A Doll's House By Henrik Ibsen Essay

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen tells the story of Nora, a woman suppressed by marriage and societies expectations. Forced to abandon her desires in order to please her husband, Nora turns to deception in an attempt to hold her fragile marriage together. In Victorian society, lies are essential to maintaining the image of an obedient wife if a woman wishes to have any wants of her own. Thus, Nora chooses to walk on eggshells in order to please her husband while making sure he does not discover any secrets she has kept. Because of her situation, the reader’s judgment of Nora may be less severe, but not all her lies are necessarily driven by deeper motives. Nora lies on impulse over trivial matters simply because she was raised with the habit

For example, the main conflict in the play centers on the overwhelming stress caused from keeping a secret from Helmer. She never intended to be honest with Helmer about how she obtained the money that ultimately saved his life, so she was deeply frightened when Krogstad threatened her. Though she attempted to defend herself with evidence of situational desperation, she failed to realize “the law cares nothing about motives” (24). If Krogstad had decided to go take the issue court, the signature fraud had the potential to send Nora to jail, as she is clearly guilty. Yet the law is not the only enemy of liars that Nora comes across; Helmer feels the same disdain for deception. On multiple occasions, Helmer reminds Nora of how terrible liars are and insisted that “A songbird must have a clean beak to chirp with – no false notes!” when he caught one of her lies (25). This clear allegation frightens Nora greatly because all the work she put into becoming the ideal wife would be for naught if he discovered her secret. She is further driven into a corner when Helmer informs her of the harm a liar could do to their family: “[…] such an atmosphere of lies infects and poisons the whole life of a home. Each breath the children take in such a house is full of the germs of evil” (27). Now fearing for her children as well, a panic stricken Nora begins to see the gravity of her