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'''A Doll's House''' (literally translated ''A Dollhouse'' from the original Norwegian title ''Et dukkehjem'') is an 1879 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.
''A Doll's House'', written two years after ''The Pillars of Society'' was the first of Ibsen's plays to create a sensation^[1] and is now perhaps his most famous play, and required reading in many secondary schools and universities. The play was highly controversial when first published, as it is sharply critical of Victorian marriage norms. It follows the formula of well-made play up until the final act, when it breaks convention by ending with a discussion, not an unraveling. It is often called the first true feminist play, although Ibsen denied this.^[2]
The most acclaimed American stage production of the play was in 1902 starring Minnie Maddern Fiske. ''A Doll's House'' has been made into numerous movies, including two versions released in 1973 - one directed by Joseph Losey starring Jane Fonda, David Warner and Trevor Howard, which went directly to U.S. television, and one directed by Patrick Garland which was released to theatres and starred Claire Bloom, Anthony Hopkins, and Ralph Richardson.

Contents

Plot

List of characters

Critics

See also

References

External links

Plot

The play begins on Christmas Eve. Nora Helmer lives with her husband Torvald and their three children. Nora's relationship with her husband is one of frivolity and being patronized. Torvald refers to her with names like "little skylark" and "squirrel".
Christina Linde, a widow, is a friend of Nora who needs a job. Nora promises to ask Torvald to give Christina a position at the bank. Nora confides to Christina that she once secretly borrowed money to save Torvald's life when he was very ill, but she has not told him in order to protect his pride.
Krogstad, who lent Nora the money, is also an employee of Torvald but on the verge of losing his position. He threatens to reveal that Nora forged her father's signature to obtain her loan, unless she convinces her husband to keep Krogstad employed. Nora tries twice but fails.
Dr. Rank, a family friend, flirts with Nora, before revealing that he has a month to live and that he has been secretly in love with her.
After being fired by Torvald, Krogstad confronts Nora declaring he no longer cares about the remaining balance of her loan but will preserve the bond to blackmail Torvald. Krogstad informs Nora that he has a letter detailing her crime and puts it in Torvald's letterbox, to which she is not allowed have a key.
Nora tells Christina of her predicament. Christina says she was once Krogstad's lover and promises she will convince him to relent.
Torvald tries to check his mail but is distracted by Nora who tries to show him her tarantella steps. Guessing that Nora fears a letter written by Krogstad, Torvald promises "the child shall have her way" and he will postpone reading his mail for a day. Alone, Nora contemplates suicide to save her husband's reputation.
Christina tells Krogstad that she only married her late husband for money and that she has returned to renew her love for him. Krogstad is moved and offers to recall his letter to Torvald. However, Mrs Linde decides Torvald must know the truth for the sake of his marriage.
Torvald goes to read his letters and Nora prepares to take her life. Before she has the opportunity, Torvald intercepts her, confronting her with Krogstad's letter. In his rage he states he must yield to Krogstad's demands and keep quiet about the whole affair. He declares Nora unfit to raise their children and their marriage will be kept only to maintain appearances.
Suddenly a maid delivers a letter to Nora. Krogstad has returned the bond and repents his ways. Torvald is jubilant he is now saved and retracts everything he said against her. He forgives his wife, offering to protect her once more.
Yet Nora realizes her husband is not the man she thought he was, and that her whole existence has been living like a toy to entertain first her father and then her husband. She decides she must leave if she is to make something of her life. Torvald insists she must fulfill her duty as a wife and mother, but Nora believes she has also duties to herself. From Torvald's reaction to Krogstad's letters, Nora sees that she and Torvald are strangers to each. They would have to change too much to remain together.
The play ends with the sound of Nora slamming the door as she leaves.

List of characters

★ 'Nora Helmer' - Protagonist, wife of Torvald, mother of three, living out the ideal of the 19th century wife, but by the end of the play discovers progressive womanhood.

★ 'Torvald Helmer' - Nora's husband, a newly promoted banker, suffocates but professes to be enamoured of his wife.

★ 'Dr. Rank' - Rich family friend, who is secretly in love with Nora. He is about to die.

★ 'Christina Linde' - Nora's old school friend, widowed, seeking employment.

★ 'Nils Krogstad' - Employee at Torvald's bank, single father, pushed to desperation. A supposed scoundrel, he is revealed to be a long-lost lover of Christina.

★ 'The children' (Ivar, Bobby and Emmy)

★ 'Anne Marie' - Nora's old nanny, now cares for the children.

★ 'Helen' - The Helmers' maid.

★ 'The Porter' - Delivers a tree to the Helmer household.

Critics

''A Doll's House'' is a scathing criticism of the traditional roles of men and women in Victorian marriage.
To 19th-century Europeans, this was scandalous. Nothing was considered more sacrosanct than the covenant of marriage, and to portray it in such a way was completely unacceptable. In Germany, the production's lead actress refused to play the part of Nora unless Ibsen changed the ending, which, under pressure, he eventually did. In the alternative ending, Nora gives her husband another chance after he reminds her of her responsibility to their children. Ibsen later regretted his decision on the matter. ''A Doll's House'' was originally banned in Britain by the Lord Chamberlain under the 1737 licensing act. Virtually all productions today, however, use the original ending, as do nearly all of the film versions (the Argentinian version, made in 1945 and starring Delia Garcés, does not; it also modernizes the story, setting it in the early 1970s).

See also

★ Films of ''A Doll's House''

★ Henrik Ibsen

References

1. Krutch, Joseph Wood. ''"Modernism" in Modern Drama: A Definition and an Estimate''. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1953. Page 9.
2. "I must disclaim the honour of having consciously worked for women's rights...to me it has been a question of human rights." - Ibsen, at a meeting of the Norwegian Association for Woman's Rights.

External links

★ A Doll’s House: A Study Guide

★ Summary, analysis, quizzes and essays on A Doll's House

★

★ (alternate edition)

★ Et Dukkehjem, free e-book of the Norwegian text, at Project Runeberg.

★ The Social Significance of Modern Drama, a book by Emma Goldman, contains a chapter on ''A Doll's House.''