A Doll's House

'A Doll's House' by Henrik Ibsen

I. Exposition
A. Time: Play Takes place before and after Christmas in the late 19Th century
B. Place: A European suburb. Probably Norwegian. The entire play takes place in the Helmer's
apartment
C. Mood & Atmosphere: Mood is up and down. Nora is chipper, and lively during the play. The atmosphere has it's moments of drama.
D. Preliminary Situation: Torvald and Nora Helmer have been married for eight years. Nora says the marriage is a happy one. They have 3 children together along with a couple of servants.

II. Plot
A. Initial Incident - Nora is treated like a child and an object by her husband. Nora reveals she borrowed money from someone to Mrs. Linde to save her husband's life.
B. Rising Action – Krogstad is revealed to be the lender to Nora. Krogstad, because of his reputation and Torvald's recent acquired job as bank manager, is going to be fired from his position which will be taken by Mrs. Linde. Krogstad threatens Nora with blackmail(Nora forged her father's signature on the bond) if he loses his job. Rank has a terminal illness.
C. Climax - Nora is distraught about Torvald finding out what she has done. In a turn of events, Mrs. Linde reconciles with Krogstad and they become a couple again. Krogstad is relieved by this and calls off the blackmail. Krogstad wants to retrieve the letter he put in Torvald's mail box. Alas, Torvald reads the ill-fated letter telling Torvald of how Nora forged her father's signature. Nora was hoping that a "wonderful thing would happen" but is hurtfully rejected by her husband's self-centered reaction to her actions. Nora was hopefully expecting Torvald to be understanding with her wife's dire action of acquiring money to save his life, but instead Torvald is furious. Nora then leaves Torvald. Rank places a letter with a black cross in Torvald's mail box indicating that he will isolate himself and die.

D. Conclusion – Nora: Nora leaves Torvald and returns to her home town to find work and live a new life. Nora wants to change her legacy of being a doll for her husband and former doll to her deceased father. She is acquiring to to make her own judgments.
Torvald: Torvald will soon be left with an estranged wife, and the loss of his best friend Dr. Rank.
Mrs. Linde: Lives and takes care of Krogstad and his children. Gets the job at the bank.(?)
Krogstad: Delighted to have a wife to take of his children. Aims to clear his name for the sake of himself and his children's.

III. Characters
A. Protagonist - Nora Helmer
B. Antagonist - 1.Krogstad (2. Torvald could be argued to be an antagonist)
C. Secondary - Doctor Rank, Christine Linde, Torvald Helmer
D. Minor – Nora and Torvald's children, The Nurse Anne-Marie, The Maid Helen, Nora's Father

IV. Theme – The theme of the play is of divorce and morality.

V. Personal Reaction – In the early parts of the play when Torvald is introduced and he begins calling her by pet names I was reminded of the wife and husband in "Who's Afraid of the Virginia Woolf?" but mostly because of Torvald's dialogue with her. I did not initially think Torvald was speaking condescendingly to Nora, but it did appear to me near the end of the play. The play seems very mature for it's time and probably caused some controversy for the actions of the protagonist in this play. In modern times, this would probably be a semi-normal reaction to a condescending husband by the wife. I was a little shocked by her leaving her Torvald at the end.

VI. Evidence – Torvald calling Nora by a pet name and as an object:
Torvald: "Why shouldn't I look at my dearest treasure? - at all the beauty that is mine, all my very own?"

Nora referring to herself as a pet name Torvald probably frequently used:
Nora: "Your squirrel would run about and do all her tricks if you would be nice, and do as she wants."

Nora predicts a wonderful thing is going to happen even amidst the potential revealings of her forgery:
Nora: "A wonderful thing is going to happen!"

Nora before she leaves Torvald, exclaims her position of her past life:
Nora: "I have existed merely to perform tricks for you, Torvald. But you wanted it like that. You and father have committed a great sin against me. It is your fault that I have made nothing of my life. our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I was father's doll-child; and here the children have been my dolls."