Freedom in "A Doll House"

       It often takes a tragic event to remind people of the most important aspects of life, such as individual interests and family. In the beginning of “A Doll House”, it is revealed to the audience that Nora has committed a serious crime of forgery in order to fund a trip that will save her husband’s life. Nora expresses that she loves her husband so much that she is willing to take the risk of getting a loan that she knows her husband will not approve of. However, by the end of “A Doll House” this relationship between Nora and Torvald has completely changed due to the fact that Torvald has discovered Nora’s crime. Based on Torvald’s reaction and anger towards the situation, Nora realizes that Torvald does not truly love her and they do not have a strong marriage.  “A Doll House” contrasts Nora’s idea of freedom with Torvald’s concept of freedom to show that one must pursue their own interests without pressure from others in order to experience true freedom.

Nora’s idea of freedom is evident throughout the play as she separates herself from the restriction of Torvald little by little. Initially, Nora’s idea of freedom is portrayed as childish as some of her actions, such as eating macaroons, are emphasized via Torvald’s restrictions and concern for her well-being. Despite the fact that Nora is trapped by Torvald’s ever-watchful eye, she does desire freedom from him. In a conversation with Dr. Rank and Mrs. Linde, Nora confesses, “I have such a huge desire to say [to Torvald] – to hell and be damned!” (Act 1, line 612). Nora’s shocking language in this statement is quite different from her earlier statements regarding Torvald, where she defends him and their “beautiful, happy home” (Act 1, line 440). Nora has also separated herself from Torvald through the loan that she decided to take out. Nora knew that her plan would not be pleasing to Torvald. Although she does manage to keep it a secret for the majority of the play, the fact that she has to go to great lengths to hide the matters with Krogstad and continually lies to Torvald are evidence of their declining marriage. At the beginning of the play in Acts 1 and 2, Nora pours herself into her relationship with Torvald, having conversations with him where he simply dismisses her opinion as if she were a child, referencing her “childish anxiety” in conversations with Dr. Rank (Act 2, line 807). In the end, Nora declares her ultimate freedom from Torvald by abandoning him and her children in order to pursue her own desire for an education. She tells him, “Don’t feel yourself bound, any more than I will. There has to be absolute freedom for both of us” (Act 3, line 776). Nora’s idea of freedom was to create separation from her overbearing relationship with Torvald in small ways, but in the end she was forced to be completely separated from him so that she could make her own decisions in life to make her happy again.

While Nora’s idea of freedom revolves around creating separation, Torvald’s freedom is found through control. One of the first examples of Torvald’s idea of freedom is his opinion on debt. He tells Nora, “Something of freedom’s lost – and something of beauty, too – from a home that’s founded on borrowing and debt” (Act 1, line 47). Torvald is committed to living a debt free life, which shows that he finds freedom through being able to control his own life without having to be bound by obligations to other people. Torvald also creates control in his life through his marriage with Nora. He has many rules for her to follow, one being that she cannot eat macaroons. He covers these harsh rules with sickening professions of his love for Nora and pet names for her. Torvald compares Nora to birds and other small creatures throughout the play, further revealing his belittling nature as he tells her things like, “You’re an odd little one” (Act 1, line 109). When Torvald controls every little aspect of his life, he is able to feel free and relaxed enough to enjoy simple things like time with his wife. One of the best examples of Torvald’s obsession with control is the fact that he could not stand the thought of dancing with Nora until he had read all the mail. In the end, it is Torvald’s control that ruins his relationship with Nora. When he finds out that he has been deceived, he goes on long rants to Nora, which are very different from his normal chatter with her. He is angry and even goes so far as to tell Nora, “You can’t be allowed to bring up the children; I don’t dare trust you with them” (Act 3, line 476). Torvald’s downfall is the fact that he is unable to see that true freedom and happiness is found in pursuing your own interests instead of controlling other people’s actions.

“A Doll House” offers many moral lessons to the audience, one of which concerns the concept of freedom. At the end of the play, Nora and Torvald are freed from one another and are finally capable of moving into the world without restrictions from their marriage. “A Doll House” is a call for people, especially women, to reevaluate what people and things are most important in life. Tragically, for Nora and Torvald, this realization came too late and was the result of a huge event involving crimes, lying, and anger. By contrasting Nora and Torvald’s skewed ideas of freedom with the concept of true freedom, “A Doll House” shows that it is necessary to pursue individual interests without pressure from other people in order to experience true freedom.