Connection Of Physical Setting With The Characters In 'A Doll's House'
In “A Doll’s House,” the most prominent setting is the living room, and it seems like any other when initially described. However, the items in the living room as well as the descriptions the characters provide about the world outside, such as of the bank, create a better understanding of the play by letting the reader visualize and connect with places and items that are familiar. Henrik Ibsen is able to associate feelings and attributes with everyday household items such as a stove or a tree to make the characters more relatable. The physical setting in the play enhances the reader’s comprehension by using items in the surroundings to reveal the emotions and desires of the characters. Ibsen creates parallels between these everyday items and the emotional state of the protagonist, Nora as well as uses setting to characterize and create contrast. This is done through the use of the stove to give insight into Nora’s distress, through the Christmas tree symbolizing her mentality as well as the deteriorating state of her life and, lastly, through the bank to reveal the disparity between the personalities of Helmer and Krogstad.
Ibsen uses a common household item, a stove, to reflect how Nora feels throughout the play. In the play, the living room is the only room that is extensively described as a way to present its importance. It is portrayed as “[a] comfortable room, furnished inexpensively, but with taste.” There are some luxuries such as a piano and china that are displayed, as well as “handsomely bound books”. This gives insight into the class of the Helmer family, as the description of the room fits into a standard middle class household at the time which makes it relatable to readers as it may look like their own homes. Ibsen operationalizes the stove to covertly display Nora’s discomfort within situations. At times she feels like she is being attacked or is unsure of what to do she moves towards the stove. It’s warmth, is why Nora gravitates towards it. When Krogstad first comes to the Helmer home to speak with her, she assumes he is there for Torvald, and so she dismisses him by, “[bowing] perfunctorily and [shutting] the hall door. Then she goes over and attends to the stove”. She uses this as a way to disassociate herself from the fear she feels from taking a loan for him, and her even greater fear of Helmer finding out.
The stove acts as representation of Nora’s desire to escape, whether it be the confines of her daily life, or from the potential consequences of her actions. This can be seen when Dr. Rank professes his love for her. In this situation she feels uncomfortable and shocked by her friend’s confession, which causes her inner turmoil. To diminish her uneasiness she leaves her seat and, “goes to the stove”. Nora is clearly unable to handle the situation and thus wishes to remove herself from it, and the stove acts as a place where she can feel safe, as opposed to her circumstances. In this way the stove acts as a source of solace for when Nora is anxious and in turmoil over what occurs around her.
In the Helmer house, Christmas is treated with great importance and the whole family, especially Nora, is excited about the coming events. A Christmas tree represents festivity and is a decorative object, much like Nora living in her doll's house, as she too can be considered a decorative object for Torvald. When it is first mentioned, it is in reference to the previous year . Helmer believes she spends a lot of time enjoying making the decorations, however, in reality, she revels in the responsibility of paying back her bank loan. In the present when she first begins to adorn the tree, it is after her unsettling conversation with Krogstad, which leaves her distressed. She channels this towards this task and uses it as a distraction. This is seen when the Nora is described to be, “busily decorating the tree”and says. “A candle here… and flowers here… That horrible man! It’s all nonsense… nonsense, there’s nothing in it! We shall have a lovely tree…” . This further develops the idea that Nora desires to escape from the realities of her life, and at this point the only way that it is possible for her to do so, is to throw herself into her duties as a mother and wife. Thus Nora is characterized as someone who turns to distractions in the event of a problem.
The Christmas tree mimics Nora’s mentality when she is distressed and acts as a parallel to the deterioration of her life at home. After Torvald tells her that, “an atmosphere of lies… infects and poisons the whole life of a home. In a house like that every breath that the children take is filled with the germs of evil”, she is left visibly tormented and begins to have a mental breakdown. She isolates herself from her children due to a fear of corrupting them with her “lie”, which is shown through the depiction of being, “alone in the room”. The Christmas tree at this point mimics her state, and is described to be, “... stripped and dishevelled, with the stumps of burnt-out candles”. Just like Nora, the tree falls apart and the burnt out candles can be seen to represent how her hope for saving the situation is also “burnt-out”. In this way, throughout the play, the Christmas tree is used as a representation of Nora’s emotional state.
Lastly, the bank is used to show the differences between the personalities of Torvald and Krogstad. A bank is a place that is assumed to be pristine, regulated and free of corruption. This is because it is where money is handled and one would assume that the people working there would be responsible and of high morals. This setting arguably universally constant as banks throughout the world and time have been consistently held to this standard. In this case, it correlates with the personality of Torvald, as he wishes to remain out of debt, considers borrowing money to be a sin, and follows the rules of his society. This is revealed very early on in the play when he explains to Nora, “...what [he] [thinks] about that sort of thing. No debts, no borrowing. There’s something constrained, something ugly even, about a home that’s founded on borrowing and debt”. He is the epitome of what a man should be at the time, and is respected due to the fact he achieves his new position at the bank through hard work.
On the other hand, Krogstad works as a subordinate in the bank under Torvald. He contrasts this idea of being pristine by being willing to use unethical methods to achieve his goals, such as forgery, and lending money to Nora, knowing that this is forbidden. Krogstad eventually decides not to work but let’s Mrs.Linde work instead. Thus he reverses roles with Mrs. Linde, letting her become the breadwinner of the family, which contradicted another societal rule at this time as woman were not necessarily supposed to work or have autonomy. Torvald’s reaction to the gravity of Krogstad’s actions is expressed when he claims, “...he tried to wriggle out of it with tricks and subterfuges. That’s what corrupted him” (179). Krogstad breaks rules rather than following them. This reveals that Torvald’s rule abiding personality correlates with his considerably immaculate place of work, the bank, while Krogstad is in opposition to it. As such it can be seen that the setting of the bank is used to depict the disparity between the characters of Torvald and Krogstad.
In “A Doll's House” Ibsen’s description and use of physical setting enhances the reader’s understanding of the personalities, emotions and behavioral patterns of characters. Elements in the setting, like the stove, give perspicacity into when Nora feels discomfort and experiences inner-conflict over decision-making which is the case during Dr. Rank’s confession. The Christmas tree is used to reflect Nora’s instability and mimics what is occurring in the Helmer house. For example when Nora begins to think that her secret will be discovered by Torvald, her mental state is panicked and as such the tree becomes dishevelled and undone. Lastly, the bank is used to portray the contrast between the characters of Krogstad and Torvald. While Torvald fits in with the clean and proper environment of a bank, Krogstad contrasts it due to breaking its rules. In the end, the Christmas tree cannot be seen as decorative piece in it’s ruined state, and Nora parallels this as she refuses to be a “doll” any longer. Her desire to escape is fulfilled as she makes the decision to leave the Helmer household. In this way Ibsen connects the physical setting of the play with the characters to communicate significant information about their mental states, beliefs and characteristics in “A Doll's House”.
