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A Doll's House

A Doll's House or A Dollhouse (original Norwegian title: Et dukkehjem) is an 1879 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.

A Doll's House, written two years after The Pillars of Society was the first of Ibsen's plays to create a sensation^[1] and is now perhaps his most famous play, and required reading in many secondary schools and universities. The play was highly controversial when first published, as it is sharply critical of Victorian marriage norms. It follows the formula of Well-Made Play up until the final act, when it breaks convention by ending with a discussion, not an unraveling. It is often called the first true feminist play, although Ibsen denied this.^[2]

The most acclaimed American stage production of the play was in 1902 starring Minnie Maddern Fiske. A Doll's House was made into numerous movies, including two versions released in 1973 - one directed by Joseph Losey starring Jane Fonda, David Warner and Trevor Howard, which went directly to U.S. television, and one directed by Patrick Garland which was released to theatres and starred Claire Bloom, Anthony Hopkins, and Ralph Richardson.

Anne Tismer as Nora in a 2003 production of A Doll's House, based on a new German translation directed by Thomas Ostermeier.

Ibsen has his protagonist, Nora, leave her husband in search of the wider world, after realizing that he is not the noble creature she has supposed him to be. Her role in the marriage is that of a doll, her house a "Doll's House", and indeed her husband Torvald refers to her incessantly as his little "skylark" and as his "squirrel." She is not even permitted a key to the mailbox. Ibsen noted, "A woman cannot be herself in contemporary society, it is an exclusively male society with laws drafted by men, and with counsel and judges who judge feminine conduct from the male point of view." When she is blackmailed because of an improper act that she committed in order to save her husband's life, forging her father's name on a note, her husband reacts with disgust and horror. His only concern is his own reputation, despite the love for him that prompts her to do it.

When the blackmailer (Krogstad) recants, it could all be over, and in a traditional Victorian drama all would then be resolved. For Ibsen, however, and for Nora, it is too late to go back to the way things were. Her illusions destroyed, she decides she must leave her husband, her children, and her Doll's House to discover what is truly real and what is not. As Ibsen described it, "Depressed and confused by her faith in authority, she loses faith in her moral right and ability to bring up her children. A mother in contemporary society, just as certain insects go away and die when she has done her duty in the propagation of the race."

• Nora Helmer - Protagonist, wife of Torvald, mother of three, living out the ideal of the 19th century wife, but by the end of the play discovers progressive womanhood.
• Torvald Helmer - Nora's husband, a newly promoted banker, suffocates but professes to be enamoured of his wife.
• Dr. Rank - Rich family friend, who is secretly in love with Nora. He is about to die.
• Kristine Linde - Nora's old school friend, widowed, seeking employment.
• Nils Krogstad - Employee at Torvald's bank, single father, pushed to desperation. A supposed scoundrel, he is revealed to be a long-lost lover of Kristine.
• The children (Ivar, Bobby and Emmy)
• Anne Marie - Nora's old nanny, now cares for the children.
• Helene - The Helmers' maid.
• The Porter - Delivers a tree to the Helmer household.

A Doll's House is a scathing criticism of the traditional roles of men and women in Victorian marriage.

To 19th-century Europeans, this was scandalous. Nothing was considered more sacrosanct than the covenant of marriage, and to portray it in such a way was completely unacceptable. In Germany, the production's lead actress refused to play the part of Nora unless Ibsen changed the ending, which he eventually did, under pressure. In the alternative ending Nora gives her husband another chance after he reminds her of her responsibility to their children. Ibsen later regretted his decision on the matter. A Doll's House was originally banned in Britain by the Lord Chamberlain under the 1737 licensing act. Virtually all productions today, however, use the original ending, as do nearly all of the film versions (the Argentinian version, made in 1945 and starring Delia Garcés, does not; it also modernizes the story to take place in the early 1940s).

• Films of A Doll's House
• Henrik Ibsen

1. ^ Krutch, Joseph Wood. "Modernism" in Modern Drama: A Definition and an Estimate. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1953. Page 9.
2. ^ "I must disclaim the honour of having consciously worked for women's rights...to me it has been a question of human rights." - Ibsen, at a meeting of the Norwegian Association for Woman's Rights.

• A Doll’s House: A Study Guide
• Summary, analysis, quizzes and essays on A Doll's House
• A Doll's House, available at Project Gutenberg.
• A Doll's House, available at Project Gutenberg. (alternate edition)
• Et Dukkehjem, free e-book of the Norwegian text, at Project Runeberg.(Norwegian)