Humanism in A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen (Free Essay Sample)

In the play “Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, humanism expresses the complex relationship of finding a personal sense of identity and living beyond societal standards regardless of gender; connecting to Ibsen’s deeper commentary of Victorian-era societal roles used to create a “perfect life” contributing to the theme of bourgeoisie social struggles.

The desire for money affected many characters' sense of self. For example, “As soon as New Year comes I shall in a very short tie be free of the whole thing” (Ibsen 20). Ibsen’s syntax purposely avoids using the word money during Nora and Krogstad’s interaction. He does this to create suspense while making the mood serious with simple sentences and fewer descriptive adjectives. Krogstad delivering the message shows the larger idea of the power of money in society and symbolizes the power characters have over each other. Krogstad has power over both Nora and Torvald, with Nora’s debt. Nora’s desire to pay back her debt made her hide her true self from Torvald by concealing her cunningness and intelligence, forcing herself to be helpless so Torvald wouldn’t be suspicious. It also conveys the humanist ideal prominent within the play of asserting oneself. Nora slowly starts to show her true self with this desire for money, unknowingly she starts to find out a lot more about herself as she struggles to hide her secret. “New Year” is brought up in the beginning to symbolize new beginnings. Ibsen does this purposely to foreshadow how her debt will force her to find herself and start anew away from Torvald. Money is a symbol of the characters' desires which alters the identity of Nora by leading her to leave Torvald.    

The idea of appearance is a recurring motif within the play causing characters to conceal their true self. Furthermore, “... I should so love to look well at the fancy ball. Torvald dear, couldn’t you take me in hand and settle what I’m to be, and arrange my costume for me?” (Ibsen 51). Nora is depicted as a dependent woman who is materialistic and airheaded, Ibsen exemplifies  this by creating a sweeter yet mischievous tone when Nora speaks. He uses phrases like “love to look well” and “Torvald dear” to show an endearing side of her that sweetens the tone but also shows her manipulative side. Ibsen’s syntax also uses more contractions and uses a rhetorical question to make her sound airheaded. It makes Nora’s tone desperate, showing the dependent side of her and her materialism as she focuses on getting a dress just to look pretty. Ibsen uses Nora’s tone, to shift the reader’s views toward Nora’s identity. He tries to portray how society enforces roles that make keeping up appearances important. Nora wants to keep up her appearance so she can fit the norms of society and have Torvald love her, fulfilling her needs. This conveys humanism in the play since it portrays the complexities of asserting oneself in such a restrictive environment. Additionally, “...I might even be suspected of collusion. People will think I was at the bottom of it all and egged you on” (Ibsen 108). Ibsen makes the tone vexed as he uses words like “suspected” and “egged” to show Torvald’s anger. Torvald was characterized to be a hard-working and family orientated man like the typical Victorian male. Ibsen does this on purpose because it shows Torvald is very selfish and worries about appearances, the angry tone adds depth to Torvald’s true character as it shows his feelings regarding Nora. Ibsen’s diction repetitively uses the word “I” which helps emphasize and reveal Torvalds’s selfishness as well as his concern for his appearance with the organization of the phrase. “I” is always referred to in the beginning, middle, and end of the sentence to show how Torvald is concerned for himself only. Ibsen then shifts the attention of his audience to the idea of societal roles, by portraying how society deeply affects one identity and enforces the motif of appearances to fit the idea of a “perfect life”. Torvald’s characterization conveys the effect of societal norms on identity, it makes it difficult to truly find oneself when societal norms are enforcing a false identity and standard of self. This contributes to the larger message of humanism and the complexity of finding oneself since society is so regulating. Many characters conceal their true selves in the play due to the idea of appearances. 

Power dynamics within the play allowed men to have more power over women, objectifying women and their sense of self. According to the author, "It means that she has become his property in a double sense; he has, as it were, brought her into the world anew; she is now not only his wife but also his child” (Ibsen 65). Ibsen repeatedly includes pronouns like “he” to show the possessiveness of Torvald and his masculinity. Torvald is constantly referring to himself in the third person which shows how he views himself as an all-powerful being, showing how he only cares about himself and the idea of superiority with his masculinity. This causes Nora to lose herself because she is objectified to the point that she has to alter herself to match Torvald’s expectations. The power dynamic between the two represents how Ibsen believes men have more power over women in society, which adds to the social struggle that many bourgeoise women dealt with. He is trying to express the humanist ideal of equality how everyone should be equal and treat everyone as human beings. Moreover, “He called me his doll child, and he played with me just as I used to play with my dolls” (Ibsen 66). Ibsen uses dolls to symbolize femininity, which Nora refers to herself as. He uses it as a metaphor to discuss how dolls are mere objects used for personal purposes of entertainment adjusting to their user's liking. He uses this metaphor to show Nora’s life, she never truly was seen as a human being just as an object used for play. Ibsen conveys this metaphor through a short, compound sentence making the meaning blunt and sharp. Organizationally, Ibsen starts off with dolls and ends with dolls this is to show how Nora has been treated like a doll her whole life. The beginning alludes to her life with her father being the manipulator and the end of the sentence symbolizes how she has been making herself play along with the title. It shows Nora never had a true identity due to being objectified and the repetition of “he” or male pronouns shows she was always controlled by males. These themes of power intertwine closely with the humanist ideas in the play. The idea of one person having more control over the idea clashes with the equality ideology of humanism making it complex to find oneself. The power dynamic between men and women has been implemented by society, allowing the objectification of women and their identity. 

In conclusion, Henrik Ibsen uses humanist ideals to show the complexity of finding oneself in such oppressive social standards, contributing to the mass social struggle for a “perfect life” prominent in the Bourgeoisie class. Ideas of equality and power are shown through symbols of money and power dynamics that lead to the liberation of characters from society. It can be seen that Ibsen uses motifs about appearances and identity to create a powerful message about social life in the Victorian era.