The Overall Theme of Freedom in Henrik Ibsen's "The Doll House"

Try to state the theme of the play. Does it involve women's rights? Self-fulfilment?

The story of "The Doll House" by Henrik Ibsen is a tumultuous and often confusing one about the life of a European housewife, Nora Helmer, and her struggles to escape both constant blackmailing by an old friend who she had taken out a forged loan with and her unsatisfactory life in the home; yet, underlying this intriguing and often-comical plot line is a myriad of valuable lessons and themes that help to give the play the high literary quality in which it is regarded. Ideas such as women's rights, self-fulfilment, and morality are all credible themes put forth by Ibsen's writing. Perhaps the most important and notable of these themes, however, is the theme of freedom and the belief that no one can truly be happy until he or she has full control of her life and nothing is standing in his or her way.

In Nora's case, this theme presents itself in many instances throughout the play. At the beginning of the novel, we see Nora joyful and happy, with seemingly lots to brag about, from a husband to supply her shopping habits to many children that she energetically plays with. Despite this, we can't help but get a sense of illusion in Nora's actions and are frequently caught off-guard by the extreme confidence, flamboyant behavior, and constant material focus. As a result, one does not feel that Nora is all that she seems and questions whether or not her un-realistic disposition is actually her true emotions.

Tainted with a bitter and unpleasant taste of the main character, the reader eventually makes his or her way to Act II and Act III, where he or she begins to realize their suspicions were right and that Krogstad, the antagonist, had once loaned Nora money to take her husband down to Italy. The trouble is that Nora forged her father's signature to approve the loan without the knowledge that forgery is a crime. Blackmailed by Krogstad to pay back the money and help him keep his job at the new bank that his now run by Mr. Helmer, Nora is sent into a fit of madness where she is desperately trying to negotiate with her husband and Krogstad, both of which are unrelenting in their agendas. As a result, she becomes controlled by both their wills and it is the decisions of the two men that determine the outcome to her problem. She can sway and negotiate with them all she wants, but ultimately the final decision is theirs.

Therefore, she is without freedom in much of the story's plot which makes her unhappy to the point of almost attempting suicide. Fortunately for her, as the end of Act III nears, the climax of the story occurs as Mr. Helmer finds out what Nora has done and becomes enraged and then experiences a huge shift in temperment upon receiving a letter from Krogstad stating that his previous letter informing him of Nora's mistake was premature and actually he had changed his mind about the matter. With Helmer much happier with his wife and the Krogstad situation solved, the ending would seem happy; however, it is here that Nora realizes that she has felt a lack of freedom in her life choices and decisions not only now, but throughout their entire marriage. She notices that she is merely a "doll" in their relationship and Helmer "plays with her" whenever we just wants to have some fun. She is not an equal nor a respected person, she feels, and because of that is unhappy. In her quest to find true happiness, she thus decides that leaving Helmer is the only way to be free and happy and conjures up the courage to tell him so, thus ending the story.

In the end, the play goes to show the relationship between freedom and happiness and that having the two is really the most important part of one's life. It teaches us no one will ever truly be happy and satisfied unless he or she is free, regardless of whether or not their personal affairs (i.e. the loan problem) is solved or not. As a result, we as humans should at all costs seek that happiness and free ourselves from the constraints that hold that happiness back. (726)

Polonius, the Father

In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the character of this legendary play provide many influential insights into the motivations and character traits that shape who we are and how they affect us. Representing different real-life roles, each character takes on a personality that we can all relate to and then teaches us the importance, struggles, and disposition of that personality through the plot of the story. Thus, the character of Polonius in this story is no different and serves to represent to us the ideal, caring father who looks out for and takes care of his daughter. To illustrate this role, Polonius makes numerous actions throughout the play that serve to illustrate the two key roles that all fathers must play in their families in order to be considered ideal: protector and facilitator of success.

For starters, Polonius first illustrates the role of protector in the very first scene he appears, Act I, Scene III. Here, Polonius confronts Ophelia about what her brother Laertes and she had discussed regarding Prince Hamlet a moment before he entered and, after a few careful prompts, Ophelia finally admits that she is in love with the prince and vise versa. Yet, instead of congratulating his daughter on finding someone she loves or expressing an overarching tone of indifference, Polonius advises Ophelia of the dangers of such actions and tells her to remove herself from the boy to avoid getting her heart broken or herself taken advantage of. Even though Hamlet could bring the man lots of money and certainly raise his social stature, Polonius still pressures his daughter to go against her heart’s urges and to take everything Hamlet says with a grain of salt, reminding her to “believe so much in him that he is young,/And with a larger tether my he walk/Than may be given you.” As a result, he is protecting his daughter at all costs regardless of the benefits her actions could possibly bring him and this selflessness to protect his family is what helps him fulfill his role as a good-to-do, ideal father.

Furthermore, as the plot continues, he also merges into the other role of the facilitator of success in a very similar fashion. Once it becomes apparent to him upon Ophelia’s telling of her encounter with Hamlet in her private chamber in Act II, Scene I, Polonius becomes fully convinced that Hamlet is actually in love with is daughter and finally accepts their feelings for one another. Upon realizing what has been taking place between the two, he quickly decides it best to inform King Claudius immediately, thereby establishing the children’s relationship to the King. Among other motivations, it seems fitting considering Polonius’s character that this notification to the King is solely for the intention to arrange some sort of marriage between the two, one that would certainly bring great glory to his daughter (as well to him) and would promote her in the greatest of ways. In this way, he is ultimately working for her, trying to make her life as much of a success as possible and abandoning his other premonitions about Hamlet that he had prematurely judged beforehand.

In these ways, Polonius begins to develop himself as a role model for the ideal father he will play throughout the rest of the novel, adding more and more pieces on until he forms the ultimate character Shakespeare wants him to perform. (564)