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)