A Doll's House Study Guide

A Doll's House

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen

A Doll's House focuses on Nora, a housewife who comes into her own over the course of the play. Years ago, Nora borrowed money to help her husband, Torvald, when he was ill, forging her father's signature to do so. Her actions come back to her when Torvald finds out and becomes angry. He has a change of heart later on, but Nora has already decided that she needs to leave him, as he doesn't love her and she no longer loves him.

A Doll's House Characters

Table of Contents
  • Nora Helmer – wife of Torvald, mother of three, is living out the ideal of the 19th-century wife, but leaves her family at the end of the play.
  • Torvald Helmer – Nora's husband, a newly promoted bank manager, suffocates but professes to be enamoured of his wife.
  • Dr. Rank – a rich family friend, he is secretly in love with Nora. He is terminally ill, and it is implied that his "tuberculosis of the spine" originates from a venereal disease contracted by his father.
  • Kristine Linde – Nora's old school friend, widowed, is seeking employment (sometimes spelled Christine in English translations). She was in a relationship with Krogstad prior to the play's setting.
  • Nils Krogstad – an employee at Torvald's bank, single father, he is pushed to desperation. A supposed scoundrel, he is revealed to be a long-lost lover of Kristine.
  • The Children – Nora and Torvald's children: Ivar, Bobby and Emmy
  • Anne Marie – Nora's former nanny, she now cares for the children.
  • Helene – the Helmers' maid
  • The Porter – delivers a Christmas tree to the Helmer household at the beginning of the play.

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