Compelling Drama

Reading Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House was a great way to dive into the unit on drama. A Doll House contained some interesting characters and the relationships between the characters were constantly changing. But I am getting ahead of myself. The first character to catch my attention was Nora. The main part of Nora’s personality to catch my interest was her naïve approach toward money. When Nora learned Torvald would be working at the bank, she assumed they would immediately have an unlimited supply of money. Obviously Nora has had very limited experience with money and a salary. With Nora’s attitude toward money I was shocked she was capable of getting a loan to save her husband’s life.

But just when I was beginning to think Nora may not be so naïve after all, Mr. Krogstad came into the picture. Nora’s naïve approach to money was very evident in her loan from Mr. Krogstad. I will acknowledge that Nora was at a tough place in her life, but did she really not comprehend that forgery is illegal?

Another interesting character from A Doll House was Dr. Rank. When Dr. Rank expresses his wishes for Torvald and Nora not to see him on his death bed, I was very confused. Dr. Rank had such a close relationship with the Helmer’s. Dr. Rank was at the Helmer’s home almost every day and enjoyed visiting with both Nora and Torvald. Therefore, Dr. Rank’s wishes not to see the Helmer’s at the end of his life seemed so out of place. It seems to me you would want the people you love the most around when you are nearing the end of your life. I cannot help but wonder if Dr. Rank’s love for Nora caused him to shut out the Helmer’s at the end of his life. It is very possible Dr. Rank was trying to keep Nora from having to see him on his deathbed.

Torvald was also an interesting character. Throughout the story, Torvald seemed to be a simple man who wanted to provide for his family. When Nora was struggling with what to do about her problems with Mr. Krogstad, I thought she could have been honest with Torvald. But Torvald proved why Nora was unable to share her problems with Torvald. When Torvald found out about Nora’s loan, he betrayed her and was more concerned about the shame it would bring upon his name.

Now that I have discussed the main players in A Doll House, I have one other critical point to discuss. From the first time I read the title of the play in the syllabus, I wondered what the meaning behind the title was. My first thought when I began reading the story was that the Helmer’s had purchased a doll house for their children for Christmas. Then, as I read further into the story I knew this was not the case. But it was not until the end of the story when the meaning behind the title became evident. Nora felt as though she was living in a doll house and that Torvald treated her as though she was nothing more than his own personal doll.