A Theatre of Life. A Doll House Essay

You are going to read our Dolls House essay. On our website you can find a lot of essays on different themes. When you have no time or some problems with your homework, you can always ask us for a help. Our professional writing team will do all the best for you. On our website we have a special page, where you can read everything about our services.

Hope you will like this essay, because we tried to collect all the necessary and important information about this play only in several pages.

About The Author

Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian playwright. He worked at the theatre and considered to be the father of realism. Henrik wrote a great amount of plays, which were popular at that time and even nowadays. The author was born in a good and rich family. But later his father had some problems and the family moved to a little house. At 15 Ibsen lest the school and started writing his plays.

About The Play

The play “Doll’s House” was published in November 1879. A month later it was performed in Copenhagen theatre. People liked this story and very soon the play made Henry Ibsen really popular. At first sight it seems that the play is about women’s rights in the society. But it was not like that, because the author was sure that it is impossible for woman to be herself in the society. The main idea of the story was described by Michael Meyer: “The Doll’s House is no more about women’s rights… Its theme is the need of every individual to find out the kind of person he or she really is and to strive to become that person”.

The Characters

There are many characters in this play. But we are going to talk about a few of them.

Nora – is a devoted wife of Torvald Helmer. She looks like a big child. She lives in her own world and has no idea what is happening outside her house. Nora is a good wife and mother. Her love for her husband is so great that she even dares to cheat just for the sake of her husband.  Nora is trusting, she is not stupid, but she knew nothing of her husband. She believes that he is the best. At the end we see Nora from the other side – she is stubborn, resolute, courageous. She could for a few minutes to cross all her previous life.

Torvald Helmer – is the successful man. He has a well-paid job in the bank. He looks like a honest, conscientious, fair man. But it was only a mask. In fact, he worried only for himself and his reputation. His wife for him is just a doll, he does not even think it can be painful for her, that she has her own mind.

Krogstad – is a lawyer. It is really difficult to understand him. He works at the bank and he ruins his career. He blackmails Nora but later he changes his mind, and is going to start a new honest life with Kristine Linde. Krogstad was unhappy in his first marriage. He thinks that deserves to be happy.

Kristine Linde – is Nora’s friend. She is a widow, has no money and no children. Mrs. Linde asks Nora for a help, she wants to find a job in the bank.  Later she is in a relationships with Krogstad.

The Plot

In the story the author described the life of one family. At first sight everything seemed okay, Nora and her husband were the happiest couple in the world. But later the reader understood that in fact the happiness of this family was deceptive.

Nora’s husband always admired her; she was a sweet angel for him. They have money and their children were healthy. When Torvald was in trouble, Nora borrowed money from Krogstad. She said that this money was from her father, and she even forged father’s signature. It was an awful time for young woman. She worried about her lie, she tried to save on everything and to repay a dept. At that time she had to dress nice and look good to her husband did not suspect anything.

Only her friend Mrs. Linde Nora told the truth. That in her family everything is not as good as it seems. Mrs. Linde was a clever woman and she at once noticed the false in the relationship of this couple. But she understood that Nora is happy, and it is not necessary to destroy this happiness even it is not real.

When Krogstad started to blackmail Nora, she was really afraid. She was afraid the reaction of her husband. After much deliberation Nora decided that her favorite husband would be on her side, and he would understand that this crime she committed because of him. Nora was also afraid the punishment for her crime, she worried what everybody would think about her. But Torvald blamed Nora in everything. He considered her a liar and forbidden to approach children. Nora was shocked and upset. She started to understand everything. And when Krogstad apologized, and her husband in a second became a kind man, Nora did not feel happiness.

At the end of the story Nora realized her position: she lived in a doll’s house, she was a doll for her husband, her children were like dolls, and all her life and love was a fake. Nora made the right decision – she left her home and family. The young woman decided to start a new life, and in this life she wanted to find herself. She was going to work, to thing, to read.

Nora’s husband was shocked, he asked her to change her mind. But the young wife was adamant.  She left her wedding ring, did not want to take any money and left the house. Previous Nora disappeared forever. For that evening the woman realized such things, which she could not understand many years.

I am sure that this book is worth reading. The plot is very interesting and it is easy to understand the main problems. Henry Ibsen could write in a simple way.