Doll House (AP Literature)

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Lili Gilpin AP Literature Ms. Dunlop November 22, 2013 A Doll’s House Essay Henrik Ibsen manipulates hundreds of aspects of A Doll’s House-both obvious to the audience and behind the scenes to send a message to his audience regarding the need for change within the family dynamic. By employing social realism, the fourth wall, creating manipulative characters who foreshadow the events of Feminine Mystique, and specifically choosing all of the descriptive elements with meaning, Ibsen sent his message in a sometimes overt, sometimes concealed manor. Ibsen portrays this message through multifaceted and multi-dimensional characters to give A Doll’s House a sense of reality, further connecting the message of his play, to urge the audience to question the family dynamic. The first major overt defining characteristic of Ibsen’s work is his use of social realism in order to connect the consequences of immoral actions to future generations. Ibsen’s formula for creating plays begins with a base in social realism addressing the correlation between immoral actions and their generational consequences. As the “father of modern realistic drama,” (Realism and A Doll House). Ibsen introduced the ideas of social realism to society of the 19th century uncovering the way in which parents decisions intertwine with the lives of their children. In A Doll’s House, Ibsen portrays the negative influence that parents have on their children through physical consequences such as disease and other types of misfortune. The first example of the social realism is shown in the relationship between Nora and her father and Nora’s resulting behavior. Nora’s father promiscuous acts where shown to

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have made Nora physically sick, giving her tuberculosis, making her very conscientious of “corrupting her little children...[or] poisoning my home,” (1094) through her own sins. Although Nora tries to keep her distance from her children, to avoid hurting her children through her own character flaws the same way her father did, Nora’s flaws are apparent even in her direct contact with them. She is very deceptive, presenting false promises even in the limited time she spend with her children, demanding that they not “tell anyone about the strange man, not even your father” (1082). In the following interaction with her children, Nora makes a false promise to play with them, “Children-Let’s play! Nora-No not now. Children-But Mama you promised!” (1082). Ibsen’s second example of social realism is shown in the relationship between Krogstad and his children. Krogstad is worried about his children’s well-being due to his corrupt past, so when Mrs. Linde says, “I need someone to be a mother to; and your children need a mother,” (1111), she is offering salvation for his children. Being raised by one corrupt parent would have left Krogstad’s children helpless to the physical consequences and manifestations of Krogstad’s actions, but if they had a mother like Christine, who was good natured and kind, they would stand a chance of having a healthy childhood. Ibsen uses social realism as a message demoting moral corruption Ibsen’s manipulation of the fourth wall parallels the set up of a dollhouse creating a plethora of physical and metaphorical connections. Torvald manipulates Nora like a doll“Torvald loves me so much he wants me all to himself... He seemed, well jealous if I mentioned people I was fond of...So I naturally stopped” (1104). What was lacking in emotional connection between Torvald and Nora is provided for by Dr. Rank as demonstrated when Nora says, “death cannot every take you away from Torvald and me” (1098). Dr. Rank proves himself to be an essential part of their relationship, as opposed to Torvald is merely filling the place of the societal

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role as a husband, much like the imaginary games that go on in a dollhouse engendering what they expect the roles of mother, father, or child to be. Dr. Rank’s position in the marriage also provides foreshadowing-when he dies, their marriage does fall apart. The idea of a metaphorical doll house comes up numerous times throughout the play as Torvald continuously dehumanizes Nora based on his preconceptions of a traditional marriage, which is then translated into Nora’s treatment of her children and the detached parenting method. As she plays with the children, it becomes apparent that she only wants to be included in the pleasant parts of their lives, leaving the maid responsible for the rest. This puerile parenting method uncovers Nora’s superficial desires to have a relationship with her children parallel a girl and her doll. In the few direct interactions that Nora has with her children, she barely brushes the surface and comments superficially, “Oh you look so nice...Pink cheeks like apples!” (1077). These comments show that Nora is complacent of her tactics of molding her children fit the traditional standards of a perfect family, much like a child is pleased at how her doll fits the part. Ibsen’s work is believable due to his ordinary, everyday characters, his address to the common problems of marriage, and inclusion of social realism. He opened up the door to these common problems and interaction by creating a fourth wall into the Helmer’s home. The fourth wall uncovers the manipulations throughout romantic relationships because it gives insight and background into the motivations of both Nora and Torvald along with adding to the realistic aspect of A Doll’s House. By uncovering the inner working of “realistic” relationships such as the one between Nora and Torvald and between Krogstad and Mrs. Linde, Ibsen presents the relationship in his plays in with the same set up as in real households. The fourth wall uncovers Krogstad’s intransigent behavior-while blackmailing Nora, he says, “What is strange, Mrs. Helmer is that your father signed this contract three days after his death” (1082). After

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discovering Nora’s myopic forgery of her father’s signature, he blackmails her into manipulating Torvald in order to keep his job. The fourth wall is closed as Nora slams the door, ending the play and jolting the audience back into reality as the “door is hear shutting from below” (1120). The slamming of the door brings A Doll’s House full circle because in the opening scene, Torvald walks into the room. At that point, Torvald was omnipotent in the house, but by the time Nora slams the door, the power has shifted. Other more covert manipulations are Ibsen’s decision to make the play take place during Christmastime and New Years which are associated with rebirth and renewal. Secondly, Ibsen’s social realism demanded its “stories and characters that might be found in real life, and shunned idealized situations, and unnaturally heroic characters” (Realism and A Doll House) and realistic denouements. Henrik Ibsen’s use of social realism likely links to the intertwining relationships between children and their parents, stressing the importance of virtue. These themes parallel the growth that is shown throughout the play with Nora Helmer. By filling A Doll’s House with metaphors, expressing his work through the fourth wall and teaching moral lessons through the use of social realism, Ibsen forces his audience to question the traditional values of marriage and family. During the time he wrote his play, a huge interest in psychology was spiking, prompting him to uncover the realities of average people and the underlying problems with the ways that society was acting.

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Work Cited

Ibsen, Henrik. “A Doll’s House:World Literature” Translator Michael Meyer. Chicago: Holt, Rinehart, and Winson Inc. 1998. 1072-1124. Print. "Realism and A Doll House." Ibsen Voyages, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.