Feminism in A Doll's House Analysis

It is 2021 and women are still fighting for equality! Women struggle for equal pay, sexuality, equal rights, feminism, and much more. Women have been fighting for more than several decades but are still fighting for so much more. The struggle for women’s equality has been going on since Henrik Ibsen produced A Doll’s House; A Doll’s House revolves around a woman identified as Nora Helmer who was a Norwegian mother and wife to Torvald Helmer in the 1800s. Her whole life, she has been dominated by both her father and her husband, and now she is being blackmailed by another man. Ever since Henrik Ibsen published A Doll’s House, there has been a controversy as to it is a feminist work or a humanist work. Although Ibsen said that it was not his intention, A Doll’s House is a feminist play, focusing on the gender norms, the gender inequality in that society, and the lack of education Nora and woman have.

By portraying a woman as his protagonist, Henrik Ibsen concentrates on the gender norms in A Doll's House. Ibsen demonstrates to his audience/readers that Nora has no choice in her society. Women, even Nora Helmer, did not have many opportunities in their households. This is because of her life being dominated by men. It was her father trying to control her first, and her husband now. Considering Nora has these men controlling her life she does not want to dissatisfy both of them. So, Nora lets herself be controlled by the men in her life.  According to Nora she “had great injustice” done to her “first by [her] father and then [Torvald]” (Ibsen Act 3).  When the reader puts this in another way they realize the men controlling her life told her what to think and what opinions to have. The argument between Torvald and Nora finally made Nora realize that she needed to focus on herself and take some space from Torvald. It was anticipated that women would allow their husbands to treat them as if they were dolls. Nora's dilemma is that she is a woman, and she isn’t allowed to become the woman she desires to be. All of this revolved around gender norms and how it is expected that a woman would treat her husband like a king and work only in their household. It is also expected that the “man of the house” would control the opinions of their wives and how they viewed things. “Torvald treats his wife like a naughty child[…]” (Durbach, “Bird and[…]” 108). He did not treat his wife as a human being that focused on gender norms as per the fact that he treated her as a doll and made Nora rely on him. Women always relied on their husband’s income. A woman was not self-reliant so they had to depend on their husbands which caused the man to be more powerful than his wife.

Henrik Ibsen picks out a female protagonist to demonstrate to his audience/reader the gender norms and how a woman’s life was impacted because of gender norms. Nora would stay home, and she would have a Nurse who would supervise the kids while Nora just overlooked what the Nurse and Maid were doing while Torvald went out and worked. This also happened in the 19th century and is shown in the documentary. The documentary focuses on Ibsen’s life and partly on how Ibsen’s father underwent a financial crisis that affected Ibsen’s life. “When Ibsen was seven, his father was financially ruined[…]” (Famous Authors 3:58). This could be interpreted by the reader/audience that the woman did not work and had to fulfill the role of a woman. It is proven that women did not work because of their gender. Women's opportunities were limited and controlled by the gender norms in society. By portraying a female protagonist, it represents A Doll’s House as a feminist text because of the gender norms indicated in the play. Ibsen gives a perspective of a woman and how they were treated. As shown in A Doll’s House Nora finally stepped up and took some time for herself. Women were expected to portray the role of a wife and a mother. Nora wanted to take time for herself but couldn’t because of her gender. Nora argues that she has “duties toward [her]self’’, but Torvald is quick to point out society’s belief that “[b]efore all else, [she] is a wife and a mother” (Ibsen Act 3).  Torvald followed what society had to say about women and just portraying the role of a housewife. Women were expected to wake up and portray the role of a mother and wife while men were expected to help the family financially. Men did not care about a woman's mental health, just their physical health. This did not allow both genders to run a household in their say because of the gender norms at the time.

Nora’s misunderstanding of laws got Nora into a situation that she regrets. Nora has committed a crime but had no idea that she committed one until she starts being blackmailed by Krogstad. Nora isn’t educated about laws that caused Nora to commit a serious crime.  Since Nora isn’t educated on laws Nora could commit much more crimes that are worse. Women were not educated on the laws during their time. The lack of education women had could be very hazardous because they could have committed a crime and had no idea they committed one and have some serious consequences due to the lack of education. Women acquired little freedom when they had passed a law that women finally had the right to university education. A woman finally gained the “right to university education in 1882” which gained women a “major victory for legal equality” but it was too late in Nora’s time about “10 years too late” (Durbach, “The Problem…” 92).  This statement proves that Nora could not get proper education because she is a woman and because women gained education rights too late. Durbach goes on about the uneducated woman and their misunderstanding of laws. The lack of education women had interpreted how they would react to situations. 

Henrik Ibsen highlights the gender inequality of women during the period he wrote A Doll’s House. Ms. Linde did not have many equal rights either. Ms. Linde was married to a man she hardly knows so she can help her family. Since she has to help her family she does not have a chance to experience love or how it feels like to be the wife of someone who loves her. Ms. Linde gives Nora an overview of her life: “My mother was alive then and was bedridden and helpless, and I had to provide for my two younger brothers[….]” (Ibsen Act one). According to Ms. Linde, she had to marry a man she hardly knew for the sake of her family for the reason that it was going to help her family. She had to put her family first instead of her considering that she was limited in terms of earning an income and how she could work. She had to provide for her family first. Women did not have many opportunities including having a career. They had to rely on their husband’s income not giving women much of any freedom. Women did not have much to say about their decisions, therefore, the men or the elderly in their household decided what is best for the woman. The woman had to understand the man’s decisions and agree with their opinions. They believed a woman’s opinion was useless unless proven correctly. Women were expected to work around the house and look presentable. The mistreatment of a woman is shown in A Doll’s House and how it represents a feminist text. 

In light of these arguments, A Doll’s House is a feminist play that concentrates on gender inequality, gender norms, and the absence of women’s education. The points and examples above give the reason why A Doll’s House is a feminist play. A Doll’s House provides the reader and audience a perspective of a woman during the early and late 19th century. It gives a glimpse of how a woman was treated, her responsibilities, and the discrimination they faced. Even though Ibsen did not intend to make A Doll’s House a feminist play it still provides the audience a feminist view and shows after the publication of A Doll’s House women are still fighting for their rights.