A Doll's House Summary | a doll's house summary
ADoll’sHousetracestheawakeningofNora[1]Helmerfromherpreviouslyunexaminedlifeofdomestic,wifelycomfort.HavingbeenruledherwholelifebyeitherherfatherorherhusbandTorvald[2],Norafinallycomestoquestionthefoundationofeverythingshehasbelievedinoncehermarriageisputtothetest.Havingborrowedmoneyfromamanofill-reputenamedKrogstad[3]byforgingherfather’ssignature,shewasabletopayforatriptoItalytosavehersickhusband’slife(hewasunawareoftheloan,believingthatthemoneycamefromNora’sfather).Sincethen,shehashadtocon...
A Doll’s House traces the awakening of Nora[1] Helmer from her previously unexamined life of domestic, wifely comfort. Having been ruled her whole life by either her father or her husband Torvald[2], Nora finally comes to question the foundation of everything she has believed in once her marriage is put to the test. Having borrowed money from a man of ill-repute named Krogstad[3] by forging her father’s signature, she was able to pay for a trip to Italy to save her sick husband’s life (he was unaware of the loan, believing that the money came from Nora’s father). Since then, she has had to contrive ways to pay back her loan, growing particularly concerned with money and the ways of a complex world.
When the play opens, it is Christmas Eve, and we find that Torvald has just been promoted to manager of the bank, where he will receive a huge wage and be extremely powerful. Nora is thrilled because she thinks that she will finally be able to pay off the loan and be rid of it. Her ...