A Doll’s House
by
Henrik Ibsen
(Summary)
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House opens
with Nora Helmer arriving home from a Christmas shopping trip. Her husband,
Torvald, greets her and playfully chastises her for spending so much money.
Nora argues that since Torvald was recently promoted at work, the Helmers have
more financial leeway than they have had in previous years. As they talk, the
doorbell rings. The Helmers’ maid Helene informs them that two guests have
arrived: Dr. Rank, a close family friend who is ill, and, much to Nora’s shock,
her old school friend Christine Linde.
Mrs. Linde explains that she has lived
a hard life since her husband died and feels lost with no one to care for. Mrs.
Linde hopes Nora might convince Torvald to give her a job at the bank that he
now manages, which Nora agrees to do. Then Nora reveals a secret to Kristine
that she has never told anyone. About eight years earlier, her husband became
very ill, and the doctor suggested they move to Italy, so Nora needed to borrow
some money to be able to afford it. Women could not take-out loans on their
own, so she forged her father's signature on the documents because her father
was near death. Ever since then, she had been slowly scraping together money to
pay back the loan.
After Kristine leaves, Krogstad, the
man Nora borrowed the money from, coincidentally arrives at the door. He says
that he understands that her husband is about to become his new boss at the
bank. Krogstad then confesses that he knows Nora forged her father's signature
on the loan, which constitutes fraud. She worries that he will reveal the
information to her husband. When her husband finds out that Nora has been
talking to Krogstad, he chastises her for talking to a man of such ill repute.
Nora nervously paces the living room.
Her maid Anne-Marie arrives with the dress that Nora will be wearing to a party
the next night. As Nora and Anne-Marie converse, Nora reveals that she has been
avoiding seeing her children. She also laments that they would probably forget
about her if she left for good.
Mrs. Linde arrives to help Nora mend
her dress for the party. She interrogates Nora about her relationship with Dr.
Rank, implying that Nora may have received the money from him. Nora denies the
accusation but seems intrigued by the idea. Their conversation is interrupted
by Torvald’s arrival. Nora once again attempts to convince Torvald not to fire
Krogstad. She tells him that she is worried that Krogstad will write slanderous
articles about the Helmers. Torvald reassures her that he will handle any
fallout, which only distresses Nora further. She vows not to allow Torvald to
take the fall for her actions.
Dr. Rank arrives soon after and informs
Nora that he will die soon. He asks Nora not to tell Torvald, because Torvald does
not handle “ugly” things well. As they talk, Nora asks Dr. Rank if he would do
her a favor. He agrees and adds that he would do anything for her, because he
is in love with her. Unsettled by his remarks, Nora scolds Dr. Rank and refuses
to tell him what favor she had planned to ask him for. Their conversation is
interrupted by the arrival of a visitor. Knowing that it is Krogstad, Nora asks
Dr. Rank to keep Torvald occupied, claiming that she does not want her husband
to see her in her finished dress.
Krogstad reveals that he has received
his dismissal letter. He tells Nora that he does not intend to publicly expose
her forgery. Instead, he plans to blackmail Torvald into giving him a promotion
at the bank to mend his reputation. Nora threatens to end her own life to spare
Torvald the scandal, but Krogstad tells her that it will not change anything;
Torvald is still socially accountable for her actions. As he leaves, Krogstad
drops a letter explaining Nora’s actions into the Helmers’ letter box.
After Krogstad leaves, Nora frantically
reveals everything to Mrs. Linde. Shocked, Mrs. Linde informs Nora that she and
Krogstad used to be romantically involved. Mrs. Linde promises to try to
convince Krogstad to take his letter back. In the meantime, Nora attempts to
prevent Torvald from reading the letter. She asks him to help her rehearse the
dance she is set to perform at the party the next night. Torvald indulgently
agrees.
Mrs. Linde returns with the news that
Krogstad has left town and will not return until the following night. Mrs.
Linde left a letter for him and plans to speak with him when he returns. An
increasingly desperate Nora redoubles her efforts to distract Torvald from the
letters.
In act three Mrs. Linde has found
Krogstad, and while she's talking to him about retrieving his letter, it comes
out that Kristine and Krogstad once had a relationship. Kristine had to leave
him for a more stable prospect, but since her husband has died, she would like
to get back together with Krogstad. Krogstad is overjoyed at this news and says
he will retrieve his letter, but Kristine tells him not to. She says that
Torvald needs to find out about Nora's secret. Kristine returns to tell Nora
that Krogstad won't be getting his letter just after Nora dances at the party.
Nora's husband joins her, then Dr. Rank stops by. He leaves his business card
with a symbol on it that indicates he is going to lock himself into his house
until he dies. Torvald is upset and takes the mail to go read it.
After he learns the news, he runs back
out of his office to find out from Nora if it's true. She says they need to sit
down for a serious conversation. He insults her, completely disappointed in her
decisions, blaming her father for her bad morals. Then a new letter arrives
from Krogstad, containing Nora’s bond and a promise from Krogstad that the
Helmers have nothing to fear from him. Torvald is overjoyed, and he immediately
claims to have forgiven Nora for everything. However, after seeing Torvald’s
reaction to the first letter, Nora decides to leave him. She accuses both
Torvald and her father of infantilizing her, treating her like a “doll” rather
than a rational human being. Torvald attempts to convince her to stay by citing
the social, moral, and religious repercussions of her leaving. However, Nora
insists that she must become independent and learn to think for herself. She
insists that the laws prohibiting women from taking out loans are unjust, and
she points out that Torvald would have died had she not taken him to Italy.
Despite Torvald’s begging, Nora leaves him and her children. The final stage
direction depicts Nora shutting the door behind her as she leaves.
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