A Doll's House : a play
Nora Helmer flits through her comfortable home on Christmas Eve, humming and hiding macaroons from her disapproving husband, Torvald, who calls her his little squirrel and lectures her about debt. Beneath the festive cheer lies a secret: years earlier Nora forged her late father's signature to borrow money that saved Torvald's life. When Krogstad, the man who lent it, is threatened with dismissal from Torvald's bank, he blackmails Nora to keep his post. As the truth surfaces, Torvald's outrage—and his swift relief once the danger passes—forces Nora to see her marriage clearly, and she walks out the door.
Ibsen's play dismantles the cozy ideal of the "doll's house" marriage, exposing how a wife is treated as a plaything rather than an equal. It probes gender roles, individual conscience, self-discovery, and the cost of social respectability. Its famous final door-slam scandalized audiences and helped launch modern realist drama, making it one of theater's most enduring and provocative works.
How it begins
[SCENE.—A room furnished comfortably and tastefully, but not extravagantly. At the back, a door to the right leads to the entrance-hall, another to the left leads to Helmer’s study. Between the doors stands a piano. In the middle of the left-hand wall is a door, and beyond it a window. Near the window are a round table, arm-chairs and a small sofa. In the right-hand wall, at the farther end, another door; and on the same side, nearer the footlights, a stove, two easy chairs and a rocking-chair; between the stove and the door, a small table. Engravings on the walls; a cabinet with china and other small objects; a small book-case with well-bound books. The floors are carpeted, and a fire burns in the stove. It is winter. A bell rings in the hall; shortly afterwards the door is heard to open. Enter NORA, humming a tune and in high spirits. She is in outdoor dress and carries a number of parcels; these she lays on the table to the right. She leaves the outer door open after her, and through it is seen a PORTER who is carrying a Christmas Tree and a basket, which he gives to the MAID who has opened the door.] NORA. Hide the Christmas Tree carefully, Helen. Be sure the children do not see it until this evening, when it is dressed.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain.