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Book Review: A Doll’s House

Henrik Ibsen’s book, A Doll’s House is a three-act play that majorly revolves around the

house of Torvald and his wife, Nora Helmer. The initial episodes are captured around Christmas

season, and Nora is preparing for holidays together with her family when her childhood friend,

Christine comes to town. Christine is widowed and is seeking for a job. Despite the efforts made

by Christine, Nora cannot find such freedom because she is under control of the husband, who

primarily provides and does with her whatever he wishes. In such a case, Nora acts as a ‘doll’ to

Torvald, who calls him names like ‘songbird,’ ‘little squirrel.’ Torvald attitude towards Nora is

belittling as he does think she is incapable of anything (Ibsen 12). Such consideration suits the

title of the book, A Doll’s House, where women’s are treated like toys. Therefore, A Doll’s

House creates awareness of personality freedoms and social identity in the 19th century and

remains relevant in the contemporary world.

From Act I, Nora appears to have gone against the odds and secured a loan to save his

husband life. Torvald was unwell and needed to find medication in Southern Italy. Even though

she acted wisely in addressing the situation, she never informed the husband of forging her

father’s signature to receive the credit (Ibsen 8). Such a move left Nora with the burden of

working harder to settle the debts. However, as the play continuous, things turn upside as she

realizes financial constraints. For instance, she is threatened by a loaning officer that the offense

will be revealed to the Torvald. For such frustrations, Nora seeks support from Christine, and
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they both utilize their womanly capabilities to resolve the situation with various scandals

involved. In such regards, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House has caused a critical concern in the society that

requires modifications to expose a more conservative conclusion. Besides, Torvald having

learned of Nora’s involvements in borrowing, he judges her based on the cultural norms and

even shouts to her as a criminal and liar (Ibsen 14). Nora’s response to the situation becomes a

turning point in the whole play; she abandons the illusion of marital happiness and goes against

the societal norms to adopt the conventional ones.

Similarly, the short length of A Doll’s House makes it interesting with reflective style and

all-time sensibilities. Torvald portrays a somewhat condescending character and authoritative

towards Nora, and calling her names, like ‘featherhead’ from how she handles money. As well,

Torvald dictates what Nora should eat, what to wear, and how to present herself for a party. In

the earlier scenes, Nora seems to play along with Torvald’s demands expressing her loyalty as a

wife (Ibsen 6). However, Nora’s personality gradually changes and is exposed as someone with

greater capabilities and intelligence that initially perceived. Such a move depicts the aspects of

classical feminism in A Doll’s House since it was written in the traditional context, where

women were alleged properties of their husbands, had no rights to engage in business without the

consent of their husbands, and often begged for money like children from their partners. Ibsen

provides a liberal standpoint on women’s role in the community by encouraging their

emancipation from men’s control. For such reasons, Ibsen exemplifies that money generation is

one of the ways women can be empowered in the community. For instance, Nora is under the

absolute control of Torvald because of his perceived wealth and position in the bank. Through

autonomy, Ibsen (18) illustrates how Nora regained her stance in society challenging the
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traditional women’s perspective. Such a play offers a revolutionary idea on gender biases of the

19th century.

Overall, A Doll’s House shows the primary role of women in society. The play shows the

demeaning approach of men towards women. Husbands exercise complete control over their

wives since they are not empowered and bound by the traditions as men’s property. In such a

case, Torvald handles the wife, Nora like a ‘doll’ since she can do whatever he wishes. Through

independence, Nora changes the perception of promoting aspects of classical feminism. From the

well-written plays, Ibsen has shown the significance of gender and marriage roles in the

community. Nora is evident to have transformed to gain her freedom and identity through self-

sufficiency and self-discovery. Nora realizes that she controls her fate, where social norms only

acted as obstacles that should be abolished or ignored in self-realization.

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Work Cited

Ibsen, Henrik. “A Doll’s House.” 1879.