Lies In A Doll's House By Ibsen

In Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, the characters believe they know and control the situations in their lives. The reality is that they have no idea how many lies and secrets they are part of. Each character is hiding their true intentions and feelings, making a fool of themselves and others as they desperately try to conceal the truth. The worse the action or the secret, the more they lie and attempt to act innocent. However, as the truth is revealed, it becomes apparent that nothing is as it appears.
One reason nothing is at it appears is because people are afraid of the shameful truth. When Nora and Torvald are discussing the previous Christmas Torvald asks, “Do you remember last Christmas? For a full three weeks before hand you shut yourself
up every evening till long after midnight, making ornaments for the Christmas tree and all the other fine things that were to be a surprise to us” (5). Nora is wrapped up in a lie because she is too afraid of Torvald knowing what she was really doing “for a full three weeks”. She is afraid that even though all of her hard work was for Torvald alone, the aftermath will be too unfortunate, that simply chooses to lie and walk around the big elephant in the room. Next, Dr. Rank and Nora are chatting, and Dr. Rank soon reveals his true feelings for Nora. Nora is taken aback and calls to the nurse, “Helen, bring in the lamp...” Then Dr. Rank responds, “To have loved you as much as anyone else does? Was that horrid?” (40-41). Ibsen implies to the reader that Nora is not mentally stable enough to grasp the truth. The lamp symbolizes how the light of the truth has just been shined and there’s no turning back. Therefore, Nora yells for the lamp because now that she recognizes Dr. Rank’s passionate emotions for her, she does not want to be alone, in the dark with him. An additional occurrence of people lying to escape the truth is when Nora is informed that the letter Krogstad wrote revealing all of Nora’s secrets is in Torvald’s mailbox. The last thing Nora wants is for Torvald to read the letter, so she acts very foolish and desperate just to get Torvald’s attention. As Nora pleads, “Yes, help me, Torvald. Promise that you will! I am so nervous about it---all the people----You must give yourself up to me entirely this evening. Not the tiniest bit of business---You mustn’t even take a pen in your hand. Will you promise, Torvald dear?” (47). She pretends to be this helpless women because she is terrified of what Torvald’s reaction to the information filled letter might be. Nora would rather degrade herself than face her own husband, showing how dishonest and unconnected this relationship is! Also, when Torvald has brought Nora back from the festival early, we see how Nora yet again runs away from the truth. First Nora praises her husband commending, “Everything you do is quite right, Torvald.” Then Torvald reveals the real reason why he took her home commenting, “It is delightful to be at home by ourselves again, to be all alone with you---you fascinating, charming little darling!” In response Nora replies, “Don’t look at me like that, Torvald” (57). We see how corrupt the couples’ marriage is here. Once Nora recognizes Torvald’s true motives of bringing her home, she wants nothing to do with him. Nora playfully admires Torvald but when he is honest, she is the one being exposed to the shameful truth and does not approve of it because it’s easier for her to go around the truth. Last of all, when Nora finally decides to take off on her journey of finding herself and true happiness, Torvald loses control exclaiming, “This is unheard of in a girl of your age! But if religion cannot lead you aright, let me try and awaken your conscience. I suppose you have some moral sense? Or---answer me---am I to think you have none?” (68-69). The readers can see from Torvald’s reaction that he cannot handle the many lies that are now unraveled. Not only can he not handle the truths, but also Torvald is nowhere near accepting the honest opinions Nora is feeding him. Because nothing is hidden anymore, Torvald is so afraid of what people are going to say about him and his wife. Clearly, Nothing is as it seems because people avoid the harmful truth.
Another reason nothing is as it appears is because people have something that masks their true appearance.
We see the masks in Nora’s life when she’s being called a spendthrift by Torvald. As Torvald explains to Nora, “It’s a sweet little spendthrift, but she uses up a deal of money” (4). Torvald is implying that Nora is not capable of handling money by herself and in Torvald’s eyes, Nora has no business in finance and solely has to rely on Torvald. In reality, Nora is doing more than Torvald. She earns money along with performing household duties. Proudly Nora says, “But all the same it was a tremendous pleasure to sit there working and earning money. It was like being a man” (13). Nora’s actions clearly contradict Torvald’s view of her as a “spendthrift”. Torvald thinks that Nora, being a women, should only have the job of taking care of the kids, but Nora actually enjoys bringing an income into the household. Again, we see how Nora’s life is built on lies when Nora comments, “When Torvald is no longer as devoted to me as he is now; when my dancing and dressing-up and reciting have palled on him” (12). Nora is telling Ms. Linde the nature of their relationship, and how she realizes that Torvald is controlling her. She describes how in Torvald’s eyes, she is merely his possession. However, to the readers and to Dr. Rank, we can see Nora’s inner character and how she’s an independent and a fierce women. This perspective of Nora is the exact opposite of how Torvald would
describe his own wife. Next, we see the true appearances being shifty in the supporting character of Krogstad. We see him surrounded into a corner mercilessly trying to get out of it arguing, “But let me tell you this- if I lose my position a second time, you shall lose yours with me.” (24). Krogstad is referring to the main concrete conflict of this play, Nora committing fraud in order to save Torvald’s life. He is telling Nora that if he loses his job, he has the means and the evidence to prove that Nora has committed fraud which will ruin Torvald’s career, forever. Krogstad’s true personality is revealed when he is talking to Mrs. Linde. The letter proving Nora’s crime is how Krogstad will tell Torvald of the news. As Krogstad insists, “I will ask for my letter back” (54). The ruthless Krogstad that we were accustomed to is gone and through Ms. Linde’s compassion, his honest emotions come out. Despite leaving the letter in the mailbox, Krogstad shows that his intentions were never to cause evil. Additionally, the readers can see the idea of masks with Dr. Rank when Nora describes how “He is Torvald’s most intimate friend and a friend of mine too. He is just like one of the family” (31) leading us to believe that Dr. Rank is as loyal as a lion and won’t ever betray Torvald. But in all reality the situation is much different than that. From the bottom of Dr. Rank’ heart he admits, “Nora- do you think he is the only one...The only one who would gladly give his life for your sake...i was determined you should know it before I went away, and there will never be a better opportunity than this” (40). To spur Dr. Rank’s actions and to make this opportunity the best for Dr. Rank to reveal how he really feels, Nora made him very comfortable blurting out, “For shame! [Hits him lightly on the ear with the stockings.] That’s to punish you. [Folds them up again.]” Then Dr. Rank replies, “And what other nice things am I to be allowed to see?” which is followed by Nora saying “Not a single thing more, for being so naughty. [She looks among the things, humming to herself]” (39). We get a sense of flirtation and a very comfortable setting between Nora and Dr. Rank. After Dr. Rank has revealed his true feelings to the wife of his best friend and Nora’s reaction is a stark contrast to her earlier flirtatious actions. Nora confesses, “Dear Doctor Rank, that was really horrid of you” (40) showing how their relationship is ruined, and how Nora will always look at Doctor Rank as her friend, never as a lover. Obviously, hidden identities contribute to the reason of why nothing is what it seems to be.
Last of all, nothing is as it appears is because people hide the truth in order to protect themselves or the people around them.
We see this happen right at the beginning when Nora comes into the house, and lies to Torvald about the macaroons. Torvald asks her if she is eating macaroons, and she responds, “No, Torvald, I assure you” (4). Nora says this even though she is lying and actually had the macaroons and was eating them right before she saw him. Nora is protecting herself from Torvald, as she is disobeying him. The macaroons also come up later when Nora is speaking to Dr. Rank. She offers Dr. Rank a macaroon, and he is suspiciously surprised that she has macaroons in a house where Torvald does not allow them, but Nora quickly replies, “these are some Christene gave me” (16). Nora is worried that she would get into trouble with Dr. Rank and Torvald. Nora keeps trying to protect herself by lying about the macaroons. It’s almost as if Nora is building a tower of lies, starting off small and growing taller and taller. Nora could have easily told Dr. Rank that she’s bought and eaten a few Macaroons because she enjoys them, instead of putting the blame on Christine just to avoid tension with Torvald. Nora is also seen trying to protect herself and her whole family when she says, “I ought to tell you that we had it from Papa” (8). Nora is talking with Mrs. Linde, discussing the trip to Italy. Nora mentions that the money came from her father, but that is not true. She is
protecting herself by lying and saying that the money was from her father because she does not want Torvald to know about the money or anyone else to know about Krogstad and the forgery. She is also protecting her family by lying, because if anyone knew that Nora had paid for the trip, then Torvald’s reputation would be horrible. If Torvald, the working man in the family, could not pay for the trip to Italy, and Nora, the supposedly incapable housewife, payed for it, Torvald would be seen as less of a man. Later on, Nora is speaking with Mrs. Linde, and Nora reveals that she had forged a signature, and Krogstad had lent her the money. Nora says, “Then you must be my witness, that it is not true, Christine. I am not out of my mind at all; I am in my right senses now, and I tell you no one else has known anything about it; I, and I alone, did the whole thing. Remember that” (46). Nora is protecting Torvald by not letting him get blamed for the forging, and putting all the blame on herself. By the end of the play, when Nora is leaving, Torvald goes out and confronts her about the letter that Krogstad sent. He asks Nora, “True? Is this true, that I read here? Horrible No, no ------ it is impossible that it is true” (62). He is bewildered about Krogstad’s letter, and cannot believe it. Nora replies, “It is true. I have loved you above everything else in the world” (62). Nora finally admits that she was lying to Torvald, but it is shown that she truly was lying to protect Torvald, as she did love him, and it was all for his well being. Evidently, lies are used more often in order to maintain safety.
Each person has learned an important lesson by the end of the play, whether it is independence, or staying true to oneself. It is now apparent that while nothing is as it appears when it is masked in lies, when the truth is displayed, everything becomes clearer. The lack of deceitfulness helps characters such as Nora, accept their new part and their new lives. Everyone’s lives have changed for the better when the truth is uncovered and it is possible to see everything for what it is. Everyone has embraced their true selves because there is nothing left to hide, or protect.