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A Doll's House By Henrik Ibsen Essay

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Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, is often regarded as a contemporary social commentary on marriage, and while that was perhaps Ibsen’s intention in writing the play, his subtle, yet insightful commentary on love - more specifically, blind and devoted love - is nonetheless, a brilliant motif. Through the marriage of Nora and Torvald, Ibsen essentially questions the practicality of falling in love blindly and thereby questions the viability of a relationship - or in this case, a marriage - founded upon such flimsy sentiments. Nora’s unquestioning and devoted love for Torvald, is marked by her willingness to make sacrifices, to the extent of giving up her reputation in order to preserve their relationship. However, her dwindling hope for the …show more content…

While Nora’s love for Torvald is blind, her willingness to make sacrifices illustrates the degree to which her love for him is true. Torvald’s love on the other hand is much more, shallow, and based upon a characteristic which he deems to be of the highest value: appearance. His unwillingness to involve himself in Nora’s household matters, such as decorating the Christmas tree, is contrasted by his hastiness to assure that she is perfectly presentable on the night of the ball. His involvement in her perfecting of the dance, and his engagement in assuring that her dress captures her beauty, is a fair reflection of Torvald’s view of Nora as a doll, as Nora’s unquestioning love allows Torvald to dress her up and “play” with her as he sees fit. His love for appearances is best explained during his outburst in the play’s denouement. After learning of Nora’s crime, Torvald sees her unfit to be a wife and mother, as she has ruined the one-sided happiness of their relationship, and he emphatically reveals his long held view that “all that matters is… the appearance” (Ibsen 1263). His selfishness prevents him from understanding that it was Nora’s sacrifice that saved his life, and thus Ibsen reveals a sad truth, about following love blindly, concluding that the profound devotion in perhaps ultimately unfounded. Initially Nora’s denial leads to eight years of being treated like a doll by Torvald; however, by finally questioning her devotion, and thereby realizing the truth about their marriage, Nora essentially sets herself free, as she states: “I’ve stopped believing in miracles” (Ibsen

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