English

Sacrificial Survival

Throughout life, women are expected to act as survivalists who make painstaking sacrifices for those they love the most. Too often, society requires them to give up roles or qualities as precious as motherhood, happiness, and independence in order to establish financial security or forge a new path in life. Written in 1869, Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House was progressive for its time; in fact, through the characterization of Nora, Mrs. Linde, and Anne-Marie, Ibsen brings to light the expense incurred by simply being a woman and the sacrificial requirements of the female gender—a concept that was groundbreaking in the nineteenth century.

As Josephine Lee points out, the drama “leaves open key questions that concern both feminism and liberal humanism” (626). For example, it highlights women’s longing for independence apart from men, contrary to nineteenth century values. According to Becker, women in the nineteenth century were “viewed as biologically inferior to men, and it was claimed ‘there is a difference in the minds of men and women corresponding to the difference in their bodily organization’” (qtd. in Düzgün 87). Ibsen’s use of female characters who create a means for independence apart from men was incredibly innovative for the time it was written.

Keeping with the aforementioned views, Ibsen begins his play by painting a picture of a typical nineteenth century family, complete with a child-like wife/mother who is treated by her husband as a possession rather than an equal partner, and numerous friends and employees. Throughout the drama, Ibsen shows how undervalued and undermined his traditional female characters are, bringing attention to the need for a feminist revolution. Düzgün supports this concept, stating, “The female characters in the play appear to be trapped within the authoritarian and manipulative patriarchal system, but Ibsen suggests a potential for change in the condition of women” (90). A Doll House offered nineteenth century women a glimmer of hope concerning gender equality.

First, the protagonist of the drama, Nora, is forced to sacrifice her integrity, her marriage, and her children because her freedom can only be obtained through this penance. Constantly demeaned by her husband, Torvald, Nora is nicknamed, “little lark…squirrel…little spendthrift…[and] scatterbrains,” among other names in the first act alone (Ibsen 1.4-16). As a result of these condescending labels, Torvald consistently slaughters Nora’s dignity. However, Ibsen foreshadows, “Nora, Nora isn’t as silly as you all think” (1.121). While the other characters in the play consider Nora to be childlike, Ibsen reveals to the audience that Nora is, in fact, intellectual and more caring than various other characters. It is through this intellect and compassion that Nora, attempting to save her husband’s life, finds a way to afford a trip to Italy by surrendering her integrity and forging her father’s signature to receive a bank loan. 

After Nora relinquishes her honor to borrow money, Ibsen creates a foundation for Nora to mature and gain the self-assurance needed to become independent. In the final act, Ibsen yet again clearly depicts the theme by showing how Nora feels obligated to sacrifice her marriage and give up her role as a mother because of her husband’s unwillingness to concede himself for her—a contradiction to her willingness to give up her rectitude for him. Within their last conversation, “there is a complete shift of control from Helmer to Nora” (Rahman and Gul 80). Additionally, Nora’s final conflict, slamming the door, “is the strongest of the perlocutionary acts which took place in the play. It not only shook Helmer’s life, but it made a mark throughout history for the determination of a woman who takes charge of her life” (Rahman and Gul 80). Just as Ibsen uses Nora’s character to relay the theme of the sacrificial role of women, he uses Nora’s longtime friend, Mrs. Linde, to illustrate the theme of the selflessness women must possess to survive.

Next, Mrs. Linde, a supporting character, portrays a woman who must sacrifice love and happiness for the financial security and well-being of her family. According to Edge Hill University, she “is shaped by the patriarchal capitalist system which forces a lower-class woman, like her, either to marry a rich man or to ‘take low paying domestic jobs, teaching, or clerical work’” (qtd. in Düzgün 90). Ibsen divulges this early on, writing:

NORA. Tell me, is it really true that you weren’t in love with your husband? Why did you marry him, then?

MRS. LINDE. My mother was still alive, but bedridden and helpless—and I had my two younger brothers to look after. In all conscience, I didn’t think I could turn him down. (1.139-140)

Without financial security, Mrs. Linde and her family could not have survived, pressuring her to abandon her true love, Krogstad, for the reliability money provides. By showing Mrs. Linde’s abandonment of Krogstad to provide for her family, Ibsen clearly illustrates the theme of selflessness. 

Forced to support herself after becoming a widow, Mrs. Linde later admits to Krogstad, “I’m also like a half-drowned woman on a wreck. No one to suffer with; no one to care for” (Ibsen 3.37). Subsequently, Krogstad states, “You made your choice,” to which Mrs. Linde rebuttals, “There wasn’t any choice then” (Ibsen 3.38-39). Confessing her ever present affection for Krogstad, Mrs. Linde explains she felt it necessary to sacrifice true love for the sake of her family who would not have survived without financial security. Finally, Ibsen’s characterization of Mrs. Linde supports the central theme, giving evidence that women must sometimes sacrifice happiness for security.

Furthermore, just as Ibsen uses Nora and Mrs. Linde to illuminate certain aspects of the theme found in A Doll House, he also uses the Helmers’s nanny, Anne-Marie, to enlighten the audience of the costly sacrifices females are forced to make. For instance, Nora asks, “Wait, tell me, Anne-Marie—I’ve wondered so often—how could you ever have the heart to give your child over to strangers?” (Ibsen 2.17). Willingly, Anne-Marie admits to having been unwed and so incredibly poor that she was prepared to sacrifice nurturing her own child to raise someone else’s after being offered shelter and a sense of security (Ibsen 2.20). Sacrificing one’s child to provide oneself with the most basic needs is a reparation no mother would wish for herself.

Just like the other female characters in the drama, Anne-Marie is “subjugated within the patriarchal system which gives no chance to an unmarried mother to find a decent job. As she knew that she could not lead a respectable life with her illegitimate daughter, she left her ‘among strangers’ to find ‘a good place’ where she can work,” as stated by Ibsen (qtd. in Düzgün 90). The amount of desperation required for a mother to abandon her own child is immense, and Ibsen’s clever use of a background character, such as Anne-Marie, to reveal the theme allows the audience to grasp how even the most ultimate sacrifice is too often second nature for women.

In summary, A Doll House is a portrayal of female relinquishment of self. As per Hov, “no other play by Ibsen had such a profound impact on the contemporaneous discussions about cultural and social values as A Doll’s House” (31). Throughout the drama, Ibsen uses female characters to show how women are forced to sacrifice their own dignity, hopes, and dreams as a result of societal expectations. Ibsen’s clever character development acquaints the audience to the play’s central theme from beginning to end. To conclude, nothing more clearly illustrates the theme of sacrificial selflessness than Ibsen’s use of the characterization of Nora, Mrs. Linde, and Anne-Marie to enlighten the audience to the sacrifices society demands of women.

Works Cited

Düzgün, Şebnem. “A Cultural Materialist Approach to Gender Relations in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.” Journal of Faculty of Letters / Edebiyat Fakultesi Dergisi, vol. 35, no. 2, Dec. 2018, pp. 85–94. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=135119914&site=eds-live.

Hov, Live. “Enter Nora: The First Three Productions of A Doll’s House, in Denmark, Sweden and Norway.” Nordic Theatre Studies, vol. 22, Jan. 2010, pp. 30–45. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ibh&AN=58034558&site=eds-live.

Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House. Portable Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing, by Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell, Cengage Learning, 2017, pp. 882-940.

Lee, Josephine. “Teaching A Doll House, Rachel, and Marisol: Domestic Ideals, Possessive Individuals, and Modern Drama.” Modern Drama, vol. 50, no. 4, Winter 2007, pp. 620–637. EBSCOhost, doi:10.3138/md.50.4.620.

Rahman, Rubina, and Hina Gul. “Conversation Analysis: Speech Acts in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.” Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (Pakistan), vol. 22, no. 1, Apr. 2014, pp. 67–82. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=100755987&site=eds-live.