Context
Biographical Context
Laur Kieler’s husband fell ill and was advised to take a vacation in a warm climate. Like
Nora, she secretly borrows money. After falsifying a note, the bank refused payment and she
told her husband the whole story. He demanded a separation, removed the children from her
care and only took her back after she had spent a month in a public asylum.
Literary Context
For the most part of the play, ADH follows the typical characteristics of a ‘well-made play’
whereby the first act offers and exposition, the second a situation and the third and
unraveling. However, in the final act of the play, rather than providing the audience with and
unraveling that offers a clear moral lesson, Ibsen leaves the audience uncertain about how
events will conclude as Nora slams the door, leaving her husband and children behind with no
prospects for the future.
Additionally, Ibsen subverts another dramatic tradition with the characterisation of Dr. Rank.
Traditionally, the dramatic genre features an older male moral figure. Instead Dr. Rank is
portrayed as sickly and diseased as a result of his father’s earlier sexual exploits and openly
covets Nora. His portrayal as an imperfect human challenges the moral and literary
expectations of the nineteenth century.
Ibsen broke away from the romantic tradition with his realistic portrayals of individual
characters and his focus on psychological concerns as he sought to portray and criticise the
real world.
Social Context
Nora’s rejection of marriage and motherhood by the end of the play scandalized
contemporary audiences.
Germany (1880s): used an alternate ending where Nora regains her senses and returns
to her husband and children. Ibsen referred to this version as a “barbaric outrage” as it
undermined the play’s feminist message
Through Nora and Torvald’s relationship Ibsen is able to criticise middle-class values that
place and convey his belief that within a marriage, rather than merely living together, husband
and wife should live as equals, free to become their own individuals. With the controversial
, feminist message implicit in the play, Ibsen was successful in provoking discussion about
middle-class values and patriarchy across Europe.
Bourgeois respectability: financial success, upwards social mobility, freedom from
financial debt and a stable family organized along traditional patriarchal values
During the nineteenth century woman had little political or economic power and were
financially, social and psychologically dependent on men. It was the institution of marriage
that primarily restriction the freedom of middle-class women Ibsen’s notion that women
should have autonomy challenged the whole structure of society and therefore terrified the
middle and ruling classes.
Developments such as the women’s suffrage movement, revised marriage laws and
women’s education along with Ibsen’s play were therefore poorly received by
nineteenth century society.
Contemporary Reaction
Critics felt it set a dangerous example for women of the time by teaching that an imperfect
marriage should be eradicated to make way for something better. Middle-class men were truly
scared about the implications this play could have on their marriages and wives.
Critics felt that Nora’s decision to leave only exemplified how women are fickle and made
decisions on a whim rather than thinking things through like their male counterparts.
Nora was perceived to be an unnatural woman because her decision highlights the fact that
she indulged in herself rather than considering her family’s needs.
Current Perception
Gender Roles
Characterisation (pragmatic): “When a poor girl’s been in trouble she must make
the best of things.”
The nurse explains that she could bear to give up her child because it was out of necessity, as
the child’s father would not support her. This highlights how little freedom and power women
had at the time; without a man to depend on, there was not way the nurse could raise a child
herself. The nurse’s predicament is related to Mrs. Linde’s revelation that she married a man
she didn’t love due to financial needs, as well as Nora’s decision to forge a signature to secure
Biographical Context
Laur Kieler’s husband fell ill and was advised to take a vacation in a warm climate. Like
Nora, she secretly borrows money. After falsifying a note, the bank refused payment and she
told her husband the whole story. He demanded a separation, removed the children from her
care and only took her back after she had spent a month in a public asylum.
Literary Context
For the most part of the play, ADH follows the typical characteristics of a ‘well-made play’
whereby the first act offers and exposition, the second a situation and the third and
unraveling. However, in the final act of the play, rather than providing the audience with and
unraveling that offers a clear moral lesson, Ibsen leaves the audience uncertain about how
events will conclude as Nora slams the door, leaving her husband and children behind with no
prospects for the future.
Additionally, Ibsen subverts another dramatic tradition with the characterisation of Dr. Rank.
Traditionally, the dramatic genre features an older male moral figure. Instead Dr. Rank is
portrayed as sickly and diseased as a result of his father’s earlier sexual exploits and openly
covets Nora. His portrayal as an imperfect human challenges the moral and literary
expectations of the nineteenth century.
Ibsen broke away from the romantic tradition with his realistic portrayals of individual
characters and his focus on psychological concerns as he sought to portray and criticise the
real world.
Social Context
Nora’s rejection of marriage and motherhood by the end of the play scandalized
contemporary audiences.
Germany (1880s): used an alternate ending where Nora regains her senses and returns
to her husband and children. Ibsen referred to this version as a “barbaric outrage” as it
undermined the play’s feminist message
Through Nora and Torvald’s relationship Ibsen is able to criticise middle-class values that
place and convey his belief that within a marriage, rather than merely living together, husband
and wife should live as equals, free to become their own individuals. With the controversial
, feminist message implicit in the play, Ibsen was successful in provoking discussion about
middle-class values and patriarchy across Europe.
Bourgeois respectability: financial success, upwards social mobility, freedom from
financial debt and a stable family organized along traditional patriarchal values
During the nineteenth century woman had little political or economic power and were
financially, social and psychologically dependent on men. It was the institution of marriage
that primarily restriction the freedom of middle-class women Ibsen’s notion that women
should have autonomy challenged the whole structure of society and therefore terrified the
middle and ruling classes.
Developments such as the women’s suffrage movement, revised marriage laws and
women’s education along with Ibsen’s play were therefore poorly received by
nineteenth century society.
Contemporary Reaction
Critics felt it set a dangerous example for women of the time by teaching that an imperfect
marriage should be eradicated to make way for something better. Middle-class men were truly
scared about the implications this play could have on their marriages and wives.
Critics felt that Nora’s decision to leave only exemplified how women are fickle and made
decisions on a whim rather than thinking things through like their male counterparts.
Nora was perceived to be an unnatural woman because her decision highlights the fact that
she indulged in herself rather than considering her family’s needs.
Current Perception
Gender Roles
Characterisation (pragmatic): “When a poor girl’s been in trouble she must make
the best of things.”
The nurse explains that she could bear to give up her child because it was out of necessity, as
the child’s father would not support her. This highlights how little freedom and power women
had at the time; without a man to depend on, there was not way the nurse could raise a child
herself. The nurse’s predicament is related to Mrs. Linde’s revelation that she married a man
she didn’t love due to financial needs, as well as Nora’s decision to forge a signature to secure
