Gender Roles in "A Doll's House" by Cameron Muh

In Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, there is an underlying emphasis on gender roles.  Nora and Torvald, the main characters in the play, are a married couple whose relationship lines up with the rigid social norms of the time.  In an 1879 society, gender roles had assigned duties that could not be crossed.

Men of Nora and Torvald’s world were expected to work and earn an income for the family.  The life of a woman depended on her socioeconomic status. If her family was of a lower economic status, she would clean, cook, and take care of the children.  However, women of a higher economic status merely looked after the servants or nannies who had been hired to fulfill those household duties, which is the role Nora played.  

Married couples have much different relationships in our day, which is evidence of how gender roles have changed over time.   Today, there is more of an equal division of labor and household duties, and decisions are made together. More importantly, men and women are not “locked in” to the specific duties assigned to their gender.  Reading the play through this modern lens changes how we analyze the play. Gender roles determine the interaction between the characters in Henrik Ibsen’s play, especially Torvald and Nora, even dictating their outcome.  

A Doll’s House tells the story of a lawyer, Torvald Helmer, and his wife, Nora Helmer.  It takes place around Christmas and the New Year when Torvald has recently been promoted to bank manager.  Nora especially looks forward to the upcoming year when he will receive a higher wage. The Helmers have three children, and they are cared for primarily by Anne-Marie, their family nurse.  There are a couple side stories that, although quite interesting, do not really affect the outcome of the play. The main storyline deals with Nora and Torvald, as well as a man named Nils Krogstad who works at the bank Torvald will soon manage.  

A few years prior, Torvald fell terribly ill and was nearing death.  The only way for him to live was to take him to Italy, where it was warmer, and he was able to rest.  It worked, but cost them a fortune. Nora knew that Torvald was opposed to taking out a loan so she decided to borrow from her father.  However, she never actually asked her father for money, and when he passed away, she forged his signature.

Krogstad is involved in this main story because he was the banker who gave Nora the loan, and they are the only two who know about the forged signature.  Torvald has no idea about the forgery. He is still under the impression that they were rich enough to afford the year long trip to Italy. Unfortunately, the details of this loan get out, which causes even greater conflict.  Krogstad is set to be fired, and in order to not shame her husband’s reputation, Nora plans to commit suicide. The play sees this conflict materialize and eventually resolve, although in an unexpected way.

Nora and Torvald have a marriage that seems pretend as if they are “playing house.”  It progresses gradually until the final scene when we learn that they have been married for eight years and things have not gone quite as expected.  William Johnsen describes one of the opening scenes: “at the start of Act 1, Torvald calls out for her from his study as soon as Nora returns from shopping: 'Is that the squirrel squirreling around out there?’ After she answers several questions of his, he replies ‘can't be disturbed’ (as if she had interrupted him) and returns to his study. But then, after a moment, he opens the door again and peers out, pen in hand, all but urging her to interrupt his work for play” (195-196).  We learn a lot about Torvald from this quote. First, he is so engrossed in his work and desire for money that he does not want to make any sacrifices to spend time with his wife. Secondly, “squirrel” is one of the many nicknames (“lark”, “skylark”, “featherhead” to name a few others) Torvald has for Nora, showing that he treats her like a possession and also as a child. Later in the play they attend a Christmas costume party, and Torvald insists that she wear a particular dress so that she can perform a certain dance.  He does not really give her an option. He just says that she should wear it, and she does, but only to please him.

The play only covers a week or so, but Torvald never interacts with the children.  He spends his days focused on work, paying little attention to those around him. Nora seems to put more into the relationship than Torvald does.  In that opening scene, she had just purchased gifts for the children, something we assume would not have been done unless Nora did so. Torvald is more worried about the money she is spending rather than their children being happy on Christmas morning.  

Nora tries her best to listen to Torvald and follow what he says, but because he treats her like a child, she often acts like one.  This is seen in her childish enthusiasm every time Torvald presents her with her “allowance” (Act 1). It is also seen when she eats macaroons behind Torvald’s back because he does not want her eating so many sweets.  Nora also went through all the effort of getting a loan so that Torvald could live, even though she knew that he would not approve of it. She even puts up with those silly nicknames throughout the whole play. In essence, Nora tries to be faithful, but never gets much in return.  

In 1879, a husband “owned” his wife, which we see in the interaction between the characters in A Doll’s House.   The women did exactly what the men said.  They did not have much wiggle room or choices to make.  They were very restricted in that they were expected to follow all of the men’s orders.  The women were required to sacrifice everything while the men did not give in at all. Men were superior and women were inferior.  An example of this is the way Torvald treats Nora as a child. He makes most of her decisions for her, and although he gives her an allowance, he tries to lead her away from making unwise purchases (Act 1), practically taking all choices away from her.  Aside from Nora, we see two other examples of this in the play.

The nurse or nanny, Anne-Marie, was actually Nora’s childhood nanny.  She sacrificed mothering her own daughter to look after Nora, probably so that she could make money and survive on her own.  In speaking of the husband whom she left, Anne-Marie said,“that slippery fish, he didn’t do a thing for me, you know” (Act 2).  If she had not gotten the job as a nanny, it seems she would have been on a path downhill, for without a husband, she would have had no respect and very little money.  Anne-Marie breaks her gender role by leaving her husband and daughter, but not completely. She was no longer “locked in” with a man, but still could not fully make her own choices since she was forced to provide for herself.  In our day, leaving a child is a big thing, so we can only imagine how big a sacrifice that would have been for her back then.

A smaller story that features a secondary character is Mrs. Linde, Nora’s childhood friend, who returns to town.  Mrs. Linde has lost everything because her husband had passed away and his business faltered. Although she probably enjoyed being alone for a time, I am sure she would have realized that she then needed to support herself.  We eventually learn that she sacrificed marrying Krogstad, whom she truly loved, to marry Mr. Linde, whose money would help her better care for her family. We see that for a time Mrs. Linde is free, able to make her own decisions and live on her own.  Women of her time probably longed for that liberating life. Ironically, she returns to her gender role and quite luckily ends up with Krogstad later in the play.

Nora, being the focus of the play, makes many sacrifices, starting with taking out the loan.  Torvald was prideful, and it was evident that he did not want to take out a loan because he thought he was rich.  However, Nora knew that without the money, Torvald would die so she made the decision to draw a loan out of love. We see this as she speaks with Mrs. Linde: “I’ve also got something to be proud and happy for.  I’m the one who saved Torvald’s life” (Act 1). She then held this secret from Torvald for seven years, using part of her allowance and working small jobs along the way in hopes of paying off the loan. In their time, women were not only supposed to be honest to men, but they were supposed to listen as well.  

Nora breaks her gender role by doing the opposite of what Torvald said and hiding it from him.  Before Torvald finds out, Nora plans to commit suicide so as not to ruin his reputation. She literally planned to sacrifice her life out of what she thought was love for her husband.  While this shows complete devotion to her husband, it probably was not the norm for women to plan something like that just to avoid embarrassing their husbands.  Furthermore, women typically could not even make a choice that would embarrass their husbands, which is where Nora definitely breaks her gender role.

Towards the end of the play, Nora sees that her situation could go differently than she expected.  Krogstad had threatened Nora to get his job back, and when she could not, he wrote a letter explaining the loan he gave Nora that led to his firing.  Nora did not want Torvald to read this letter and find out because her plan was to already be dead by the time he found out. She tried desperately to keep Torvald from finding the letter, but when he does, his reaction shocks Nora into the reality of his low regard toward her as his wife.  Torvald is ecstatic, but Nora can tell he only cares about his reputation, not so much about her. He says, “Nora! Wait - better check it again - Yes, yes, it’s true. I’m saved. Nora, I’m saved” (Act 3). He tries to convince her that it is all over and she can stay in their comfortable home without any worries.  

Nora points out that in the eight years they had been married, they never sat down and talked about anything serious.  She realizes that Torvald does not actually love her, but that she is only there for show, just like a doll in a dollhouse.  Vicki Mahaffey explains, “Torvald Helmer and his wife Nora “play” at marriage and parenting, but Nora discovers at the end of the play that they were playing by very different rules. Nora thought that each of them would do anything to promote the well-being of the other, that each would sacrifice the self for the other... Nora was his ‘doll wife’ (as she had been her Daddy's ‘doll child’ before she left home), a delightful toy that he cared for and that gave him much entertainment and pleasure in return” (57).  With this realization, she understands that she is not needed because she does not cook; Anne-Marie will raise their kids; and Torvald will not miss her for she is just a show item in the window. This is when she decides that she can just leave and be free. She does not need to be restricted and inferior anymore. She can make her own choices, and her gender role breaking decisions throughout the play had led her to that idea.

In 1879, the major focus was probably on Nora as being the character who breaks her gender role, which is especially seen in her decision to run away.  If Nora wanted to make any choice, she had to do so behind Torvald’s back, like getting a loan so he could live and putting half of her allowance towards paying back that loan.  We can only imagine how taxing being a doll in Torvald’s dollhouse would have been for her. Even more so, the thought of freedom must have been quite tempting for Nora. Most women probably dreamt of having no responsibilities and money to spend freely, but Nora was over it and ready to move on.  

We can, however, infer that she would face consequences that aligned with her gender role.  No longer linked to a man, she would be left to fend for herself. This would mean finding a job and housing, both of which were probably hard to come by for a single woman at that time.  Ironically once more, that would also put her in the exact same position Mrs. Linde was in prior to reuniting with Krogstad. We imagine Nora would be given little respect and seen as having little to no value, since she is not connected to a man.  

Reading A Doll’s House through a modern lens raises red flags about the trap of gender roles in times past, not only for Nora’s character, but for secondary characters as well.  Ibsen writes Torvald’s and Nora’s characters in such a way that challenges the reader to reconsider if their gender roles were healthy. Torvald was not much different than the typical man of his time, but in today’s world, we would see Torvald as being a bad father for locking himself in to work all day and spending no time with his children.  He strives for a perfect family and household, but only for the outward appearance. We feel bad for Nora, who is deprived of the option to develop motherly and household responsibilities, as well as simply making decisions for herself. She was not allowed to do practically anything mothers do today because she was treated as a child.

The poor children had basically no relationship with their parents.  It is hard to imagine a family like that. Most families could not afford a full-time nanny like Anne-Marie.  Most of all, women like Mrs. Linde and Nora today would not be held back from pursuing their own life and livelihood today.  They were inhibited from doing so in the late 1800’s. In the 138 years since A Doll’s House first debuted, gender roles have changed.  Women are no longer seen as invaluable without a man.  They can support themselves if necessary. Ideally, marriage is meant to be a shared responsibility.  Family is important and parenthood is a privilege.

With this new viewpoint, we see how gender roles determine the outcome of the characters in Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House.  Due to the change in gender roles since 1879, the play, if written today about a typical family, would not be much of a play at all.  There would be very little conflict between the spousal characters, such as Nora and Torvald, because they would treat each other much differently. Their family would have more interaction and shared responsibilities, and a lot of the sacrifices made by characters in the original play would not necessarily be reflected in a play about a typical marriage today.  Gender roles greatly shape Henrik Ibsen’s play, and it is quite fascinating to see how gender roles have changed over time.

Works Cited

Ibsen, Henrik. “A Doll House.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, edited by Kelly J. Mays, Eleventh ed., W.W. Norton & Company, 2014, pp. 784–845.

Johnsen, William A. “Modern Sacrifice.” Religion & Literature, Vol. 43, no. 3, 2011, pp. 194–200., www.jstor.org/stable/23347099.

Mahaffey, Vicki. “Portal to Forgiveness: A Tribute to Ibsen's Nora.” South Central Review, Vol. 27, no. 3, 2010, pp. 54–73., www.jstor.org/stable/40985573.

Rosefeldt, Paul. “Ibsen's a Doll's House.” The Explicator, vol. 61, no. 2, 2003, pp. 84–85. ProQuest,search-proquest-com.byuh.idm.oclc.org/pqrl/docview/216776936/fulltext/6BBD2CA0C03C4653PQ/1?accountid=9816.

Templeton, Joan. “The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen.” PMLA, Vol. 104, no. 1, 1989, pp. 28–40., www.jstor.org/stable/462329.