Today a reader might find it hard to imagine how daring Nora Helmer was a
hundred years ago. The theme of women’s liberation makes this story seem
almost contemporary. This was considered a controversial play featuring a woman
seeking individuality. “A Doll’s House” was the play that made Ibsen world
famous. It was written well ahead of its time. In Ibsen’s time it was
considered an outrage for a woman such as Nora to display a mind of her own. It
was unthinkable that a woman would leave her husband to obtain freedom. This
play presents problems and that still appear in today’s society. This play,
one of Ibsen’s most popular works, was a simple classic story of women’s
liberation. Animal imagery in the play is a critical part of the character
development of Nora. It is used to develop Nora’s character. Throughout the
play Torvald calls his wife, “his little lark”, “sulky squirrel”, or
other animal names. A lark is a happy, carefree, songbird. It can also be used
as a verb meaning to engage in spirited, fun, or merry pranks. Torvald thinks
Nora is always happy, never sad, and energetic (all the characteristics of a
songbird.) A squirrel is quite the opposite. It is a small fury rodent. Nora
“squirreled” away her bag of macaroons, and also scrounges money to pay off
her debt. Torvald would ask if, “that is my squirrel rummaging around?” This
shows that Nora was burying something, maybe the macaroons or the money she
secretly borrowed. Torvald uses names that show how he feels about Nora at the
time. The animals chosen Stevens 2 are related to how Nora is acting. In act
two, Nora tells Torvald she will be a wood nymph and dance for him. A wood nymph
is a hummingbird that is graceful in flight, just like Nora wants to be for
Torvald when she dances. When Nora begs Torvald to let Krogstad to keep his job
at the bank she gets very worked up. Torvald notices her “frightened dove
eyes” and tries to comfort her. A dove is well known as a symbol of peace.
Nora only wants Krogstad to keep his job to maintain peace and order in her
life. Most of the animal imagery used refers to happy peaceful animals. This is
because Torvald sees Nora as a happy, carefree housewife. He does not know about
the secret worries she has. The imagery also shows what kind of person Torvald
is and the kind of person he would like Nora to be (Magill). Through most of the
play Nora has a typical relationship with society. Most women in her time were
denied a part in public life, their education was limited, they were not legally
able to transact business, and they could not own property. Women were
considered property of their husband or fathers. Nora’s demeaning treatment
was a common occurrence in life. Nora was a typical housewife who worshipped her
husband. Her main purpose was to be happy for his sake. Nora had general duties,
mostly restricted to caring for the children. She fails to see that the law does
not take into account the motivation behind her forgery. Nora’s first
confrontation with a “lawful society” was her meeting with Krogstad. Nora
does not realize her naivety and inexperience with the real world until she
encounters rules with the world outside of her “doll house.” She does not
realize that rules outside of the house apply to her. Nora has been so sheltered
from society that she cannot comprehend the severity of her decision to Stevens
3 borrow money illegally. In her opinion it was no crime to do everything
possible to save her husband’s life. She also believes that her actions will
be overlooked because of her desperate situation. Nora’s state of shocked
awareness at the end of the play shows how society awakens to the changing view
of the role of women(Magill). Torvald also has a very typical relationship with
society. He is a smug bank manager, a perfect symbol of their society. With his
job comes many responsibilities. He often treats his wife as if she is one of
these responsibilities. Torvald is very authoritative and male dominated. He
puts his appearance (both social and physical) ahead of his wife that he
supposedly loves. He is not a strong supporter of his family; instead he is a
mean and cowardly man. This is a man that is worried about his reputation, and
cares little about his wife’s feelings. He waits until after he discovers that
his social status will suffer no harm before revealing his true feelings. These
feelings put both his social and physical appearance ahead of Nora, the wife who
he says he loves. Torvald is a typical husband in his society. He denied Nora
the right to think and act the way she wished. He required her to act like an
imbecile and insisted upon the rightness of his view in all matters. An obvious
example of his physical control over her would be his re-teaching of the
tarantella. Nora pretends to need Torvald to teach her every move to relearn the
dance. Nora had to hide the fact that she was capable of making her own
decisions from him. Torvald does have a small positive side. He is an admirable
man, rigidly honest, with high morals, and is passionately devoted to his wife
and children. Torvald was not completely empty of grace. Nora would not have
married him in the first place if he lacked all charm. She would not have
committed forgery at great Stevens 4 personal risk to safe his life if he were
not at all appealing to her. Overall Torvald was a shallow, self-centered
person. He only reveals his true feelings after he discovers that his social
status will suffer no harm. His pride would not let him accept that he needed a
woman to help him. His self confidence would not have been strong enough to take
that kind of blow to his ego. Torvald also speaks as if he is only interested in
Nora physically, and not emotionally. He comments that, “When I saw you turn
and sway in the tarantella-my blood was pounding till I couldn’t stand it (Kirszner
1014)”also Torvald asks, “Can’t I look at my richest treasure? At all that
beauty that’s mine, mine alone-completely and utterly (Kirszner 1013).” Nora
replies by saying, “Go away, Torvald! Leave me alone. I don’t want all this
(Kirszner 1014).” Torvald then implies that it is one of Nora’s duties as
his wife to physically pleasure him at his command when he says, “Aren’t I
your husband? (Kirszner 1014)” Nora is a dynamic character in this play. She
goes through many changes and develops more than any other character. She is a
grown woman that was pampered all her life by men. She was spoon fed all of her
life by her father and husband. She believes in Torvald unquestionably, and has
always believed that he was her god or idol. She loves so much that nothing else
matters; she has no social, legal, or moral considerations. She is the perfect
image of a doll wife who revels in the thought of luxuries that she can afford
because she is married. She is very flirtatious, and constantly engages in
childlike acts of disobedience. Nora goes through life with the illusion that
everything is perfect. Because of the society she grew up in, when Nora is
placed in a responsible position that demands moral judgment, she has none to
give. Slowly Nora’s Stevens 5 character is forced to discontinue the role of a
doll and seek out her individuality. She progressively confronts the realties of
the real world, but still clings to the hope that her husband will protect and
defend her from the outside world. Nora shows many contradicting actions in the
play. These actions emphasize her inferior role in her relationship with Torvald.
Nora is infatuated with luxuries. She is at a point in her life where her family
is very comfortable with extra money to spend. Her love for nice things
contradicts her resourcefulness in scrounging and buying cheap clothing. Her
flirtatious behavior also contradicts her devotion to her husband. These two
sides of Nora contrast each other and emphasize the fact that she is lacking in
independence. She cannot act the way she wants to act because society and her
husband will not allow her to (Magill). At the end of the play Nora finally
confronts the realities of the real world and her subordinate position. She
comes to see herself as an ignorant, unfit mother. She realizes that playing
with and dressing her children does not make her a suitable mother. At the end
of the play she also is aware of her ignorance, and her desire to go into the
real world is not to prove herself, but to educate and discover herself.
Throughout the play Nora tried to avoid having Torvald’s pride injured. She
knew forcing him to borrow money would have been a huge blow to his self-esteem,
even though it was necessary to save his life. To spare him she took matters
into her own hands and borrowed the money herself. She grows from this
experience. She learned about human nature, about the value of money, and
learned a lesson of practicality. She lived her life pretending to be the old
Nora, and hid the changed woman she had become. She let the illusion of the old
Nora continue well after she became a new person. Nora slammed the door on more
than Stevens 6 Torvald. She also slammed the door on everything else that
happened in her past. It took time to evolve into a new person, but after she
did she became a person who could not stand to be married to Torvald any longer.
There is foreshadowing hinting that Nora will leave before the play is over (Magill).
She says, “do you think that [the children] would forget their mother if she
was gone for good?”(Kirszner 993) There are three minor characters in the
play, but they each have a very important role. Kristine Linde was a childhood
friend of Nora’s. She has a major effect on events that happen in the play.
She is the first character to see that Nora is not a child. Nora is just acting
to fit into the role Torvald has made for her. She is a savior for Nora. She has
gone through many tough times so she has much more real world experience than
Nora. Kristine’s past was very rough, but the things she has lived through
make her the strong person she is. She once had true love, but made the mistake
of leaving it for stability and money. She suffered because of the choices she
made and is much stronger because of them. At a young age Kristine sacrificed
her happiness to take care of her dying mother and two younger brothers. Her
life did not really start until her family no longer needed her. Kristine also
has a big effect on the changes Krogstad makes in his life. These two had a
prior love that still lingers into the present. Kristine helps Krogstad improve
his life. This change benefits Nora’s life in many ways. Kristine’s hard
life was something that most women did not have to experience many years ago.
Like Nora, she also had an empty marriage. This ended when her husband died, but
his death only forced her to work for a living. Kristine was a foil to Nora; she
experienced hard work and a troubled, but independent life. Nora was weak,
frail, and only knew how to live by other people’s Stevens 7 rules. She helped
Nora become a stronger person; this strength helped Nora live her meaningless
life to start over. Kristine has already gone through all the things Nora is
about to face. Finally, Kristine was a good friend to Nora. Kristine helped Nora
fix her dress when Nora was helpless and did not know what to do. She also fixed
the situation between Nora and Krogstad. In many ways Kristine helped Nora fix
her life (Sortland). Another minor character was Krogstad. He provides much of
the conflict in the play. He starts off as a cruel and pitiless man, only
looking out for himself. During the play Krogstad completely turns around. He no
longer only cares about his money and fortune. Kristine helps him become a
better person. Krogstad is a foil for Torvald. Torvald is a stubborn man,
unwilling to change. Torvald has a superior attitude, while Krogstad reveals the
truth, reforms, and becomes a better man. Krogstad is a manipulator, but this
deception evolves into the truth. All of the bad things Krogstad tried to do to
Nora ended up helping her. The position he put her in made her realize that she
needed a change in her life. Krogstad tries to clean up his reputation and
improve his social standings so that he can be a better father to his children (Mazurak).
The final minor character is Dr. Rank. He has the equivalent of a love affair
with Nora. Everything is there, including the emotions; the relationship is only
lacking physical love. Dr. Rank is someone Nora can talk to. He is available
emotionally while Torvald is not. Nora can confide in Dr. Rank, but not her own
husband. The Helmers were fond of Dr. Rank’s presence, especially Nora. Dr.
Rank did not present himself as superior. He looked at Nora as an equal, and
that is something that Torvald never did. Dr. Rank truly loved Nora. He did not
think of her as a doll or plaything (Magill). Stevens 8 Each of the characters
in the play has a specific relationship with another character. There are
business relationships, relationships of love, and relationships between
friends. Nora and Krogstad’s relationship is strictly business. Nora borrowed
money from him to take care of Torvald when he was sick. Nora knows that women
are not supposed to borrow money and she knows that Torvald would not approve of
her borrowing money. It was not only inappropriate for Nora to borrow this
money, but she also forged her father’s signature to get it. This puts
Krogstad in control of their relationship. The agreement they had started out
very simple, but when Krogstad is about to loose his job he will do anything to
keep it. It was very convenient that he had “dirt” on the wife of his new
boss (Mazurak). Nora and Dr. Rank also have a caring relationship. It may not
have been a totally honest one, but there were feelings involved. Dr. Rank was
secretly in love with Nora for most of the play. It was not until he became very
sick that he told Nora his true feelings. Nora may not have felt the same way as
Dr. Rank, but she did enjoy his company. He was the only man who did not see
Nora as inferior. Nora and Kristine have the most honest and caring relationship
out of all the characters. Kristine is one of the few characters who is sincere,
and without realizing it she helps Nora get her life together. Kristine has a
lot of experience that Nora does not, so she is able to give Nora advise.
Kristine and Krogstad have a relationship that dates back farther than the other
characters realize. They once had a love, but it was lost. Kristine is a down to
earth person, so the two characters have a relationship based on truth. In the
play Kristine says, “There was a time when he’d gladly do anything for me
Stevens 9 (Kirszner 1006).” This is the first time Nora is told about Kristine
and Krogstad’s previous relationship. This comes up in the middle of Nora’s
situation with Krogstad. Kristine helps Krogstad change into a better person
with her “shipwrecked” story. In part of Kristine’s story she says, “Two
on one wreck are at least better than each on his own (Kirszner 1010).” This
quote comes up during their secret meeting. Kristine is suggesting that they
become a couple again and go through these hard times together. She thinks that
it would be harder to suffer alone. She has already experimented with men and
has experience to handle situations (Sortland). When the two bump into each
other at the Helmers’ house, they realize that the love is still there. Both
of them have had a hard life and lost their spouse. Kristine and Krogstad
rekindling their relationship will also benefit Nora. Krogstad’s life will no
longer be miserable, so he will have no reason to harass Nora. Finally, there is
Nora and Torvald’s relationship. On the outside they appear to be a happy
couple. Nora is treated like a child in this relationship, but as the play
progresses she begins to realize how phony her marriage is. It takes time for
Nora to recognize the problems in her marriage, but wen she does; she abruptly
ends the relationship (Magill). In “A Doll House” Torvald is an example of
today’s stereotypical man. He is only interested in his appearance, and the
amount of control he has over others. Nora is a woman who plays to a man’s
desires, or in other words, is only doing what he wants her to. She allows
Torvald to think he is stronger and smarter than he really is. Nora may have
been the inferior person in her marriage, but she definitely had the power to
control Stevens 10 Torvald as well as he controlled her, she just did not
realize it. Nora only made Torvald think she was helpless. Nora was manipulative
too. She was able to stop Torvald from reading Krogstad’s note. She made sure
Torvald was kept busy until she could dispose of the letter containing all her
secrets, even though she changed her mind. Nora was a character that stood for
women’s freedom. She showed the women of her time that they should be able to
share their thoughts and opinions. She slams the door of her doll house to show
that she was putting away childish things and taking her rightful place in the
adult world. As soon as she slams the door Torvald realizes what true love and
equality are. He realizes that he never had that with Nora.

Bibliography
Kirszner, Laurie., & Mandell, Stephen. (Eds.). (2000). A Doll’s House.
Philadelphia: Harcourt College Publishers. Magill, Frank. Master Plots. Vol. 3
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1996 Magill, Frank, ed. (1997). Masterpieces
of World Literature. New York: Harper & Row. Mazurak, Mark. Important
Quotes. 1996. 7 April 2000 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/9089/dh-quotes.html
Mazurak, Mark. Krogstad. 1996. 7 April 2000 http://geocities.com/Athens/9089/dh-krogstad.html
Sortland, Chris. Christine Linde and Her Influence on Nora. 1996. 7 April 2000
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/9089/dh-christine.html