A Doll's House is a quintessential
problem play. In it, Ibsen presents the problem of women's place in society. However,
many at the time might not have recognized this as a problem but more as just the way
things were. Ibsen presents the difficulty that women faced because of their lack of
power and legal standing.
The character of Nora is first
presented as a flighty, superficial person,playing the little "squirrel" for her
husband, but we soon see there is more than meets the eye. Ibsen is masterful at
revealing her story, bit by bit. Because she lacks legal standing, she is forced into
the position of committing forgery to save her husband's life. She then finds herself
being blackmailed and at odds with her husband. Had women the right to borrow money on
their own, the whole situation would have been
averted.
Nora then has an epiphany of what makes a marriage
and what a true partnership might be. This is very prescient of Ibsen, presenting the
idea of a 50/50 relationship between a man and woman. The audience is left to wonder
what becomes of Nora and Torvald. In this wondering, they may also consider their own
thoughts and beliefs about the place of women in society.
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