A Doll's House
About Author:
Henrik Johan Ibsen (20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a
Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism
in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and
one of the most influential playwrights of his time. His major works include
Brand, Peer Gynt, An Enemy of the People, Emperor and Galilean, A Doll's House,
Hedda Gabler, Ghosts, The Wild Duck, When We Dead Awaken, Rosmersholm, and The
Master Builder. He is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world
after Shakespeare, and A Doll's House was the world's most performed play in
2006.
Summary of Book:
A Doll’s House is a novel published by Henrik Ibsen in 1879.
It begins with Nora Helmer arriving home after a little Christmas shopping. She
eats a macaroon and checks to see if her husband, Torvald Helmer is home. He
is, and he comes out of his study where he has been working. Torvald teases
Nora. First, he teases her about the amount of moneys he must have spent out
Christmas shopping. Nora feels that they can afford it since Torvald has gotten
his new job at a bank. They had before been in financial trouble but finally
got themselves out of it. Even still, Torvald reminds her that he only gets
paid 4 times a year. Nora reasons that if they run out of money then they could
always take out a bank loan. Torvald gets very angry at this suggestion. He
hates borrowing money and can’t believe Nora would even make that suggestion.
But, he forgives her after he thinks out loud that she is a woman and thus
doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Then the conversation goes to their upcoming
Christmas party. They’re so happy that the tough financial times are behind
them. Nora makes sure that their friend Doctor Rank will be coming to the
party. A woman named Mrs Linde comes in and Nora realizes it’s one of her very
old friends. Mrs Linde is unfortunately a widower without children. Talking
with Mrs Linde reminds Nora of when she almost lost her husband a year before.
Torvald had gotten deathly sick and doctors said the only thing that could save
his life was a long vacation in the sun. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any money
to spare. Thankfully, Nora came up with 250 pounds so they could
go. Nora claims that her now-deceased father gave it to them. But she hints to
Mrs Linde that it came through other means. Mrs Linde has come to Nora to ask
for help in finding a job. Mrs Linde is hoping that Torvald can get her a job
at the bank. Mrs Linde says Nora can’t understand her struggle as she is a
child. She hasn’t ever had to struggle in her life. Mrs Linde has offended
Nora, who defends herself and says that's simply not true. Nora confesses that
when Torvald refused to get a loan for their trip to Italy, Nora got one
herself. Since then, she’s been saving money to make the loan payments. Then
Torvald comes out of his study. It seems that Torvald will be able to find Mrs
Linde a job. Krogstad, a bank employee, comes to the Helmer’s house. Nora
speaks with him and Krogstad states that he knows Torvald plans to fire him.
Krogstad asks Nora to help him keep his job. When she refuses, he blackmails
her. We learn that Krogstad is the one who lent Nora the money. Even more,
Krogstad gets Nora to admit that she forged her father’s signature on the loan
document. This is a serious crime and threatens to end her life. Nora foolishly dated her father's signature as
October 2nd, even though he died on the 29th of September.
In act 2 it’s Christmas day and Nora is going crazy with
worry. She wonders if Krogstad could actually ruin her life. Then, Nora talks
with her nurse. The nurse suspects that Doctor Rank, the family friend, is the
one who provided Nora with the 250 pounds. Nora dismisses this suggestion.
Then, Torvald gets home and Nora begs him to not fire Krogstad. Yet, Torvald
refuses. Torvald is planning to give Krogstad’s position to Mrs Linde. Torvald
boasts and states that his reputation is perfect. He can’t work with someone
with a bad reputation like Krogstad. Then, he sends a messenger to deliver
Krogstad’s dismissal. Nora begs him to bring the messenger back but Torvald
refuses and goes into his study to work. Later, Doctor Rank confesses his love
to Nora but she rejects him. Krogstad comes to Nora’s house and threatens her
again. This time, Krogstad wants a higher up position and is willing to
blackmail Nora and her husband to get it. Krogstad leaves after having dropped
a letter in Torvald’s mailbox. This letter details Nora's crimes. Torvald tries
to get his mail, but Nora keeps preventing him. She says that she needs help
with her dancing and occupies him for the entire night. In the meantime, Nora
sends Mrs Linde to try get Krogstad to reconsider.
It is now act 3 and Mrs Linde is speaking with Krogstad at
the Helmer’s house. Krogstad is bitter towards Mrs Linde. We learn that Mrs
Linde left Krogstad after a richer man came around. Mrs Linde defends herself.
She says that she only did what she did to provide for her mother and her two
young brothers. Unfortunately, Krogstad was not a reliable source of income in
the past. But, Mrs Linde says that they are both single now and could live
their lives together. By the end of their talk, Mrs Linde convinces Krogstad
that he should leave the letter and allow Torvald read it. She thinks that the
secrecy is toxic. Torvald finally reads the letter from Krogstad and he is
enraged. He even says that he doesn’t trust Nora to raise their children any
longer. Nora will remain in the house, but only to keep up appearances. Then,
another letter comes from Krogstad and it’s the bond. Krogstad has decided to
forget about the matter and the Helmers reputation is secure. Unfortunately,
the marriage is completely destroyed in Nora’s eyes. Nora realizes that Torvald
never loved her. Instead, he loved the idea of being in love with her. She
realizes that she needs to educate herself. She realizes that she has a
responsibility to be more independent. She needs to defend herself in the
complicated world she lives in. She even begins to doubt her religion. She’s
sick and tired of men telling her what to think. For once in her life, she’s
determined to take her life into her own hands.
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