A Doll's House

Act One, Section 1

Nora Helmer arrives home with gifts on Christmas Eve and is teased by her husband, Torvald. Even though Torvald has landed a new position at the bank, he reminds Nora that they must still be cautious about spending money because his role will not start until the new year. As they recall events from the previous Christmas, Nora and Torvald are alerted by their maid that Dr. Rank and a lady caller have arrived.

Act One, Section 2

Nora initially does not recognize the caller as her childhood friend Mrs. Linde, who reveals that her husband has died recently and did not leave her with much money. Nora and Mrs. Linde share stories of their lives and their past financial difficulties, but Nora is so absorbed in Torvald’s new bank position that she has difficulty sympathizing with Mrs. Linde’s current plight. Nora resolves to talk to Torvald to help Mrs. Linde find a job.

Act One, Section 3

Nora tells Mrs. Linde that she secretly raised the funds necessary to travel to Italy for the sake of Torvald’s health but lied to Torvald by telling him that they received the money from Nora’s father. Krogstad, a man they find unfavorable, arrives and talks to Torvald about business, a subject Nora finds boring. Nora introduces Mrs. Linde to Torvald and asks him to give Mrs. Linde a job at the bank.

Act One, Section 4

While playing with her three children, Nora is startled to see Krogstad, who insinuates that the hiring of Mrs. Linde will lead to his dismissal at the bank. Krogstad threatens to reveal Nora’s secrets to Torvald. When Torvald returns, he tells Nora that Krogstad’s reputation was besmirched after refusing to admit to his wrongdoings and suggests that such corruption is detrimental to a household’s children, a comment that makes Nora worry about her own actions.

Act II

On Christmas Day, Nora fails to convince Torvald to save Krogstad’s job, so she tries her luck on Dr. Rank who reveals that he is dying and professes his love for Nora. Krogstad enters and informs Nora that he was fired and leaves a note detailing Nora’s forgery secret to Torvald. Mrs. Linde agrees to help Nora by speaking with Krogstad, whom she once had a relationship with, and Nora stalls for time by learning a dance she will perform at the costume party.

Act III, Section 1

Mrs. Linde expresses her love for Krogstad and agrees that Torvald must learn about Nora’s secret. After Mrs. Linde leaves, Torvald makes sexual advances toward Nora even though she protests, but they are soon interrupted by Dr. Rank who speaks to Nora in coded terms about his impending death. Torvald reads Krogstad’s letter exposing Nora’s secret, which enrages Torvald to the point of insulting Nora. Another letter from Krogstad arrives saying that he has decided to stop blackmailing Nora, much to Torvald’s relief.

Act III, Section 2

Torvald consoles Nora by reassuring her that he has forgiven her and loves her even more after understanding the reason behind her actions. Nora, however, realizes that she has been made to feel like a “doll” in her home and is merely playing a role, while never actually being able to express her true self. Nora asserts her desire to be free and discover life for herself, leaving Torvald and the children behind.

Nora Helmer

The protagonist of the play and the wife of Torvald Helmer. Nora initially seems like a playful, naïve child who lacks knowledge of the world outside her home. She does have some worldly experience, however, and the small acts of rebellion in which she engages indicate that she is not as innocent or happy as she appears. She comes to see her position in her marriage with increasing clarity and finds the strength to free herself from her oppressive situation.

Torvald Helmer

Nora’s husband. Torvald delights in his new position at the bank, just as he delights in his position of authority as a husband. He treats Nora like a child, in a manner that is both kind and patronizing. He does not view Nora as an equal but rather as a plaything or doll to be teased and admired. In general, Torvald is overly concerned with his place and status in society, and he allows his emotions to be swayed heavily by the prospect of society’s respect and the fear of society’s scorn.

Krogstad

A lawyer who went to school with Torvald and holds a subordinate position at Torvald’s bank. Krogstad’s character is contradictory: though his bad deeds seem to stem from a desire to protect his children from scorn, he is perfectly willing to use unethical tactics to achieve his goals. His willingness to allow Nora to suffer is despicable, but his claims to feel sympathy for her and the hard circumstances of his own life compel us to sympathize with him to some degree.

Mrs. Linde

Nora’s childhood friend. Kristine Linde is a practical, down-to-earth woman, and her sensible worldview highlights Nora’s somewhat childlike outlook on life. Mrs. Linde’s account of her life of poverty underscores the privileged nature of the life that Nora leads. Also, we learn that Mrs. Linde took responsibility for her sick parent, whereas Nora abandoned her father when he was ill.

Dr. Rank

Torvald’s best friend. Dr. Rank stands out as the one character in the play who is by and large unconcerned with what others think of him. He is also notable for his stoic acceptance of his fate. Unlike Torvald and Nora, Dr. Rank admits to the diseased nature (literally, in his case) of his life. For the most part, he avoids talking to Torvald about his imminent death out of respect for Torvald’s distaste for ugliness.

Bob, Emmy, and Ivar

Nora and Torvald’s three small children. In her brief interaction with her children, Nora shows herself to be a loving mother. When she later refuses to spend time with her children because she fears she may morally corrupt them, Nora acts on her belief that the quality of parenting strongly influences a child’s development.

Anne-Marie

The Helmers’ nanny. Though Ibsen doesn’t fully develop her character, Anne-Marie seems to be a kindly woman who has genuine affection for Nora. She had to give up her own daughter in order to take the nursing job offered by Nora’s father. Thus, she shares with Nora and Mrs. Linde the act of sacrificing her own happiness out of economic necessity.

Nora’s father

Though Nora’s father is dead before the action of the play begins, the characters refer to him throughout the play. Though she clearly loves and admires her father, Nora also comes to blame him for contributing to her subservient position in life.

The Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree, a festive object meant to serve a decorative purpose, symbolizes Nora’s position in her household as a plaything who is pleasing to look at and adds charm to the home. There are several parallels drawn between Nora and the Christmas tree in the play. Just as Nora instructs the maid that the children cannot see the tree until it has been decorated, she tells Torvald that no one can see her in her dress until the evening of the dance. Also, at the beginning of the second act, after Nora’s psychological condition has begun to erode, the stage directions indicate that the Christmas tree is correspondingly “dishevelled.”

New Year’s Day

The action of the play is set at Christmastime, and Nora and Torvald both look forward to New Year’s as the start of a new, happier phase in their lives. In the new year, Torvald will start his new job, and he anticipates with excitement the extra money and admiration the job will bring him. Nora also looks forward to Torvald’s new job, because she will finally be able to repay her secret debt to Krogstad. By the end of the play, however, the nature of the new start that New Year’s represents for Torvald and Nora has changed dramatically. They both must become new people and face radically changed ways of living. Hence, the new year comes to mark the beginning of a truly new and different period in both their lives and their personalities.

Nora’s Tarantella Dance

When Nora tells Torvald she is leaving him, she focuses on her position in the family as Torvald’s “doll wife.” Nora’s tarantella routine is one of many examples in the play that emphasize this apt description. Torvald not only chooses Nora’s costume for the party, but he also directs exactly how she must dance while wearing it. This dance shows the audience a near literal example of Torvald treating Nora as his doll. He does not physically put her into the costume or move her around the dance floor, but his instructions are so specific he may as well have.

Nora rebels against her doll-like status by deviating from Torvald’s dancing instructions in rehearsal. At the party itself, she dances “a bit too naturalistic” for Torvald’s taste. She uses costume fittings and dance rehearsals as excuses to keep Torvald from interrupting her secret conversations with Mrs. Linde and Krogstad. Even as Torvald creates the dance scheme to fulfill his fantasy of complete ownership over Nora, Nora uses his expectations to begin hiding from and rebelling against them. Through the dance, we can see both Nora’s place as a doll in her home, and the ways she works to circumvent that role.