A Doll's House quotes

‘Is that my skylark twittering out there?’ ‘Is that my squirrel rustling’ - Torvald

Evidence of Torvald’s dehumanisation of her & almost implicit mocking of her lack of freedom when compared o these animals.

‘No debts! Never borrow! A home that is founded on debts and borrowing can never be a place of freedom and beauty’ - Torvald

Highlights the difference in morals between Nora and Torvald - due to their social positions and possibly foreshadows the future turmoil to come from Nora’s borrowing.

‘You’ll spend it all on useless things for the house’ - Torvald

Shows a lack of understanding over the domestic sphere & the many duties Nora has to perform.

‘The squanderbird’s a pretty little creature but she gets through an awful lot of money. It’s incredible what an expensive pet she is for a man to keep’ - Torvald

Dehumanising and diminutive language being used to reduce her to something meaningless & nothing more than a problem in his life.

‘If only you knew how many expenses we larks and squirrels have, Torvald’ - Nora

Represents her place as a woman in society and how overlooked & dismissed they are.

‘You’ve got a little paler though Christine. And perhaps a bit thinner’ - Nora

Highlights the focus on women’s image & the importance of them maintaining their body and beauty to the correct societal standard.

‘Well I mean it’s lovely to have heaps of money and not to have to worry about anything. Don’t you think’ - Nora

Reflects the massive juxtaposition between them and how Nora tries to fool herself into thinking she’s happy because her life is comfortable when in reality she has no freedom.

Yes. Well, we had the money, you see and the doctors said we mustn’t delay. So we went the month after papa died’ - Nora

Shows Nora performing her ‘duty’ of protecting her husband and doing anything to save him, even if it damages her reputation.

‘No Nora. Just unspeakably empty. No one to live for anymore’ - Christine

The life of women in society revolves around men and they are defined by caring for someone else - without that they have no place.

‘You’re a child Nora’ - Christine

Reflects the role she is forced to play into and how she is completely overlooked as a married woman with few rights - Christine’s view is superior as she’s experienced the hardships of the world first hand.

‘Well a wife can’t borrow money without her husband’s consent’ - Christine

Shows societal rules & expectations.

‘He’s so proud of being a man…it’d completely wreck our relationship. This life we have built together would no longer exist’ - Nora

Torvald’s reputation and concern over his image to society is the whole purpose driving their relationship & makes up the foundations it’s built on - it’s fake, not real.

‘It was almost like being a man’ - Nora

Explicitly highlights the separate spheres they operate in - Torvald will never understand Nora an she will never understand him.

‘I can play all day with the children, I can fill the house with pretty things, just the way Torvald likes’ - Nora

Demonstrating that her only purpose in life is to serve her husband and make him happy & she has spent her whole life up until this point gaslighting herself into thinking she has freedom.

‘He’s crippled all right; morally twisted’ - Dr Rank

Highlights Rank as a judgemental character because he has a title & authority - believes himself to be superior to the struggles of others.

‘(hiding the bag of macaroons) Ssh! Ssh!’ - Nora

Despite her little acts of defiance and freedom with the macaroons she can’t afford for Torvald to see them as she has much more to lose if he knows she lied to him.

‘We’re so cramped here’ - Nora

Shows her recognising the lack of freedom and space she is rewarded with - feels penned in and trapped.

‘The children answer her inaudibly as she talks to them’ - stage directions

The lack of speech written for the children highlights how they are simply a means to an end for Nora to demonstrate that she has fulfilled her role - they have no real importance.

‘This secret that is my pride and joy’ - Nora

She is desperate to cling on to the only semblance of any kind of independence she has. Her secret is her own victory that she achieved all by herself & she refuses to let Torvald take that away.

‘It was I who wrote Pappa’s name there’ - Nora

Shows her admitting to fraud and the crime she has committed behind Torvald’s back.

‘Hasn’t a daughter the right to shield her father from worry and anxiety when he’s old and dying’ - Nora

Emphasises the female position of a married woman with little power in society to defend her actions.

‘Do as you please but i will tell you this, if i get thrown into the gutter for a second time, I shall take you with me’ - Krogstad

He’s reminding her that she is also a moral cripple and therefore no better than him - in society’s eyes they are both undeserving of respect despite how Nora acts.

‘I’ll do everything that you like Torvald, I’ll sing for you, dance for you’ - Nora

She reminds herself of her duty to fulfil her role as a ‘doll’ for her husband to distract herself from the crime she’s committed which could cause the breakdown of her family & only source of power in society.

‘Because an atmosphere of lies contaminates and poisons every corner of the home. Every breath that the children draw in such a house contains the germs of evil’ ‘Nearly all young criminals are the children of mothers who are constitutional liars’ - Torvald

Reflects the 19th century belief that morally corrupt people could severely affect children & poison families into social breakdown - Torvald is terrified of this happening despite being oblivious to how his actions inevitably cause this anyway'.

‘Morally speaking he is dead’ ‘I literally feel physically ill in the presence of a man like that’ - Torvald

Highlights his feelings towards Krogstad’s lack of morality & respectability in society & foreshadows his reaction when he later finds out that Nora has become just as morally crippled by his standards.

‘It’s nonsense. It must be. It’s impossible. It must be impossible’ - Nora

Nora now feels trapped after the revelation of how what she’s done will harm her family and is stuck with very little options left over how to solve her situation. She is terrified & unable to change or get out of her role.

‘Oh I wish I could tear them into a million pieces’ - Nora

Reflects her frustration at her inability to do anything about her situation & perhaps the frustration of all women at the time that one action from a man, like sending a letter, could easily shatter their life into pieces.

‘His father was a frightful creature who kept mistresses and so on. As a result Dr Rank has been sickly ever since he was a child’ - Nora

Reflects the context of the time & the unspoken code that meant men could get away with sleeping around & abusing women, even when they gained diseases like syphilis which passed onto their children. Shows the lack of consequences/accountability that existed for male actions and the pressure & damning effects this could have for sons like Dr Rank.

‘I’ve got to get out of this other business…I’ve got to get out of it’ - Nora

Highlights Nora’s fear that her actions will result in the breakdown of her family & the little societal power she had as well as the comfortable life she has built around that if she doesn’t find a way out of her problem.

‘Squirrel would do lots of pretty tricks for you if you granted her wish’ ‘I’d turn myself into a fairy and dance for you in the moonlight Torvald’ - Nora

She’s putting on a childish, nonsensical illusion & playing with Torvald to please him in order to get what she wants - manipulating him in the only way she is able to.

‘Your father was not a man of unassailable reputation. But I am’ - Torvald

Highlights how much he values reputation & societal image above all else - only thing that matters to him as a man in society

‘If the rumour got about that the new vice-president had allowed his wife to persuade him to change his mind’ - Torvald

Demonstrates how possessive he is of his image & his refusal to appear weak & create damage to his reputation by letting Nora persuade him.

‘I hear he’s quite efficient at his job…we’re on Christian name terms. And that tactless idiot makes no attempt to conceal it when other people are present… I find it damned annoying’ - Torvald

Highlights fully how immoral & petty Torvald is despite his criticisms of Kronstadt for his immorality. Shows how he has to be the ‘boss’ and is willing to leave others to the gutter to do it & fulfill his ego.

‘All this to atone for someone else’s sin? Is there justice in that’ - Dr Rank

Represents the sins of the father once again & shows the complex nature that came with being a man in the society at that time - demonstrates why he is quick to morally condemn people as he has experienced the effect first hand.

‘That was really horrid of you’ - Nora

She is thrown off and blindsided by Rank confessing his feelings for her as it has messed up her agenda & the manipulation she was implementing to get her way. She is unable to cope when confronted with the truth.

‘You can’t do anything for me now. Anyway, I don’t need any help. It was only my imagination’ - Nora

She feels as though she is unable to exploit him now that she knows his feelings for her - allows us to question her marriage because of this as she has no problem exploiting Torvald for her benefit - proof that their relationship isn’t built on real feelings/romance. Also refers to how she hoped she could use Rank as a rich man to gain her freedom from her secret.

‘She walks across and bolts the door of Helmer’s study’ - stage directions

Highlights the secret she is still keeping from him & how cautious she has to be to not reveal it as she knows the ruin that would cause to her life. Also represents the firm division of the spheres they both operate in.

‘It’ll be Nils Krogstad who’ll be running that bank, not Torvald Helmer’ - Krogstad

He is determined to reinforce his identity, even into a society where his reputation has already been badly damaged - reflects how for many men, their societal image of masculinity & power was the key to their influence - without it he is nothing & as trapped as Nora.

‘A pampered little pretty’ - Krogstad

His description of Nora - reflects how he underestimates her & sees her as nothing more than a wife & mother unable to be free of her role. He knows she has little true influence in society outside of her marriage.

‘And remember it’s your husband who has forced me to act like this. And for that I’ll never forgive him’ - Krogstad

Forcing Nora to pay the price for her husband’s actions, despite her efforts to help Krogstad - blame could never be put on Torvald, for fear of the power he holds over Krogstad

‘If I should go out of my mind - and it might easily happen’ - Nora

Links to the alleged perception at the time that women didn’t have the mental capacity to deal with strong emotions like guilt as it would lead to a loss of sanity for them - sexist perception focused on controlling women,

‘You must testify that it isn’t true…I did it entirely on my own. Remember that’ - Nora

Shows her making Christine complicit in another lie which highlights her disregard of others feelings due to how desperate she now views her situation - she is preparing for the worst

‘Nora dances more and more wildly. Helmer has stationed himself by the stove and tries repeatedly to correct her, but she seems not to hear him. Her hair works loose and falls over her shoulders’ - stage directions

This description of the Tarentella symbolises Nora shedding all restraints until she reaches her breaking point & shows she has mentally lost the last bits of control & power she had.

‘Rank, stop it. This is sheer lunacy. Stop it, I say!’

‘You’ve forgotten everything I taught you’ - Torvald

He also can be seen to reach his breaking point as he showcases his inability to cope with her not being the perfect little doll he sees her & needs her as. He can’t handle the fact that she’s out of his control.

‘My child shall have her way’ - Torvald

His infantilisation of Nora shows how her only purpose to him is for him to have something he is easily able to control & show off/parade around to society to maintain his respectable image - he doesn’t view her as an actual human being.

‘Put out some macaroons. Lots of macaroons’ - Nora

The symbolism of the macaroons being revealed after she has kept them hidden all through the play reflects how she feels she has nothing left to lose now because all her lies are going to find their way to the surface & she is unable to stop it - she’s being exposed.

‘Twenty-four and seven? Thirty one hours to live.’ - Nora

Highlights that she is at her complete breaking point - she has finally accepted she can’t stop her fate & is coming to terms with the idea of committing suicide to free her from her situation - the tarantella has cleared her head & her mental state as she was able to shed all of the mental unstableness & struggle she had built up.

‘We couldn’t meet at my place; my room has no separate entrance’ - Christine

Reflects that even though Ibsen initially presents her as an independent working woman, she is still not free in society to do what she pleases. Like all women at the time, she is still constrained by gender expectations & stereotypes even though she’s not a wife or mother. 

‘I had a helpless mother to take care of, and two little brothers'. We couldn’t wait for you Nils. It would’ve been so long before you’d have had enough to support us.’ - Christine

Reflects the duty she felt a need to uphold as a woman - she had no other choice but to look after her dependants & put their needs before her own.

‘I’ve learned to look at things practically. Life and poverty have taught me that’ - Christine

Shows her position & reinforces how she has had to make do with what little control she could gain over her life in order to achieve the freedom she has now.

‘I feel so dreadfully lost and empty. There’s no joy in working for oneself. Oh Nil, give me something - someone - to work for’

‘Oh what a change! Someone to work for’- Christine

Important in showing the relationship they share but contradicts her independence that had been previously shown by making her sacrifice it for a man. Makes us question whether or not Ibsen could depict a fully independent woman.

‘I took my beautiful little Capri signorina - my precious little Capricienne - Torvald

Her only purpose to him is to play the role that he wants her to & to do what pleases him so he can dress her up & show her off to benefit him. He makes sure only he can see the real her

‘Now my little songbird’s talking just like a real big human being’

‘My most treasured possession’ - Torvald

Fully dehumanising her to nothing more than an object or vulnerable creature with no power. His patronising tone reflects the power over her he thinks he has a right to as a man.

‘I pretend to myself that you’re my secret mistress, my clandestine sweetheart’ - Torvald

He warps her into his naughty secret that he is in control of - there only for his pleasure.

‘Leave me Torvald! Get away from me! I don’t want all this’ - Nora

She is finally taking on her own role & is setting herself free from constantly operating around what he wants.

Scientific experiment! Those are big words for my little Nora to use!’ - Torvald

Revealing his true colours & patronising her out of frustration over her dropping her own facade & trying to free herself from his control.

‘And now he’s going to drink away and hide like a wounded beast’

‘His suffering and loneliness seemed to provide a kind of dark background to the happy sunlight of our marriage’ - Torvald

Shows a complete lack of empathy & understanding towards Ranks’s situation & the hardships he has had to face - highlights him as self interested and ignorant to anyone else’s problems/lives.

‘Often I wish some terrible danger might threaten you, so that I could offer my life & blood, everything, for your sake’- Torvald

Highlights his true feelings & priorities as he does completely the opposite of this as soon as he finds out her secret - only wants to appear as though he is a good husband for his reputation

‘Wretched woman! What have you done?’

‘A hypocrite, a liar…a criminal! Oh the hideousness of it! Shame on you, shame!’ - Torvald

Shows how fragile his promises & their marriage was that he was able to turn on her so quickly. He immediately demonises her & blames everything on her without stopping to hold any empathy towards his wife & realise her reasons for what she did

‘You have destroyed my happiness…ruined my whole future…I am condemned to humiliation and ruin simply for the weakness of a woman’

‘You whom I have carried on my hands throughout all the years of our marriage!’ - Torvald

Has completely no regard for her feelings in this situation & is only able to view it from his perspective - highlighting the way he also viewed their whole marriage - only ever considering how her actions would affect him.

‘This thing must be hushed up at any price’ - Torvald

His only & biggest concern is the potential ruin that will come to him & his reputation - not anything to do with the actual situation.

‘I am saved! Nora I am saved!’

‘I shall merely regard the whole business as a dream’ - Torvald

Suddenly completely changed his attitude as soon as he knows his life is undamaged/safe - doesn’t acknowledge how she has changed or how his actions have affected her. Refuses to take responsibility for this also & attempts to simply move on despite everything he said.

‘I would not be stir man if your feminine helplessness did not make you doubly attractive in my eyes’

‘I have forgiven you Nora’ - Torvald

Once again, only looks at her through his perspective & doesn’t consider the negative effects or reasons why she feels helpless - believes everything will be ok now and they they can move on as he has given her his blessing.

‘My frightened little songbird…I have broad wings to shield you’

‘I shall watch over you like a hunted dove which I have snatched unharmed from the claws of the falcon’

‘My poor, helpless, bewildered little creature’ - Torvald

Suggesting that he is here to protect her despite not having asked her about her situation & in reality is simply aiming to trap her & control her & cut her off from the outside world to make himself feel better

‘You don’t understand what goes on in a husband’s heart. There is something so indescribably wonderful & satisfying for a husband in knowing he has forgiven his wife…she has become his property in a double sense…she is now not only his wife but also his child’ - Torvald

Just shows a complete attempt to try and control her whole life like he has done throughout their marriage in order to satisfy himself & make himself a hero - utterly dismissive of her

‘Yes Torvald I’ve changed’ - Nora

Marks the first thing she states to him which demonstrates her reaction to everything he has said to her - the beginning of her freedom & of their marital breakdown.

‘No, don’t interrupt me’ - Nora

Displaying the newfound perspective she has gained & how it is finally her turn to get him to acknowledge her as an individual human being - separate from him

‘You have never loved me. You just though it was fun to be in love with me’

‘He called me his little doll, and he played with me just the way I played with my dolls’

‘Our home has never been anything but a playroom. I’ve been your doll wife, just as I used to be papa’s doll child’ - Nora

Reflects the games he has played with her throughout their marriage & the ones she has experienced throughout her whole life by being passed down from man to man without any proper choice in the matter - she has been nothing more than his plaything to control & puppet

‘That’s why I’m leaving you’ - Nora

Would have been a shocking statement to make in the 19th century but perhaps presents an idealised ending/aspiration for her that in reality would never have worked as it would have been incredible hard for her to make a new life on her own

‘Can you neglect your most sacred duties’

‘First and foremost you are a wife and mother’ - Torvald

He only sees her as a mother & a wife - nothing more & can’t begin to understand why she would choose to leave these roles as he has never experienced the complete lack of freedom she is rewarded with by them

‘My duty towards myself’ - Nora

Perfectly represents her ambitions & what she hopes to achieve by freeing herself from Torvald but perhaps is another unrealistic detail put in their by Ibsen, with no experience in her shoes, that she wouldn’t have been actually able to prioritise realistically

‘You’re talking like a child. You don’t understand how society works’

‘Nora, you’re ill. You’re feverish. I almost believe you’re out of your mind’

He can not comprehend that she is attempting to no longer be under his control & power & that she wants to live as a human like men freely can. He oppresses & diminishes her feelings instead to try and justify it to himself.

‘But no man can be expected to sacrifice his honour’ - Torvald

She was willing to sacrifice her life for him but he is unable to sacrifice something as simply as his name - his is also stuck as a product of the masculine pressures of society

‘You weren’t frightened of what might threaten me, but only of what threatened you…your doll whom henceforth you would take particular care to protect from the world because she was so weak and fragile…I realised that for 8 years I had been living with a complete stranger’ - Nora

He regards himself above all else in society & this has created utter instability & lies in their marriage right from beginning, causing it to collapse.

The

‘The street door is slammed shut downstairs’ - stage directions

Nora gains the last word & provides us with a final & dominate exit from his control. She leaves the domestic sphere & can now open doors she was unable to at the start. Perhaps this ending is what she fantasises she had the power to do but ultimately can’t?