Countless movies and stories tell the tale of people who are essentially “married” to their jobs and the effects of such actions. Usually, the character will lose loved ones or undergo tragic events that allow them to realize their relationships should be valued or their families cared for. This plot holds mostly true for Torvald Helmer in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. Torvald is a lawyer with a particularly large ego. Soon after the story begins, the audience learns that Torvald has also gotten a promotion to an important position at a bank, which also boosts his ego. As the story progresses, the audience also finds that Torvald spends little time with his family and is very condescending to his wife. This proves Ibsen’s point that through the little care Torvald gives to his family and his large ego, those he loves leave.
From the final scene after Torvald finds the letter from Krogstad, we see that Torvald does not care for Nora. He loves her as his good, little trophy wife rather than a partner or mother of his children. Rather than dealing with her problem as a team, he worries about his job and his ego. In lines 461- 465, Torvald scolds Nora as if she is a child, and acts as if the act was inflicted on him personally. He continues to rant about how the entire fiasco must be covered up and that he must appease Krogsted at any cost. For Nora, after not being cared about for quite a while, is finished. His selfish actions successfully push her away. In these scenes, Ibsen proves that this selfishness and concern about only his job results in disaster. Torvald is incapable of thinking about anything other than his upcoming job offer, and just like many classic Hollywood movies, his character must overcome some tragedy to help him learn from these mistakes. However, the final scene proves that his job concern combined with his large ego may have pushed Nora too far.
Torvald’s egotistical characteristics also help push Nora away from him. His condescending tone toward her throughout the play indicate that he thinks much more highly of himself than of her. While he appears to love her, his actions indicate that he loves her role as a perfect, tolerant housewife more than he loves her actual person. As this play ends in tragedy, Ibsen proves that this sort of one-sided relationship is unsustainable. Also throughout the play, the tension between Nora and Torvald also grows. The tipping point of this tension is where Torvald cries in joy about how he is saved. His egotistical manner only considers how he will no longer have to deal with the shame of her actions rather than being concerned for the family as a whole. Through Nora’s icy reply, the audience can see that Torvald’s selfish nature has successfully pushed her away from him.
A Doll’s House has many pertinent themes that accurately describe discrepancies in human interaction and relationships. Torvald’s sole concern about his job and his egotistical manner are both character flaws that prove fatal for his marriage. This play teaches the audience to treat people nicely and respectfully, especially those who are particularly close. In this case, family ties were not strong enough to keep Nora from leaving the dreadful environment she had to endure with such an egotistical and condescending husband. Ibsen clearly proves that these two traits are harmful to any relationship, and that if left undealt with, they can end relationships among people.
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