Torvald Helmer and his wife Nora appear to lead an ideal life at first sight and seem to be perfectly happy. The outward appearance of their model marriage only reinforces its success. That is, until an unfortunate incident from Nora’s past suddenly surfaces and threatens to cast a slur on Helmer’s career. Helmer’s love for Nora then vanishes as rapidly as it was conceived. His fierce reaction opens Nora’s eyes. Her world collapses like a doll’s house.

The fundamental issue in A Doll’s House is the conflict between warm and vibrant Nora and her possessive, unbending Helmer. A devoted wife and mother, who romps with her children, Nora is ready to dance a tarantella to charm her husband. Trapped by her own sacrifices to love, Nora is forced to assert her own dignity and worth as an individual.

henrik ibsen
With Nora (A Doll’s House) Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828 – 1906) wrote a classic about a young woman who comes to the realisation that she spent her entire life in the service of other people. She tries to break with her husband and prevalent conventional expectations, only to end up in a maelstrom of confusion bordering on schizophrenia. Nora breaks away from the society that formed her, but the cracks have penetrated deep into her own identity. Ibsen is regarded as the founder of modern realistic drama and contributed several masterpieces to the world’s repertoire with works such as The Wild Duck, Hedda Gabler and Nora (A Doll’s House).