A Doll's House Critics

'Ibsen, it is argued, never meant to write a play about the highly topical subject of women's rights'

'Ibsen's Nora is not just a woman arguing for female liberation... she embodies the comedy as well as the tragedy of modern life'

'It is about women, or in that neutral sense, a feminist play, because it deals primarily with the desire of a woman to establish her identity and dignity in the society'

'That title also emphatically suggests the treatment of her as if she was a lifeless doll. She has a house and now needs to search for a home, on her own.'

'His terror of what people might think of him means that when he exercises power over people like Krogstad his actions are shaped by fear. ' (Torvald)

'We assume from her conversation with Mrs Linde about work that she aspires to become part of the petite bourgeoisie, the class which does not control society but supports the structure that does.' (Nora)

'The injustice of being marginalised in this unforgiving society seems to have finally gotten to him.'

'Nora Helmer is that doll living in her fake doll house, which reinforces the fragile idea of a stable family living under a patriarchal and traditional roof.'

'Nora and Torvald communicate only on the most superficial level; he speaks from the conventions of society but neither sees nor hears her, while she can only play out the role that he has constructed for her'