Character Assessment and Moral Ranking in Ibsen's A Doll's House

This report provides a character assessment of Henrik Ibsen's play, 'A Doll's House.' The assignment requires the student to critically evaluate five characters: Nora, Kristine, Krogstad, Torvald, and Dr. Rank, ranking them from least to most morally offensive. Each character's ranking is supported by justifications and evidence drawn from the text, exploring their motivations, behaviors, and the conflicts they create. The analysis delves into the characters' virtues and vices, providing a comprehensive understanding of their moral complexities. The student considers various factors in their judgment, including societal expectations, personal relationships, and individual actions. The report aims to offer a nuanced perspective on the characters' moral standings within the context of the play.

Running Head: CHARACTER ASSESSMENT- A DOLL’S HOUSE
Character Assessment- A Doll's House
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author's Note:

1CHARACTER ASSESSMENT- A DOLL’S HOUSE
Table of Contents
Rank the Character.....................................................................................................................2
References..................................................................................................................................4

2CHARACTER ASSESSMENT- A DOLL’S HOUSE
Rank the Character
Name of the Character Justification Evidence for Judgment
1. Nora Helmar The protagonist of the play
can also be considered as
the most morally innocent
character. It is not because
she does not have access to
knowledge to differentiate
between what is ethically
right and wrong because of
living in the shadow of men
in her life that is first her
father and then her husband,
Torvald (Gray, 2017). She
does not understand the
difference between her
father’s house and her
husband’s house signifying
the emotional bounds that
both the houses represents.
Her childishness is the
evidence of her innocence,
for she stays ignorant of the
truth about her marriage till
the time Kristine shows her
the fact. Yet, she was
intelligent in her
comprehension about the
value of money, and her
wittiness in accessing the
cash through forgery proves
that she does have the
knowledge to understand
the practical peril she puts
herself in through it
(Kumari & Sunalini, 2017).
2. Kristine Linde She is the foil character to
Nora, but she shows what
happens when a woman is
aware of the worldly ways
and aspires to be
independent and truthful in
her approach towards a
relationship (Kumari &
Sunalini, 2017). It is
because she has married for
financial security in the past
that leads her to value truth.
She is a modern woman
who declares independence
and her joy for work.
She not only leads her life
in the way she sees fit and,
in the end, marries Krogstad
for her second marriage.
She also leads Nora to the
edge where she could
finally see the mirage of her
successful marriage based
on deception (Askarzadeh,
2019). She also ensures that
Nora's truth comes out in
the light, for she wanted her
to be free of the deceit,
which was suffocating her.
3. Dr. Rank Rank is shown to be the
best friend of Torvald and
Nora and had been
harboring romantic feelings
for Nora without her
knowledge (Askarzadeh,
2019). His advances were
unknown to her due to
being concealed for the
notion of romantic advances
that she had was from her
husband, who has always
treated her as a commodity.
Though being a best friend
to Torvald, he falls in love
with his wife. He goes up to
the extent of having a coded
conversation with Nora in
front of Torvald, informing
her of the failure of his
experiment and the
certainty of his death
(Kumari & Sunalini, 2017).
His confession to Nora can
also be seen as his last
attempt to release himself

3CHARACTER ASSESSMENT- A DOLL’S HOUSE
of the burden he carried his
entire life.
4. Nil Krogstad Nil Krogstad is one of the
main reasons why Nora is
pushed towards her suicidal
tendency. As a person
weaponized with the truth
about Nora's secret from her
husband, he used it to
blackmail her into paying
him. Even though he has
forged signature himself in
the past, which has ruined
his reputation in society
(Askarzadeh, 2019).
The character is shown to
have been wronged by
society, which makes him
similar to that of Nora. His
immoral behavior stems
from the time he was
rejected by Mrs. Linde due
to his weakness in financial
strength (Kumari &
Sunalini, 2017). And his
reason for blackmailing
Nora was not selfish, he did
it for his children so that
they do not have to
experience the same stigma
he did.
5. Torvald Helmar Torvald, husband to Nora is
a symbolical character in
the play, representing the
middle-class husband's
attitude of the society. He
considered Nora as his most
'priced possession' and treat
her as a mere sex object.
His fetish and sexual
fantasies towards his wife
by administering her a child
and making her dress up as
Capri fisher to arouse
himself (Gray, 2017).
Torvald places his entire
existence around
appearances in the social
standing. His action of
making her dress like a girl
and imagining in public that
she is his secret fiancé
shows that he was with
Nora for her physical
beauty and the notion that it
was a man's duty to provide
protection to the woman in
a marriage (Gray, 2017). He
treats her like a father
would, which gives their
relationship a form of incest
in the reader's view.

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References
Askarzadeh Torghabeh, R. (2019). Stylistic Analysis of Characters in Henrik Ibsen’s A
Doll’s House: Masculinity and Supremacy vs. Femininity and Helplessness. Research
in Applied Linguistics, 10(2), 91-105.
Gray, F. (2017). A Doll's House. Pearson UK.
Kumari, V. N., & Sunalini, K. K. (2017). Women Perspective in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s
House. An International Journal in English, 8.