What Does A Bird Symbolize In A Doll's House

When Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House was first published in the year 1879, it caused an uproar for its portrayal of a married woman's role in society. The play, in three acts, chronicles the struggle of Nora Hemler who attempts to keep her husband from finding out her transaction of a loan by forgery in order not to bring her, him, or their children shame. It becomes evident, however, further through the play that Nora and her husband's marriage is not as plastic and as perfect as it seems. The readers see her struggles not only to hide her shameful actions, but also assert herself amongst her husband and the other characters. Repeated remarks and imagery reveal that Nora is symbolic of a bird, trying to escape her cage and fly to freedom. From Nora's first appearance, the reader is greeted with her mannerisms that are rather ornithoid. Coming home from Christmas shopping, she enters the house and delightfully begins to hum (Ibsen 1), which grabs the attention of her husband Torvald. He asks his wife in response to her good mood with the question: "Is that my little sky-lark chirruping out there?" (Ibsen 1). After reprimanding her for being frivolous, much like a bird, and spending money, he "cheers her up" by tell her that "[his] little singing bird
Ibsen's ornithoid imagery only helps to enhance Nora's position as a prized sky-lard, only let out when her owner tells her she's allowed. As noted in his work How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster simply says that "flying is freedom" (Foster 136), and now that Nora can fly, she is free from the cage (the "doll's house") that keeps her trapped and on display, and can truly let her wings spread as she walks out towards her new, unmarried