A Doll's House is one of Ibsen
best-known and well-received plays—though this was not the case when it was first
presented on stage. However, it wasn't long before the demand to see the play increased
throughout Europe. And although Ibsen insisted this was not a play written about women's
rights, but about human rights, as with any piece of art, it took on a life of its own
when released to the world.
Foreshadowing is when the
author provides information as to what is going to happen later in the story (or play),
but it is generally not recognized until the event takes
place.
An example of foreshadowing can be found at the
beginning of the play, when Nora has been shopping. Torvald says she should be careful
in spending. As a father would instruct a child, he reminds her that if he borrows to
pay for things and something happens to him, what would happen to the person he had
borrowed from? Nora explains that she wouldn't care about that
person.
NORA:
If
anything so awful happened, then it just wouldn't matter if I had debts or
not.
TORVALD:
Well,
but the people I'd borrowed
from?
NORA:
Them?
Who cares about them? They're
strangers.
This foreshadows
Nora's debt with Krogstad, a semi-shady man that she borrowed money from when Torvald
was ill and could only be saved by moving to a warmer climate. She forged an I.O.U. with
her father's signature. (Women were not allowed to borrow money.) While she has no
regard for Krogstad, his threats will soon pressure Nora and cause her to re-evaluate
her marriage and her life.
Another example of foreshadowing
is found very soon after, as Torvald, acts as if borrowing money is a
sin:
TORVALD:
Nora,
Nora, how like a woman!...No debts! Never borrow! Something of freedom's lost—and
something of beauty, too—from a home that's founded on borrowing and
debt.
This foreshadows
Torvald's initial response when he learns that Nora took a loan from Krogstad. He does
not care that it saved his life. He hates Krogstad and first worries about being in debt
to him. He is also concerned about his reputation—if word gets out. He has no
appreciation for Nora's actions, but treats her like filth. He refuses to let her care
for the children anymore—until he learns that Krogstad has returned
the I.O.U., with no further plans to pursue the
matter.
Lastly, Nora speaks of the miracle she expects to
occur when it comes out that she borrowed the money, as Krogstad has threatened to
expose her for her forgery. She believes that her husband will be noble and sacrifice
himself to save her—though she will not allow such a thing. She is
actually ready to take her own life rather than let Torvald shoulder any of the blame.
It seems that he might when he
says:
...time
and again I've wished you were in some terrible danger, just so I could stake my life
and soul and everything, for your
sake.
However, when the time
comes for Torvald to do just that, he fails Nora when she needs him most. The miracle is
not what Nora expected. The miracle is that she finally sees Torvald for who he
is:
NORA:
I've
loved you more than all this
world...
TORVALD:
...You
stay there and give me a reckoning. You understand what you've
done?...
NORA:
Yes.
I'm beginning to understand everything
now.
What she understands is
that she has been living a lie, loving a man who has no capacity to appreciate her as a
person, or love her as a man should love his wife—not treating her like a child, but as
a partner; appreciating her sacrifices for him.
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