March 2021 Classic of the Month: 'A Doll's House'

How Henrik Ibsen's classic play will inspire you to live more freely.

'A Doll's House' by Henrik Ibsen, 72 pages - Instagram @c_reads_books

---

The classic of the month for February 2021 is A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. Although I’ve only read this play once a few months ago, I knew after reading it that it is a book I will never forget.

Throughout the play and her life, Nora has felt like she is a doll living in a doll’s house; Nora’s realization that her husband only cares about himself inspires her to finally break free of her smothering marriage and reveals the oppressive societal constraints of being a wife, mother, and woman.

In the beginning of the play, Nora goes along with her husband’s wishes and follows the societal expectations of being a woman, wife, and mother. Although she is revealed to have kept the secret from her husband that she borrowed money to help him, she is satisfied with knowing that she defied societal expectations, even privately.

Nora lives the way that her husband Torvald wants her to live. She has no sense of individuality or purpose within herself. Constrained by society’s views of women, Nora spends her days at home cleaning and taking care of the children, but she knows something is missing. Not living for herself, Nora is unable to find true happiness and meaning in life.

Torvald takes advantage of societal expectations by treating his wife as less of a human than him. She is a servant to him, and, in his eyes, serves no other purpose than that. Nora is so conscious of her husband that her view of herself is dependent on Torvald’s view of her.

As the story progresses, Nora realizes the extreme value Torvald places on his reputation and fulfilling societal expectations. She strains to keep her secret from her husband to keep their relationship seeming perfect.

Torvald strongly values his reputation and how people view him. He calls Nora an “obstinate little person,” revealing his patronizing view of his wife. He feels a need to be in charge of all aspects of his life; he wants to be viewed as an assertive man in both his work and home lives. Torvald wishes to guide and protect Nora, referring to her as a “girl” and “little person.”

Torvald’s acceptance of societal expectations, and his willingness to live by them, leads to the destruction of his family. He cares more about maintaining his reputation as a strong and assertive man and husband than being understanding of and a good husband to Nora, which contributes to the eventual collapse of his and Nora’s marriage.

Torvald, and society in general, place great significance on gender roles, characterizing the duties women must adhere to in society as “sacred.” It is considered normal to degrade women to labels such as “mothers” or “wives.”

Society expects women to sacrifice their honor for the ones they love, as seen in Nora’s forgery of her father’s signature to get a loan to help her husband, yet men have no obligations to do so themselves.

The desire for honor and reputation can often control people, as it does in Torvald’s case; he controls his wife as if she is a doll living in his doll house to maintain his reputation, unbothered that it dehumanizes her in the process. As Nora comes to terms with this completely at the end of the play, she finally rejects societal expectations and decides to live for herself.

In a pivotal scene that captures the conflict of the entire play, Nora decides to leave her suffocating marriage in search of her own true happiness, which she realizes is much more important than how others perceive her. She can no longer live silently suffering under the weight of her husband’s and society’s expectations of her, and decides to live for herself.

One of the first feminist texts ever written, A Doll’s House aims to inspire people to break free from societal expectations and live for themselves. Instead of conforming, people should do what makes them happy and fulfilled. In the final words of Nora, “Good-by.”