3 h 2 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 3 h 2 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 74 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 74 pagesAbout this book
In a cheerful Christmas home, a wife keeps a secret that threatens everything her husband believes about their marriage.
Nora Helmer comes home on Christmas Eve with parcels, a Christmas tree, and macaroons she must hide from her husband, Torvald. He is a lawyer newly made bank manager, proud of his name and certain he knows best. Nora seems to have every comfort. But beneath their playful exchanges lies a secret loan and the fear of discovery.
When Nora’s old friend Kristine Linde arrives seeking work, Nora finds someone to confide in. Then Nils Krogstad, a bank clerk desperate to keep his post, brings pressure into the household. In A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen turns an ordinary living room into the setting for a tightening struggle over money, reputation, and whether a wife is a partner or a possession.
What you’ll discover
- Christmas with hidden cracks Watch forbidden sweets and cheerful preparations reveal the rules beneath a comfortable family life.
- Nora beyond the pet names Meet an affectionate wife whose hidden responsibilities challenge the childish role she plays at home.
- A visitor with leverage Feel the pressure rise as Krogstad’s threatened livelihood becomes entangled with Nora’s secret.
- Marriage under close scrutiny Explore the distance between being loved and being treated as an equal.
- One room, mounting tension Discover how sharp dialogue and ordinary encounters make a confined setting feel increasingly tense.
Who will love it
For readers who love sharp, compact drama, secrets within a marriage, and the ways money shapes family life in the nineteenth century. Students of theatre will also find much to explore.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A cheerful home with small cracks
- An old friend arrives with hard news
- A secret loan and a threatening visitor
- Torvald holds firm as pressure builds
- What the play says about marriage and roles
- How Ibsen builds a room into a drama
Who’s who
- Nora HelmerA lively, affectionate wife and mother who plays the child at home while carrying a secret she believes will protect her family.
- Torvald HelmerNora's husband, a lawyer newly made manager of a bank, proud of his good name and sure that he knows what is best.
- Kristine LindeNora's old school friend, a widow worn down by years of work, who comes to town looking for a job and a fresh start.
- Nils KrogstadA bank clerk with a damaged reputation who is desperate to keep his post and holds a claim over Nora.
- Dr. RankThe Helmers' close friend and family doctor, witty and melancholy, who visits daily and is seriously ill.
- Anne-MarieThe Helmer children's nurse, who once raised Nora herself and now looks after the family's young ones.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 74 pages: 6,95 USD when you start free, 12,95 USD on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 74 pages: 13,95 USD when you start free, 19,95 USD on its own.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear A Doll's House: A Play in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
A Doll's House: A Play
by Henrik Ibsen · 1879
Nora Helmer hides a loan that saved her husband's life, while a bank clerk threatens to expose her secret.
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In short
A Doll's House is a play by the Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen. It was published in December 1879 and first staged in Copenhagen soon after.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A cheerful home with small cracks
The play opens on Christmas Eve in the Helmer household. Nora comes in from shopping, laden with parcels and a Christmas tree, and she hides a bag of macaroons because her husband Torvald has forbidden sweets. He calls her his little lark and his squirrel, and he scolds her about spending as if she were a child. She answers with giggles and coaxing, and the two seem happy.
Torvald has just been promoted. In the new year he will become manager of a bank, and the family's money worries will end. Nora is delighted, and she says so more than once. Yet she also seems to enjoy being watched, praised and teased, and she plays the part with real skill.
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What is A Doll's House about?
It is about Nora Helmer, a wife who secretly borrowed money to save her husband's health and now fears exposure. Around that secret, the play examines marriage, money, duty and how men and women were expected to behave.
Why is it called A Doll's House?
The title suggests a small, pretty home where people are arranged like toys for others to look at. Torvald treats Nora like a doll, and she has learned to play the part.
When was A Doll's House written, and is it a true story?
Ibsen published it in 1879. It is fiction, though he drew on a real case involving a woman he knew who took a secret loan. The play reflects real legal limits on wives in that era.
The author
Henrik Ibsen
1828–1906 · Norwegian playwright
Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. He was born in Skien, Norway, and lived in Italy and Germany from 1864 to 1891 before returning to Norway. He wrote A Doll’s House (1879), Ghosts (1881), An Enemy of the People (1882), and Hedda Gabler (1890). He died in Oslo.
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