A Doll's House: Plot Summary (OCR A Level English Literature)

Plot Summary

One of the most important things you can do in preparation for the exam is to “know” the plot of A Doll’s House thoroughly. When you are familiar with all of the key events, you can then link them to larger ideas. Having an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the text will also help you to gain confidence in finding the most relevant references to support your response.

Below you will find:

• a general overview of the whole play

• detailed summaries by act

Overview

A Doll’s House is a play in three acts, written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in 1879 and translated into English. The play is set in Europe at a time when society was dominated by strict traditional codes of conduct and laws such as the Napoleonic code, which made it illegal for women to engage in financial transactions. The play is a tense portrayal of an average family trying to thrive and reach their particular version of success under pressured circumstances. 

From the opening scene, Ibsen presents the deceit and secrecy that exists between Nora Helmer and Torvald Helmer. Desperate to present a perfect image to the world, Torvald imposes strict rules that limit his wife. He admonishes her for spending too much on the children and staff and for eating sweets when he forbids her such luxuries. Although the relationship is presented as intimate and superficially happy, Ibsen explores the barriers created within the imbalanced marriage. 

The play, set in the Helmer’s beautifully appointed, large and well-staffed house, takes place between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. Nora, Torvald and their three young children have a very comfortable life; Nora is occupied with Christmas shopping, decorations and preparations for a party. But when Torvald is offered a promotion, Ibsen illustrates the pressures of such a lifestyle as they show great relief that their financial problems are at an end. The play explores the couple’s naivety and self-absorption when outsiders visit the home and expose the true nature of their privilege. An old friend of Nora’s, Kristine Linde, arrives suddenly, pleading for a job in Torvald’s bank. Her tragic story shames Nora as she recalls her lack of contact with her friend during her time of crisis. Unwittingly, Nora makes a series of callous comments about her own happiness and success, after which she begins to recognise her own self-absorption. Humiliated, Nora vehemently attempts to prove to her friend that she too has acted independently in her life, telling Kristine that she paid for her husband’s convalescence in Italy. 

Nora’s secret, that she paid for an expensive trip and keeps it from her husband for fear of embarrassing him, is pivotal to the plot as it eventually exposes the imbalance within the Helmers’ marriage and the hypocritical attitudes within the upper class regarding crime and punishment. Infamous for a nefarious reputation and his previous forgery of a signature, Nils Krogstad blackmails Nora for committing a similar forgery on a loan she took with him. Nora believes her actions, to take a loan in order to pay for Torvald’s convalescence in Italy, were altruistic and could not be considered criminal, however Krogstad reveals he has been punished for the same crime. His threat drives Nora to madness and desperation. That her husband will find out she has acted in this way is too much for her to deal with and she plans an escape. Nora’s husband is portrayed as oblivious to the consequences of his attitude towards his wife as he is shocked to learn she would rather commit suicide or live in poverty than stay married. 

A Doll’s House portrays the sudden and shocking change of the protagonist. The story takes place over three days and depicts Nora’s downward spiral as she becomes aware of her limited autonomy. On Christmas Eve, Nora is a happy young wife attempting to fill her role as mistress of the house to the best of her ability, making personal sacrifices in order to please her husband. She behaves enthusiastically and obediently in her role as an excitable, silly and pretty wife. The facade of perfection is exposed as flawed when visitors enter the family home and Nora’s dramatic decline begins. The play’s resolution is ambiguous. On one hand, Nora leaves an unhappy marriage to seek independence and agency. On the other hand, her future is uncertain, foreshadowed by the tragic story of her friend’s suffering as a single woman. 

Act-By-Act Plot Summary

Act I Scene I

• The set is a drawing room of a large and comfortable home:

  • The Christmas bustle is evident as a porter brings a Christas tree inside and Nora Helmer, a young wife, enters the stage with Christmas shopping

  • She expresses delight with the presents she has bought for the family and household staff 

• She eats a macaroon from a bag she has hidden and exclaims that her husband would be angry if he found out, thus introducing the first secret between them

• Nora’s husband, Torvald, exits his study and she shows him the gifts enthusiastically:

  • He teases her for spending too much, calling her a “spendthrift”

  • He states that reckless debt is a typically female trait and she should never borrow money

  • Torvald affectionately belittles her by comparing her to small animals: he calls her his “songbird” who talks like a “real human being”, his “skylark” and a “squirrel”

• Torvald asks Nora what she would like for Christmas and she replies she would like her own money

• He accuses her of eating sweets again and she denies it bashfully

• He tells her about his promotion at the bank and they discuss their comfortable future excitedly

Act I Scene II

• Kristine Linde, an old friend of Nora’s, arrives unexpectedly

• At the same time, Dr Rank, a close family friend, arrives at the house

• Dr Rank and Torvald exit to Torvald’s study to discuss business and Nora and Kristine sit together in the drawing room by the fireplace

• Kristine Linde shares her tragedies with Nora:

  • She is a recent widow, her marriage was unhappy and fruitless, and she has worked long hours to survive on her own

• Nora apologises for not contacting her at all and her friend hints at her self-absorption

• Nora acknowledges her friend’s troubles, suggesting she looks “older”, “thinner” and “paler”

• Nevertheless, she is unable to contain her own happiness and tells Kristine of her and Torvald’s success:

  • She discusses her children (despite Mrs Linde’s barren marriage), and how they are to have “pots and pots” of money when Torvald is manager of the bank

• Kristine Linde speaks openly to Nora, telling her she cannot possibly imagine the hardships she has suffered as a single woman

• Nora indignantly replies that she has also acted independently in the past

• While she refuses to tell Kristine the whole story, she relates how she arranged and paid for a trip to Italy, which Dr Rank had advised would save Torvald’s life:

  • She explains that she paid for the trip with her inheritance after her father died

  • She proudly relates how she has had to work, taking on “odd jobs” 

  • Nora says Torvald could never know as it would insult him and embarrass him

• They discuss Dr Rank’s ill health and Nora enthuses how happy she is to be healthy

• After Kristine again accuses Nora of being ignorant to the struggles of life, Nora tells her that the money for the trip to Italy was, in fact, borrowed:

  • Kristine Linde is concerned, warning Nora that acting behind Torvald’s back is dangerous

  • Nora reports that she has been able to pay back the debt in instalments as she saves some household money with careful budgeting

  • She says she has taken on work at night which is tiring, but she is proud as it was “like being a man”

  • However, she says she daydreams about a rich old man who adores her from afar and leaves her enough money to pay back the debt in full

• Kristine Linde reveals the reason for her visit:

  • She wants Nora to ask Torvald to find her a job, which Nora promises to do

Act I Scene III

• Nils Krogstad, an employee at the bank, arrives, and when he is shown in, Kristine Linde is shocked and turns away

• Krogstad tells Nora he wishes to speak with Torvald about bank matters and he exits to join Torvald in his study:

  • Kristine Linde says she knows him and he looks very different

  • She explains that his unhappy marriage left him widowed much like her, and that he supports the children alone

  • Nora is vague about him and changes the subject

• Dr Rank enters, having left Krogstad with Torvald

• Nora introduces him to Kristine Linde and he asks her why she walks so slowly:

  • When she replies that she works hard, he advises her to take a holiday

• Dr Rank goes on to describe Krogstad as corrupt and worth keeping a watchful eye on, which is why Torvald keeps him on at the bank

• Nora impulsively laughs at the thought of Torvald’s power over Krogstad but hides the explanation for her outburst from Dr Rank and her friend

• She begins to behave defiantly: 

  • She eats another macaroon and shares the packet around

  • She tells her guests she would like to swear at her husband 

• Torvald returns and Nora hides the macaroons and asks if Krogstad has gone

• Nora pleads with Torvald to find a job for her old friend and, once she has explained her circumstances as a widow, he agrees to give her a job at the bank

• As the maid enters with the children, Torvald, Kristine Linde and Dr Rank prepare to leave:

  • Torvald suggests that the house is now “unbearable for anybody except mothers”

• Nora runs to her children, embraces them and dismisses the maid, declaring that she will look after them

• The scene is chaotic and loving as they talk and play together 

• In the middle of the game of “hide and seek”, Krogstad returns and Nora asks the children to leave

• He explains that he is being fired and has been replaced by Nora’s friend on her request

• He asks her to speak up for him and save his job, which he needs in order to build a respectable life for his sons

• After Nora’s insistence that she has no influence on her husband, Krogstad explains that she has to try:

  • He explains that he has a bad reputation for loaning money to people, like he did with Nora 

  • He says that he had to do such work after he lost his job for committing fraud, a crime that Nora also committed

• When she protests, he reveals that he knows Nora forged her father’s signature on the loan 

• Nora replies that she had no choice as it is illegal for her to sign financial documents without her father or husband’s approval and that Torvald could never find out:

  • Naively, she implores him to understand she had good justification for her crime

• Before leaving, Krogstad warns her that she should ensure Torvald does not fire him or he will tell him the truth

• The children return, but Nora sends them away and tries to distract herself with the tree decorations

• Torvald returns and asks Nora if anyone visited and she replies that no-one has

• He challenges her on her secrecy, saying that he saw Krogstad leave

• She begs him not to fire Krogstad but he refuses, stating his disgust for lies 

• Nora turns back to the tree and begins to discuss the upcoming party and a surprise she has planned for him:

  • However, she soon dismisses her talk as “silly” and meaningless, which surprises Torvald

• Fervently, Torvald expresses his strong opinions on the spreading corruption of a lie, suggesting a mother can infect a home with deceit

• Eventually, clearly upset at his words, Nora agrees not to support Krogstad any longer

• Torvald excuses himself, saying he has work to do

• The children return but Nora is distressed and asks them to leave

• The scene ends with Nora alone on stage, desperately lamenting her situation

Act II

• Act Two opens on Christmas Day, but the tree is bare

• Nora paces the stage, talking to herself and declaring it “impossible” that she could be a bad mother

• She is paranoid and nervous Krogstad will tell Torvald

• When the nursemaid enters with a box of costumes for the party, Nora dismisses them and the nursemaid is surprised by her sudden pessimism

• Nora’s reckless and cynical behaviour takes the maid aback as she tells the maid she cannot spend time with the children anymore and that she may even leave forever:

  • The nursemaid, Anne Marie, advises Nora to be there for her children and that “When a poor girl’s been in trouble she must make the best of things” 

  • She and Nora discuss how the nursemaid had to give up her daughter to work for Nora after she was abandoned

  • They share an intimate moment and embrace

  • Nora’s remark that she would be happy for her children to have a mother such as the maid foreshadows her decision to leave  

• Kristine Linde arrives to help Nora prepare for a fancy dress ball 

• She asks Nora to reveal her secret but Nora refuses

• They discuss Dr Rank’s circumstances and Kristine Linde believes Nora to be too innocent about the relationship between her and Dr Rank:

  • She thinks Nora is flirting with him, hoping to inherit money when Dr Rank dies

• Kristine Linde is instructed to leave the room to mend the clothing as Torvald is due to return and will not like the mess

• Alone in the drawing room, Nora attempts to persuade her husband to keep Krogstad on a final time:

  • She says she will dance and sing for him and be his “little squirrel” 

• Torvald is furious that she would try to interfere with his business and explains the shame he would feel if anyone knew about it

• He says Krogstad was a childhood friend and acts as his equal which is why he must be fired

• In exasperation and annoyed at her persistence, Torvald decides to fire Krogstad immediately

• At this, he says that his “frightened dove” should distract herself by practising her dance for the party and he goes to his study

• Dr Rank arrives and discusses his impending death with Nora

• They flirt and he reveals he is in love with her and believed she felt the same:

  • Nora replies that she had to choose who to be with based on practicality not love

  • She describes Torvald as similar to her father, that she respected him but chose to spend time with the household staff as a child

• The maid appears with a visiting card, advising her that Krogstad has arrived

• She hides her distress from Dr Rank and says she must fix her costume

• After the doctor leaves, Krogstad returns and tells Nora he has received his notice

• She insists that she tried to ask Torvald to keep his position, but Krogstad challenges her

• When he finds out she has not told Torvald about the debt she owes, he briefly concedes:

  • He says he is not without empathy as he, too, has been in desperate situations

  • Nevertheless, he tells Nora he will tell Torvald the truth if she does not save his job as he must look after his family

• He exits, dropping the letter in the mailbox 

• Kristine Linde returns and Nora, in despair, explains her problem

• Kristine Linde, concerned about Nora’s state of mind, reveals she and Krogstad were in love and she may be able to negotiate with him:

  • Nora is told to distract Torvald while she tries to resolve the situation

• After Kristine Linde leaves, Nora goes to the study and begs Torvald to watch her dance:

  • He stops her to go to his mailbox but she plays the tarantella on the piano and he settles down to watch

  • Her dance is chaotic and frenzied, which makes Torvald suspicious

  • Her dance reflects her extreme distress but neither Dr Rank nor Torvald see it that way

• Kristine Linde returns and explains to Nora that Krogstad was not home but she has left him a note

• Nora’s desperation is illustrated as she begins to count down the hours of her life  

Act III Scene I

• Act III opens on Boxing Day in the Helmers’ drawing room

• Kristine Linde is reading and waiting for them to return from the ball

• Krogstad arrives and they discuss their relationship:

  • Krogstad insists she was wrong to leave him for a richer man

  • She protests that she had no choice as she had to care for her sick mother and her brothers

• Kristine Linde suggests she keeps the job at the bank and they marry so she can support him and his children

• Reluctant at first, Krogstad accepts her offer and expresses regret he has revealed everything to Torvald

• Kristine Linde suggests it is better if the truth is told and Krogstad leaves, hopeful about the future 

• When the Helmers return from the ball, Kristine encourages Nora to tell her husband the truth but she refuses

• Torvald relates how Nora wanted to stay at the ball but now says she is tired:

  • Nora tells him he is always right

• Once alone, Torvald tells her how the dance evoked desire:

  • He praises her wild dancing as suggestive of her sexual nature

  • He says he imagines they are indulging in a secret love affair when they are out

• Dr Rank arrives and Torvald is annoyed at the interruption

• Dr Rank discusses the ball and says next year his costume will be “invisible”:

  • Torvald is irritated he is so morbid

  • Upon departure, Dr Rank leaves a note in Torvald’s letter box with a black x to symbolise his impending death

• When Torvald sees the note he asks Nora if it means he is dying and she says it does, remarking ominously that a death is best left unannounced

• When Torvald retires to his room, Nora prepares to leave, muttering about “icy water”

• Torvald, having discovered the letter from Krogstad, prevents her from leaving

• Angrily, he states that even though she has disappointed him beyond redemption, they are to live together as a respectable family

• She tells him his life will improve once she is dead and he disagrees as Krogstad will ruin his reputation anyway

• At this moment, a maid presents Torvald with a letter from Krogstad

• Torvald tells Nora that Krogstad has closed her contractual loan and they are free of him

• He forgives her and acknowledges she has been through a trying time since Christmas Eve and that her attempts to save him were admirable

• Nora excuses herself to change but Torvald says he is pleased he has been able to save her

Act III Scene II

• When she returns in her day clothes, Torvald questions her

• Although Torvald repeats that he forgives Nora, she expresses her distress and desire to leave the marriage

• Torvald initially insults her stupidity, but then begs her to stay

• Nora explains that she has lived her life under her father and husband’s control and she wishes to leave to absolve him of all responsibility

• Torvald asks her to consider what people will think but she says she does not care

• When asked if they can ever be together again, she replies that it would take a “miracle of miracles”

• She hands him her wedding ring and states that she is going to stay with Kristine Linde 

• Nora leaves the room and Torvald is alone on stage as the door slams closed

• He calls out to the empty room, “Miracle of miracles?”