A Doll's House - Conflicts

This essay explores the conflicts highlighted in Henrik Ibsen's play, A Doll's House, focusing on the inequality faced by women in the 19th century. The play depicts the trapped condition of the protagonist, Nora, and the various social conflicts within the society. It also discusses the themes of gender roles, isolation, and the presence of male ego. The setting and characters of the play are analyzed to understand the societal conflicts portrayed by Ibsen.

Running head: A DOLL'S HOUSE – CONFLICTS
A DOLL'S HOUSE – CONFLICTS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1A DOLL'S HOUSE – CONFLICTS
The term dollhouse is often used to indicate the residence that is generally used to
describe the display of the existence of replicas of human beings in a miniature form. The
celebrated Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen is observed to have entitled the play, A Doll's
House in a symbolic manner that signifies the various moral factors that the social residents were
expected to follow. The play highlights the inequality that was faced by the women in the
nineteenth century. The women in the nineteenth century had to abide by the gender roles that
were assigned to them (Carlson). However, they were not allowed an equal standing with their
male counterparts. The play deals with the issues that relate to the social conflicts that have been
existing within the then societal setups. The following essay deals with the conflicts that have
been highlighted in one of the most celebrated plays of Henrik Ibsen, A Doll's House.
A Doll's House is one of the most celebrated plays that have been composed by the
famous Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The setting of the play is demonstrated to be
familiar to the settings that were observed in the Norwegian towns back in circa 1879 (Guan).
The play attempts to focus on the life of a married woman who has been facing discrimination
against the
male counterparts of the concerned woman. The play highlighted the major issues that stemmed
from the discrimination that existed within the given society. The major issues that are
highlighted in the play refer to the issues that are posed within the given organization. The play
highlights the trapped condition of Nora Helmer, the protagonist of the story, in her marriage to
Torvald Helmer (Tam). Nora is a mother of three who has been trying her level best in
maintaining peace and harmony within the family. The protagonist is viewed to be the ideal wife
living in the nineteenth century and is found to be dealing with the improvement and the
betterment of her family. The play however, ends with the desertion of her family by Nora which

2A DOLL'S HOUSE – CONFLICTS
reveals the amount of stifling that she had been facing within her family and majorly at the hands
of her husband (Karim, Fathema, and Hakim). The playwright includes within the play another
female character who is observed to be extremely bold and outrageous. This refers to the
character of Kristine Linde. She is found to be in charge of her own life and to take her own
decisions. The character of Kristine provides a stark contrast to the character of Nora as is
revealed through the play.
The major setting that is observed to have been arousing a complete sense of conflict in
the minds of the readers is the setting of the play. The play opens in an indoor setting that reveals
the fact that the temperature outside the concerned room is extremely cold and is thus
uncomfortable for the existence of the concerned person. The weather in this case is considered
to be a representative of the life that is existent outside the norm maintained by the society
(Dingstad). The playwright is observed to have put forth a discussion on the life led by the
middle-class families within the given country. The description that the playwright provides for
the middle-class within the society states that the middle class of the society is “limiting, brutal,
and unforgiving” (Ibsen). The then society had hardly any room for the people who have been
incapable of meeting the standards that have been set by the society at large. The major conflict
that is demonstrated by Nora refers to the conflict among the individuals and the society at large.
The nineteenth century women were also kept in isolation if they failed to comply to the
standards that have been implemented by the society. The residents who fail to comply to the
standards of the society are often observed to have been dealing with the isolation from the
society. The playwright demonstrates this in a better manner through the character of Kristine.
Kristine is observed to be devoid of a position within the society due to the straight and the
undaunted nature of her marginal conditions. The protagonist of the play also follows the similar

3A DOLL'S HOUSE – CONFLICTS
conditions within the society when she ultimately let the stifling conditions take an upper hand
over her decision to abide by the societal norms (Holledge). The playwright further discusses the
fact that the protagonist of the play has been dealing with the implementation of the detachment
from all the social responsibility within the given market thereby leading to the isolation of the
person from the society at large (Tur). This reveals the conservative nature of the then society
and the ways in which the society aimed at the restriction of women within the overall workforce
within the country.
The other major conflict that is observed within the given play refers to the conflict of the
presence of the male ego. This in turn leads to the expectancy of the submissive nature on the
part of the female members of the society. This is properly revealed through the attitude that was
demonstrated by male member of the family, Torvald Helmer, while talking with his wife
regarding the activities that would be undertaken against Krogstad due to the unethical activities
that he had implemented at the bank (Hossain and Iseni). The opinions that are put forth by the
Torvald Helmer is known to have been highly influenced by the social position that he holds.
This is revealed through the lines “...he thinks he has every right to treat me as an equal...”
(Ibsen). The playwright puts forth the fact that the moral code as maintained by Torvald is
majorly dependent on the social expectations that are presented to him. The newly promoted
bank manager is observed to be extremely ashamed of the activities that are undertaken by
Krogstad, an employee in the same bank as well as an acquaintance of the Helmer family. The
self-identity of the person in discussion, Torvald is majorly dependent on the opinion of the
public on Torvald. The male lead character of the play is observed to hold on to the view that
the primary function of the women members of the society is to play the roles of a mother as
well as a wife in the best possible manner (Wang). He further opines that the female members of

4A DOLL'S HOUSE – CONFLICTS
the society should be held “responsible for the morality of their children” (Ibsen). The major
conflict that is demonstrated by Torvald refers to the conflict between the individuals. The newly
appointed bank manager is observed to be judging people in terms of the social activities that
they have been undertaking. The majority of the observations that are highlighted by Torvald
refers to the issues that are related to the performances that are put forth by the people in terms of
the situations that they face within the society.
The conflict within the individual is highlighted through the actions that are undertaken
by the protagonist of the play Nora. The major depiction of this situation is found in the
conditions wherein she had been finding ways and measures that would help her in reaching a
conclusion of the situation that she had been facing. The then society had hardly any room for
the people who have been incapable of meeting the standards that have been set by the society at
large. The nineteenth century women were also kept in isolation if they failed to comply to the
standards that have been implemented by the society (Hoenig). The residents who fail to comply
to the standards of the society are often observed to have been dealing with the isolation from the
society. The protagonist of the play also follows the similar conditions within the society when
she ultimately let the stifling conditions take an upper hand over her decision to abide by the
societal norms. The playwright further discusses the fact that the protagonist of the play has been
dealing with the implementation of the detachment from all the social responsibility within the
given market thereby leading to the isolation of the person from the society at large (Munch).
The increase in the conflict had further led to Nora breaking the norms of the society as well as
her marriage after the betrayal of her trust by her husband.
Thus, from the above discussion it might be stated that the celebrated play of Henrik
Ibsen, A Doll’s House has been demonstrating the use of the conflicts in a very subtle yet

5A DOLL'S HOUSE – CONFLICTS
prominent manner. The play highlights the inequality that was faced by the women in the
nineteenth century. The women in the nineteenth century had to abide by the gender roles that
were assigned to them. However, they were not allowed an equal standing with their male
counterparts. The play highlighted the major issues that stemmed from the discrimination that
existed within the given society. The major issues that are highlighted in the play refer to the
issues that are posed within the given organization. The play highlights the trapped condition of
the protagonist as well as the various conflicts that are presented within the given society.

6A DOLL'S HOUSE – CONFLICTS
Works Cited
Carlson, Marvin. "A Doll's House Part 2." Ibsen News and Comment 36 (2016): 13-17.
Dingstad, Ståle. "Ibsen and the Modern Breakthrough–The Earliest Productions of The Pillars of
Society, A Doll’s House, and Ghosts." Ibsen Studies 16.2 (2016): 103-140.
Guan, Hongyan. "Re-examination of the Theme of Cross-century Literature in" Doll's
House"." 2017 5th International Education, Economics, Social Science, Arts, Sports and
Management Engineering Conference (IEESASM 2017). Atlantis Press, 2018.
Hoenig, Leonard J. "The Meaning of Vermoulu in Henrik Ibsen's Ghosts." The American journal
of medicine 131.12 (2018): 1524-1525.
Holledge, Julie, et al. A Global Doll's House: Ibsen and Distant Visions. Springer, 2016.
Hossain, Amir, and Arburim Iseni. "Symbolic Realism in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House: An
Overview." ANGLISTICUM. Journal of the Association-Institute for English Language
and American Studies 3.8 (2015): 8-17.
Ibsen, Henrik. A doll's house. A&C Black, 2008.
Karim, Shah Mohammad Sanaul, Fawzia Fathema, and Abdul Hakim. "Man-Woman
Relationship in Henric Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”." International Journal of Social
Sciences, Arts and Humanities 3.1 (2015).
Munch, Eivind Tjønneland Edvard. "Henrik Ibsen: The Conflict between the Aesthetic and the
Ethical." Volume 12, Tome III: Kierkegaard's Influence on Literature, Criticism and Art.
Routledge, 2016. 159-190.

7A DOLL'S HOUSE – CONFLICTS
Tam, Kwok-kan. "Law, Ethics and Gender: China’s Quest for a Modern Selfhood as Reflected in
its Adaptations of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House." Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social
Sciences 11.2 (2018): 145-159.
Tur, Ajar Pradika Ananta. "The Realization of Politeness In “A Doll’s House” Script." EduLite:
Journal of English Education, Literature and Culture 1.2 (2016): 115-128.
Wang, Quan. "The Images of Clothes in Ibsen's A Doll’s House." The Explicator 73.4 (2015):
239-242.