WH, "A Doll's House"

World History, A Doll's House

World Literature


“A Doll’s House,” Henrik Ibsen

Focus

A Doll’s House follows the disintegration of Torvald and Nora Helmer’s marriage. During the course of the play, Torvald discovers that his wife once forged a signature on a promissory note. Although his wife took the loan because he was ill, Torvald cannot overlook her deception nor the public scrutiny he would suffer if her indiscretion was made public. His reluctance to forgive her because of how society will view him shocks Nora. When the man holding the promissory note destroys it, Torvald is willing to resume the marital relationship as it was before. Nora, however, has come to recognize the superficiality of her husband’s love and her own foolishness for existing only to satisfy the whims of others.
Instruct

Two students can read and thus dramatize the passage from the text. Before beginning, however, there are questions to consider:

How does Torvald Helmer treat his wife?
How does Nora use the term “doll?”
Why is Nora dissatisfied?
What does Nora plan to do?

After reading this passage, these four questions can be answered. Students should recognize that Torvald views his wife as a pet or object. He expects to control her and bend her to his will. Nora does not want to be his “doll,” but wants her husband to recognize her as an adult who does not need to be told how to think and feel. She plans to leave Torvald and pursue an education.
After reading, review the subsections “Middle-Class Values” and “Rights for Women” on pp. 567-569. Students should be able to identify at least three issues discussed on these pages that are also portrayed in A Doll’s House. A class discussion should ensue.
The discussion should center around Torvald’s desire for respectability and convention, Nora’s domination first by her father and then by her husband, and Nora’s rebellion against the rigidity of social expectations.
Students should write a paragraph explaining why they agree or disagree with the conventional marriage arrangements and clearly defined roles.

Thinking About Literature
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