by her husband who even tells her that she does not understand the concept of money. The actions of the scene hide her previous attempts to forge a signature to help her husband when he was sick. In treating her as such, his chauvinistic nature is seen since he does not allow her to take up employment and she only does occasional sewing(Barrowman ). The play shows that in her past, Nora knows a lot on how to get and spend money. She is also expressed as a caretaker in the past. The disease of her husband required a lot of capital which she could not afford considering that she had no job. As a result, she decided to forge her fathers signature and apply for a loan from Krogstad. The current situation is, however, a contrast to her previous role. At the beginning of the play, she is seen as a child who requires to be taken care of by her husband while eight years ago, she was the one who took care of him.

In addition to that, the theme is expressed in the play by Tovald. At the beginning of the play, he is seen as a man who is loving, caring and understanding to his wife. He appears to be humble and willing to accept his wives decisions. At the end of the play, however, Tovald is viewed punishing Nora for being involved with a Krogstad who is seen as a bad influence. He is also conveyed as a violent man who is unforgiving of his wives atrocities which were meant to help him. He insults her for the act which he was made aware of by Krogstad in a mail. The anger is an expression of the inner self of Tovald who is by nature a violent man who seeks power and dominance. He hides this nature by pretending to be good and caring for his wife as in the first chapter. The play portrays a father as a polluted human being who is absent in most of his responsibilities (Rosefeldt 84). This is especially seen as the selfish nature of Tovald in judging his wife's previous mistakes.

The play also unfolds an unexpected tale of Kristine. Initially, she appears as a woman who is caring. The theme is especially evident in the fact that she offers to listen to Nora as she tells her the secret. In the third chapter, however, she advises Krogstag against retrieving the letter that he had sent to Tovald. It is a somewhat selfish act, and it shows great betrayal to her friend. If she were indeed a true friend, she would have talked to Krogstag to retrieve the letter to save her friend. In doing, so, she would have swayed his decision and even saved her friend's marriage. On another occasion, Krogstad is seen as a heartless man who does not care about the welfare of others and is not easily swayed by the impression that other people have about him. This is evident when he is not influenced by Nora's pleading that he would be aid back all the money that she owed him. As the play unfolds, however, he is significantly influenced by Kristine, and he does not retrieve the letter that he sent (Ibsen). The play depicts the characters in the behaviors that they are not in and places them in such a way that they seem enclosed in a character that does not belong to them (Johnston G019).

Secondary Theme

Women make a lot of sacrifices to support both their livelihoods and those of their families. Sacrifice is seen in may several ways in the play A Doll House. First, Nora sacrifices her father's wealth and her decency by forging a signature that allowed her to take a loan to help with the medical bills of her husband. Due to the love that the lady had for her husband and the current state of poverty that she is in, she has to seek help in paying the medical bills. Since women are not allowed to take loans on their own, she takes the risk and forgeries her dying father's signature and takes a loan from Krogstad who later uses the knowledge for the mistake to blackmail her into maintaining his job position at his workplace. The instance shows a lot of sacrifices that the lady had. In addition to that, Nora sacrifices her freedom to be ruled by a man. At the end of the story, however, she asks to leave and discover what she can do without the influence by her husband. In this era, the issue of divorce was unheard of, and many of the people saw it as an offense especially if it came from the woman.

In another instance, sacrifice is noted when Mrs. Lunde leaves the man that she loves to get married to another rich man. The obligation to save her family is by marrying a man who as richer and allowing her family a more comfortable life instead of marrying the man that she loved and leaving her family in poverty. The play also highlights the theme of sacrifice when Nora hides her eating habits of macaroons to please Tovald. She also involves him in dances that are made to make Tovald feel better during the Christmas celebrations. At the end of the play, Nora sacrifices to leave her children behind and discover the world. The decision is arrived at after the insults by her husband after he read the letter.

Works Cited

Barrowman, Carole E. Still just a Doll?" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Feb 26, 2004, pp. 1E. ProQuest,

Ibsen, Henrik. Doll's House. Vol. 1. Scribner & Walford, 1890.

Johnston, Katie, and THE GAZETTE. Women & Men & Everything in between." The Gazette, Nov 13, 1998, pp. GO19. ProQuest,

Rosefeldt, Paul. Ibsen's A Doll's House." The Explicator, vol. 61, no. 2, 2003, pp. 84-85. ProQuest