《玩偶之傢》是19世紀挪威最偉大的戲劇傢亨利剋•易卜生的著名社會劇。作於 1879年。女主人公娜拉出身中等家庭，美麗活潑，天真熱情。她熱烈而真誠地愛着自己的丈夫海爾茂。為替丈夫治病，她曾冒名舉債，又熬夜抄寫文件，掙錢、省錢，偷偷還債。如果需要，她甚至表示可以為丈夫而死。但她的丈夫（過去的銀行職員，現在的銀行經理），卻是個虛偽自私的資産階級市儈，他平時管她叫“小鳥兒”、“小鬆鼠兒”，可一旦知道娜拉曾冒名舉債，危及自己的社會名聲和地位時，便一反常態，大駡她是“犯罪女人”，還揚言要剝奪他教育子女的權利，要對她進行法律、宗教製裁。後來，當債主受女友感化，退回了冒名藉據時，他又轉變態度，表示要永遠愛她和保護她。經此轉折，娜拉終於看清了自己的“泥娃娃”處境，發現自己不過是丈夫的“玩偶”，於是對保護這家庭關係的資産階級法律、道德、宗教，提出了嚴重懷疑和激烈批判，並毅然離開了這個“玩偶之傢”。娜拉是個具有資産階級個性解放思想的叛逆女性。她對社會的背叛和棄傢出走，被譽為婦女解放的“獨立宣言”。然而，在素把婦女當作玩偶的社會裏，娜拉真能求得獨立解放嗎？茫茫黑夜，她又能走嚮何處？
《玩偶之傢》-作者簡介
《玩偶之傢》易卜生
易卜生（1828——1906），挪威人，世界近代社會問題劇的始祖和最著名的作傢，商人家庭出身。一生共寫劇本26 部。《覬覦王位的人》、《厄斯特洛的英格夫人》等早期劇作，大多以歷史題材表現愛國主義思想，浪漫色彩濃郁；中期創作就有意識地揭示當時的各種社會問題，有《培爾•金特》、《社會支柱》、《玩偶之傢》、《群鬼》、《國民公敵》等劇作。代表作《玩偶之傢》（1879）通過娜拉形象的塑造，提出資本主義社會的法律、倫理和婦女地位等社會問題，對現實的批判深刻有力。晚期的《野鴨》、《羅斯莫莊》、《海上夫人》、《咱們死人再生時》等劇作轉嚮心理描寫和精神分析，象徵主義色彩濃厚。其劇作以鮮明的主題、生動的情節、嚴謹的結構、優美的語言和獨特的藝術風格，對世界近現代戲劇的發展有廣泛、深刻的影響。
《玩偶之傢》-人物評價
娜拉是個具有資産階級個性解放思想的叛逆女性。她對社會的背叛和棄傢出走，被譽為婦女解放的“獨立宣言”。然而，在素把婦女當作玩偶的社會裏，娜拉真能求得獨立解放嗎？茫茫黑夜，她又能走嚮何處？魯迅先生在《娜拉走後怎樣？》一文中說：“從事理上推想起來，娜拉或者其實也衹有兩條路：不是墮落，就是回來。”這確實是問題的癥結所在。
女主人娜拉表面上是一個未經世故開鑿的青年婦女，一貫被人喚作“小鳥兒”、“小鬆鼠兒”，實際上上她性格善良而堅強，為了丈夫和家庭不惜忍辱負重，甚至準備犧牲自己的名譽。她因輓救丈夫的生命，曾經瞞着他嚮人藉了一筆債；同時想給垂危的父親省卻煩惱，又冒名簽了一個字。就是由於這件合情合理的行為，資産階級的“不講理的法律”卻逼得她走投無路。更令她痛心的是，真相大白之後，最需要丈夫和她同舟共濟、承擔危局的時刻，她卻發現自己為之作出犧牲的丈夫竟是一個虛偽而卑劣的市儈。她終於覺醒過來，認識到自己婚前不過是父親的玩偶，婚後不過是丈夫的玩偶，從來就沒有獨立的人格。於是，她毅然决然拋棄丈夫和孩子，從囚籠似的家庭出走了。
易卜生出生於一個以小資産階級為主體的國傢，周圍彌漫着小資産階級社會所固有的以妥協、投機為能事的市儈氣息。對這一類庸俗、虛偽的政治和政治傢，他是深惡痛絶的，甚至如他自己所說，不惜與之“處於公開的戰爭狀態”。但是，這裏也相應地産生了挪威小資産者易卜生的悲觀主義。弗朗茨•梅林在一篇關於這位劇作傢的評論中指出：“易卜生再怎樣偉大，他畢竟是個資産階級詩人；他既是悲觀主義者，並且必然是悲觀主義者，他對於本階級的沒落便看不見、也不能看見任何解救辦法。”這位劇作傢在自己的作品中，衹能唯心地歌頌“人的精神的反叛”，把具有這種反叛精神的主人公當作“高尚的人性”加以憧憬。他限於環境和階階，看不見革命的政治和政治傢，更不信仰他根本無從接觸的社會主義革命，因此也就不能在堅實的歷史基礎和生活基礎上為他的主人公開闢真正的出路。
《玩偶之傢》-作品背景
易卜生的整個創作生涯恰值十九世紀後半葉。在他的筆下，歐洲資産階級的形象比在莎士比亞、莫裏哀筆下顯得更腐爛、更醜惡，也更令人憎恨，這是很自然的。他的犀利的筆鋒飽含着憤激的熱情，戳穿了資産階級在道德、法律、宗教、教育以及家庭關係多方面的假面具，揭露了整個資本主義社會的虛偽和荒謬。《玩偶之傢》就是對於資本主義私有製下的婚姻關係、對於資産階級的男權中心思想的一篇義正辭嚴的控訴書。
《玩偶之傢》-作品主題
劇本主題突出、人物鮮明、結構嚴密、情節集中，矛盾的發展既合情合理、又有條不紊。作者把劇情安排在聖誕節前後三天之內，藉以突出節日的歡樂氣氛和家庭悲劇之間的對比；以銀行職員柯洛剋斯泰因被海爾茂辭退，便利用藉據來要挾娜拉為他保住職位為主綫，引出人物之間各種矛盾的交錯展開，讓女主人公在短短三天中，經歷了一場激烈而復雜的內心鬥爭：從平靜到混亂，從幻想到破裂，最後完成自我覺醒，從而取得了極為強烈的戲劇效果。
《玩偶之傢》-作品思想
它通過女主人公娜拉與丈夫海爾茂之間由相親相愛轉為决裂的過程，探討了資産階級的婚姻問題，暴露男權社會與婦女解放之間的矛盾衝突，進而嚮資産階級社會的宗教、法律、道德提出挑戰，激勵人們尤其是婦女為掙脫傳統觀念的束縛，為爭取自由平等而鬥爭。娜拉與丈夫已結婚八年，是三個孩子的母親了，然而在家庭中仍然是玩偶的地位，起初她並不自知，易卜生在此着重描寫了她的覺醒和“精神反叛”，她終於逐漸認識到自己可悲的社會地位：結婚前屬於父親的，結婚後屬於丈夫的，“像要飯的叫化子，要一口吃一口”；她再也不願意處於奴隸的地位，經過一番激烈的辯論而勇敢地出走了，她要到社會中去弄清楚“究竟是社會正確還是我正確”。可以這麽說，娜拉從幼稚的和諧到復雜的矛盾，從耽於幻想到幻想破滅，從安於玩偶之傢到堅决出走的過程是婦女覺醒的苦難的歷程，當然出走了的娜拉走嚮何方，她未來的生活道路在哪裏，連易卜生也無法回答，但易卜生對婦女解放的心理過程的刻劃其意義已十分重大。
作品從家庭夫婦之間的矛盾衝突來揭示社會矛盾,對娜拉和海爾茂的不同性格,可淋漓盡致地體現在作品之中。
《玩偶之傢》-作品評價
娜拉身上更為可貴的品質，就是倔強,不肯嚮惡勢力屈服。從外表看，人們以為她是個無憂無慮的人，其實這是誤會。她對林丹太太說:“你們都以為在這煩惱世界裏,我沒經過什麽煩惱事?”實際不是這樣，她也有“煩惱事”，如家庭經濟睏難，要借錢為丈夫治病，藉了錢要想盡辦法還債等等，但她從不垂頭喪氣。還是很積極、樂觀。債主柯洛剋斯太利用她的藉據上的假簽字，對她進行威脅、恐嚇，她沒有絲毫軟弱的表現。為了救丈夫的命去藉債，債主威逼她，她仍然不把事情告訴丈夫，自己堅定地準備承擔一切責任，為了保全丈夫的名譽，甚至决定自殺，所有這些都是娜拉倔強性格的表現。娜拉這種堅強不屈的精神是她最終同海爾茂决裂，脫離“玩偶家庭”的性格基礎。如果是一個軟弱的女人，即使認識了丈夫的惡劣品質，要采取與丈夫斷絶關係的行動，往往也是不可能的。
娜拉毅然决然地同海爾茂决裂,更主要的是有她的思想基礎。現實生活教育了她,使她不僅認清了海爾茂的醜惡靈魂,而且也認識了現實社會的不合理。娜拉對資本主義社會的教育、道德、宗教、法律等問題的看法,跟一般資産階級庸人如海爾茂之流的見解是不相同的。“醒悟”後的娜拉,對資本主義社會持敵視態度。當海爾茂說她“你不瞭解咱們的社會”時,她激昂地回答說:“究竟是社會正確還是我正確!”“我知道大多數人贊成你的話，並且書本裏也這麽說。可是從今以後我不能相信大多數人的話,也不能一味相信書本裏的話。”對於麻痹人民的精神鴉片———宗教，娜拉更不會把它放在眼裏,她宣稱:“我真不知道宗教是什麽。”對於資本主義社會的法律,娜拉深受其害,更是深惡痛絶。“國傢的法律跟我心裏想的不一樣..我不信世界上有這種不講理的法律。”娜拉的言語顯示了她是一個具有民主思想傾嚮的婦女。她同海爾茂决裂的行動是她用民主思想進行反抗的必然結果，儘管娜拉不是一個完美無缺的人。作者通過塑造娜拉這一鮮明的婦女形象，表達了中小資産階級婦女要求自由獨立，維護人格尊嚴等思想願望,並對現存的資本主義制度表現了某種程度的懷疑、否定和批判。
從歷史唯物主義觀點來看，娜拉要真正解放自己，當然不能一走了之。婦女解放的着急當然不在於僅僅擺脫或打倒海爾茂之流及其男權中心的婚姻關係。恩格斯在《家庭、私有製和國傢的起源》中一語中的地指出：“婦女解放的第一個先决條件就是一切女性重新回到公共的勞動中去”，因為“男子在婚姻上的統治是他的經濟統治的簡單的後果，它將自然地隨着後者的消失而消失。”娜拉在覺醒之前所以受製於海爾茂，正由於海爾茂首先在經濟上統治了她。
因此，娜拉要掙脫海爾茂的控製，决不能單憑一點反叛精神，而必須首先在經濟爭取獨立的人格。她所代表的資産階級婦女的解放，必須以社會經濟關係的徹底變革為前提。她所夢想的“奇跡中的奇跡”，即她和海爾茂都“改變到咱們在一起兒過日子真正象夫妻”，也衹有在通過改造社會環境而改造人的社會主義社會纔有可能。在世界文學史上，易卜生曾經被稱為“一個偉大的問號”。這個“問號”至今仍然發人深省，促使人們思考：在資本主義私有製經濟基礎被摧毀之後，還應當怎樣進一步消除和肅清易卜生在《玩偶之傢》等劇中所痛斥的資産階級的傳統道德、市儈意識及其流毒。在這個意義上，易卜生的戲劇對於以解放全人類為己任的無産階級，正是一宗寶貴的精神財富。
《玩偶之傢》是易卜生有關婦女問題的傑作，也是代表了他最高思想和藝術成就的作品。劇本描寫女主人公娜拉為了替丈夫治病，偽造父親的簽名嚮人借錢。 8年後，剛當上銀行經理的丈夫海爾茂决定解雇銀行職員柯洛剋斯泰，而柯洛剋斯泰正是當年的債主，債主寫信給海爾茂發出威脅。海爾茂知道後，深怕此事影響其前程和名譽，怒斥娜拉是“撒謊的下賤女人”，壞了他“一生的幸福”。當債主在娜拉的女友林丹太太（柯洛剋斯泰的舊情人）的感化下主動退回藉據後，海爾茂又對妻子裝出一副笑臉，稱她是自己的 “小鳥兒”、“小寶貝”，宣稱自己已經“寬恕”了妻子。但娜拉已看透了海爾茂的極端自私和虛偽，認識到自己衹不過是他的玩偶，不再信任他，果斷勇敢地離開了這個“玩偶之傢”。
易卜生通過娜拉覺醒、出走的故事，深刻揭露資本主義社會法律、宗教、道德、愛情、婚姻等的虛偽和不合理，提出了婦女從男人的奴役下解放出來的問題。娜拉是一個溫柔善良的女子，為了不讓病中的父親和丈夫擔心，偽造父親的簽名借錢為丈夫治病，多年以來默默地忍受困苦，以丈夫的愛好為愛好，以丈夫的歡樂為歡樂，自以為丈夫是愛她的，自以為是幸福的，滿足於當丈夫的“小寶貝”。當債主發出威脅的時候，娜拉等待發生“奇跡”：她的丈夫會勇敢地挺起寬闊的胸膛保護自己。但是奇跡沒有發生，娜拉徹底失望了。海爾茂在傢中是一個大男子主義者，在社會上是資産階級道德、法律和宗教的維護者。從表面上看，海爾茂是個“正人君人”、“模範丈夫”，似乎很愛妻子，實際上他衹是把娜拉當作一件裝飾品，一件私有財産，真正重要的是他的名譽地位。富有諷刺意味的是，海爾茂為了表白自己對妻子的“愛”，甚至聲稱希望發生一場巨大的災難以使他有機會顯示出“真正的男子漢大丈夫”。劇作揭露了資産階級婚姻的虛偽性，肯定了娜拉的出走，具有進步的社會意義。事實上，在當時的歷史條件下，娜拉在出走之後，完全能夠像林丹太太那樣靠自己的工作養活自己。但怎樣才能使婦女獲得真正的解放，易卜生並不清楚。他在劇中衹是提出了問題，並沒有提出解决問題的道路。而當他試圖提出解决問題的方案時（如《海上夫人》），他的方案卻是錯誤而不切實際的。
Plot synopsis
A Doll's House opens as Nora Helmer is telling Helen to hide the Christmas tree. Nora is treated as a silly, childish woman by her husband, Torvald. Her friend Kristine Linde, recently widowed and short of money, has heard about Torvald's recent promotion to head the bank and comes to ask Nora for help in persuading Torvald to give Kristine a job. Nora promises to ask Torvald to give Kristine a position as secretary. Nora confides to Kristine that she once secretly borrowed money from a disgraced lawyer, Nils Krogstad, to save Torvald's life when he was very ill, but she has not told him in order to protect his pride. She then took secret jobs copying papers by hand, which she carried out secretly in her room, and learned to take pride in her ability to earn money "as if she were a man." Torvald's promotion promises to finally liberate her from having to scrimp and save in order to be able to pay off her debt. However, she has continued to play the part of the frivolous, scatter-brained child-wife for the benefit of her husband.
Meanwhile, Dr. Rank, a family friend, flirts with Nora before revealing that he is terminally ill with tuberculosis of the spine (a contemporary euphemism for congenital syphilis), with only a month to live, and that he has been secretly in love with her.
Frightened after being fired by Torvald from his minor position at the bank, Krogstad approaches Nora, declaring he no longer cares about the remaining balance of her loan but will preserve the associated bond in order to blackmail Torvald into not only keeping him employed, but giving him a promotion. Krogstad informs Nora that he has written a letter detailing her crime (forging her father's signature of surety on the bond) and puts it in Torvald's mailbox, which is locked.
Nora tells Kristine of her predicament. Kristine says that she and Krogstad were in love before she married, and promises she will convince him to relent.
Torvald tries to check his mail before he and Nora go to a costume party, but Nora distracts him by showing him the dance she has been rehearsing for the party. Torvald declares that he will postpone reading his mail until the evening. Alone, Nora contemplates suicide to save her husband from the shame of the revelation of her crime, and more important to pre-empt any gallant gesture on his part to "save" her.
Kristine tells Krogstad that she only married her husband because she had no other means to support her sick mother and young siblings, and that she has returned to offer him her love again. Krogstad is moved and offers to take back his letter to Torvald. However, Kristine decides that Torvald should know the truth for the sake of his and Nora's marriage.
Back from the party, Doctor Rank gives his letters of death to the Helmers, and Nora talks to him as if nothing is going to happen. Torvald goes to check the mail; Nora does everything to stop him but fails. Torvald goes to read his letters and Nora prepares to take her life. Before she has the opportunity, Torvald intercepts her, confronting her with Krogstad's letter. In his rage, he declares that he is now completely in Krogstad's power—he must yield to Krogstad's demands and keep quiet about the whole affair. He berates Nora, calling her a dishonest and immoral woman and telling her she is unfit to raise their children. He says that their marriage will be kept only to maintain appearances.
A maid enters, delivering a letter to Nora. Krogstad has returned the incriminating papers, saying that he regrets his actions. Torvald is jubilant, telling Nora he is saved as he burns the papers. He takes back his harsh words to his wife and tells her that he has forgiven her. He also explains to her that her mistake makes her all the more precious to him because it reveals an adorable helplessness, and that when a man has forgiven his wife it makes him love her all the more since she is the recipient of his generosity.
By now Nora has realized that her husband is not the man she thought he was, and that her whole existence has been a lie. Her fantasy of love is just that—a fantasy. Torvald's love is highly conditional. She has been treated like a plaything, first by her father and then by her husband. She decides that she must leave to find out who she is and what to make of her life. Torvald insists she must fulfill her duty as a wife and mother, but Nora believes she also has duties to herself. From Torvald's reaction to Krogstad's letters, Nora sees that she and Torvald are strangers to each other. When Torvald asks if there is still any chance for them to rebuild their marriage, she replies that it would take "the greatest miracle of all": they would have to change so much that their life together would become a real marriage.
The play ends with Nora leaving, marked by a famous door slam, while Torvald hopefully ponders the possibility of "the greatest miracle of all".
Alternative ending
It was felt by Ibsen's German agent that the original ending would not play well in German theatres; therefore, for the play's German debut, Ibsen was forced to write an alternative ending for it to be considered acceptable. In this ending, Nora is led to her children after having argued with Torvald. Seeing them, she collapses, and the curtain is brought down. Ibsen later called the ending a disgrace to the original play and referred to it as a 'barbaric outrage'.
Productions
The play made its American premiere on Broadway at the Palmer's Theatre on 21 December 1889, starring Beatrice Cameron as Nora Helmer. Other productions in the United States include one in 1902 starring Minnie Maddern Fiske and a 1997 production starring Janet McTeer at Belasco Theater, which received four Tony Awards and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play. The first British production opened on 7 June 1889, starring Janet Achurch as Nora.. Achurch played Nora again for a 7-day run in 1897. A new translation by Zinnie Harris at the Donmar Warehouse, starring Gillian Anderson, Toby Stephens, Anton Lesser, Tara Fitzgerald and Christopher Eccleston opened in May 2009.
Film, television and radio adaptations
Main article: A Doll's House (film)
A Doll's House has been adapted for several film releases including two in 1973: one directed by Joseph Losey, starring Jane Fonda, David Warner and Trevor Howard; and one directed by Patrick Garland with stars Claire Bloom, Anthony Hopkins, and Ralph Richardson. In 1993, David Thacker directed, with stars Juliet Stevenson, Trevor Eve and David Calder. Dariush Mehrjui's 1993 film Sara is based on A Doll's House, where Sara, played by Niki Karimi, is the Nora of Ibsen's play.
A version for American television was made in 1959, directed by George Schaefer and starring Julie Harris, Christopher Plummer, Hume Cronyn, Eileen Heckart and Jason Robards. A 1938 US radio production starred Joan Crawford as Nora and Basil Rathbone as Torvald. A later US radio version by the Theatre Guild in 1947 featured Rathbone with Wendy Hiller, his co-star from a contemporary Broadway production.
Critics
A Doll's House criticises the traditional roles of men and women in 19th-century marriage. To many 19th-century Europeans, this was scandalous. Nothing was considered more holy than the covenant of marriage, and to portray it in such a way was completely unacceptable; however, a few more open-minded critics such as the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw found Ibsen's willingness to examine society without prejudice exhilarating. In Germany, the production's lead actress refused to play the part of Nora unless Ibsen changed the ending, which, under pressure, he eventually did. In the alternative ending, Nora gives her husband another chance after he reminds her of her responsibility to their children. This ending proved unpopular and Ibsen later regretted his decision on the matter. Virtually all productions today, however, use the original ending, as do nearly all of the film versions of this play, including Dariush Mehrjui's Sara (the Argentine version, made in 1943 and starring Delia Garcés, does not; it also modernizes the story, setting it in the early 1940s).
Much of the criticism is focused on Nora's self-discovery, but the other characters also have depth and value. The infected Dr. Rank and Nora both suffer from the irresponsibility of their fathers: Dr. Rank for the father who infected his family, Nora for the father she likely married to protect. Dr. Rank's disease becomes a metaphor for the poison infecting the Helmers' marriage and society at large. Mrs. Linde provides the model of a woman who has been forced to fend for and find herself – a self-aware, resourceful woman.
Real-life basis
A Doll's House was based on the life of Laura Kieler (maiden name Laura Smith Petersen). She was a good friend of Ibsen. Much that happened between Nora and Torvald happened to Laura and her husband, Victor, with the most important exception being the forged signature that was the basis of Nora's loan. In real life, when Victor found out about Laura's secret loan, he divorced her and had her committed to an asylum. Two years later, she returned to her husband and children at his urging, and she went on to become a well-known Danish author, living to the age of 83. In the play, Nora left Torvald with head held high, though facing an uncertain future given the limitations women faced in the society of the time. Ibsen wrote A Doll's House at the point when Laura Kieler had been committed to the asylum, and the fate of this friend of the family shook him deeply, perhaps also because Laura had asked him to intervene at a crucial point in the scandal, which he did not feel able or willing to do. Instead, he turned this life situation into an aesthetically shaped, successful drama. Kieler eventually rebound from the shame of the scandal and had her own successful writing career while remaining discontent with sole recognition as "Ibsen's Nora" years afterwards.
《玩偶之傢》-作者簡介
《玩偶之傢》易卜生
易卜生（1828——1906），挪威人，世界近代社會問題劇的始祖和最著名的作傢，商人家庭出身。一生共寫劇本26 部。《覬覦王位的人》、《厄斯特洛的英格夫人》等早期劇作，大多以歷史題材表現愛國主義思想，浪漫色彩濃郁；中期創作就有意識地揭示當時的各種社會問題，有《培爾•金特》、《社會支柱》、《玩偶之傢》、《群鬼》、《國民公敵》等劇作。代表作《玩偶之傢》（1879）通過娜拉形象的塑造，提出資本主義社會的法律、倫理和婦女地位等社會問題，對現實的批判深刻有力。晚期的《野鴨》、《羅斯莫莊》、《海上夫人》、《咱們死人再生時》等劇作轉嚮心理描寫和精神分析，象徵主義色彩濃厚。其劇作以鮮明的主題、生動的情節、嚴謹的結構、優美的語言和獨特的藝術風格，對世界近現代戲劇的發展有廣泛、深刻的影響。
《玩偶之傢》-人物評價
娜拉是個具有資産階級個性解放思想的叛逆女性。她對社會的背叛和棄傢出走，被譽為婦女解放的“獨立宣言”。然而，在素把婦女當作玩偶的社會裏，娜拉真能求得獨立解放嗎？茫茫黑夜，她又能走嚮何處？魯迅先生在《娜拉走後怎樣？》一文中說：“從事理上推想起來，娜拉或者其實也衹有兩條路：不是墮落，就是回來。”這確實是問題的癥結所在。
女主人娜拉表面上是一個未經世故開鑿的青年婦女，一貫被人喚作“小鳥兒”、“小鬆鼠兒”，實際上上她性格善良而堅強，為了丈夫和家庭不惜忍辱負重，甚至準備犧牲自己的名譽。她因輓救丈夫的生命，曾經瞞着他嚮人藉了一筆債；同時想給垂危的父親省卻煩惱，又冒名簽了一個字。就是由於這件合情合理的行為，資産階級的“不講理的法律”卻逼得她走投無路。更令她痛心的是，真相大白之後，最需要丈夫和她同舟共濟、承擔危局的時刻，她卻發現自己為之作出犧牲的丈夫竟是一個虛偽而卑劣的市儈。她終於覺醒過來，認識到自己婚前不過是父親的玩偶，婚後不過是丈夫的玩偶，從來就沒有獨立的人格。於是，她毅然决然拋棄丈夫和孩子，從囚籠似的家庭出走了。
易卜生出生於一個以小資産階級為主體的國傢，周圍彌漫着小資産階級社會所固有的以妥協、投機為能事的市儈氣息。對這一類庸俗、虛偽的政治和政治傢，他是深惡痛絶的，甚至如他自己所說，不惜與之“處於公開的戰爭狀態”。但是，這裏也相應地産生了挪威小資産者易卜生的悲觀主義。弗朗茨•梅林在一篇關於這位劇作傢的評論中指出：“易卜生再怎樣偉大，他畢竟是個資産階級詩人；他既是悲觀主義者，並且必然是悲觀主義者，他對於本階級的沒落便看不見、也不能看見任何解救辦法。”這位劇作傢在自己的作品中，衹能唯心地歌頌“人的精神的反叛”，把具有這種反叛精神的主人公當作“高尚的人性”加以憧憬。他限於環境和階階，看不見革命的政治和政治傢，更不信仰他根本無從接觸的社會主義革命，因此也就不能在堅實的歷史基礎和生活基礎上為他的主人公開闢真正的出路。
《玩偶之傢》-作品背景
易卜生的整個創作生涯恰值十九世紀後半葉。在他的筆下，歐洲資産階級的形象比在莎士比亞、莫裏哀筆下顯得更腐爛、更醜惡，也更令人憎恨，這是很自然的。他的犀利的筆鋒飽含着憤激的熱情，戳穿了資産階級在道德、法律、宗教、教育以及家庭關係多方面的假面具，揭露了整個資本主義社會的虛偽和荒謬。《玩偶之傢》就是對於資本主義私有製下的婚姻關係、對於資産階級的男權中心思想的一篇義正辭嚴的控訴書。
《玩偶之傢》-作品主題
劇本主題突出、人物鮮明、結構嚴密、情節集中，矛盾的發展既合情合理、又有條不紊。作者把劇情安排在聖誕節前後三天之內，藉以突出節日的歡樂氣氛和家庭悲劇之間的對比；以銀行職員柯洛剋斯泰因被海爾茂辭退，便利用藉據來要挾娜拉為他保住職位為主綫，引出人物之間各種矛盾的交錯展開，讓女主人公在短短三天中，經歷了一場激烈而復雜的內心鬥爭：從平靜到混亂，從幻想到破裂，最後完成自我覺醒，從而取得了極為強烈的戲劇效果。
《玩偶之傢》-作品思想
它通過女主人公娜拉與丈夫海爾茂之間由相親相愛轉為决裂的過程，探討了資産階級的婚姻問題，暴露男權社會與婦女解放之間的矛盾衝突，進而嚮資産階級社會的宗教、法律、道德提出挑戰，激勵人們尤其是婦女為掙脫傳統觀念的束縛，為爭取自由平等而鬥爭。娜拉與丈夫已結婚八年，是三個孩子的母親了，然而在家庭中仍然是玩偶的地位，起初她並不自知，易卜生在此着重描寫了她的覺醒和“精神反叛”，她終於逐漸認識到自己可悲的社會地位：結婚前屬於父親的，結婚後屬於丈夫的，“像要飯的叫化子，要一口吃一口”；她再也不願意處於奴隸的地位，經過一番激烈的辯論而勇敢地出走了，她要到社會中去弄清楚“究竟是社會正確還是我正確”。可以這麽說，娜拉從幼稚的和諧到復雜的矛盾，從耽於幻想到幻想破滅，從安於玩偶之傢到堅决出走的過程是婦女覺醒的苦難的歷程，當然出走了的娜拉走嚮何方，她未來的生活道路在哪裏，連易卜生也無法回答，但易卜生對婦女解放的心理過程的刻劃其意義已十分重大。
作品從家庭夫婦之間的矛盾衝突來揭示社會矛盾,對娜拉和海爾茂的不同性格,可淋漓盡致地體現在作品之中。
《玩偶之傢》-作品評價
娜拉身上更為可貴的品質，就是倔強,不肯嚮惡勢力屈服。從外表看，人們以為她是個無憂無慮的人，其實這是誤會。她對林丹太太說:“你們都以為在這煩惱世界裏,我沒經過什麽煩惱事?”實際不是這樣，她也有“煩惱事”，如家庭經濟睏難，要借錢為丈夫治病，藉了錢要想盡辦法還債等等，但她從不垂頭喪氣。還是很積極、樂觀。債主柯洛剋斯太利用她的藉據上的假簽字，對她進行威脅、恐嚇，她沒有絲毫軟弱的表現。為了救丈夫的命去藉債，債主威逼她，她仍然不把事情告訴丈夫，自己堅定地準備承擔一切責任，為了保全丈夫的名譽，甚至决定自殺，所有這些都是娜拉倔強性格的表現。娜拉這種堅強不屈的精神是她最終同海爾茂决裂，脫離“玩偶家庭”的性格基礎。如果是一個軟弱的女人，即使認識了丈夫的惡劣品質，要采取與丈夫斷絶關係的行動，往往也是不可能的。
娜拉毅然决然地同海爾茂决裂,更主要的是有她的思想基礎。現實生活教育了她,使她不僅認清了海爾茂的醜惡靈魂,而且也認識了現實社會的不合理。娜拉對資本主義社會的教育、道德、宗教、法律等問題的看法,跟一般資産階級庸人如海爾茂之流的見解是不相同的。“醒悟”後的娜拉,對資本主義社會持敵視態度。當海爾茂說她“你不瞭解咱們的社會”時,她激昂地回答說:“究竟是社會正確還是我正確!”“我知道大多數人贊成你的話，並且書本裏也這麽說。可是從今以後我不能相信大多數人的話,也不能一味相信書本裏的話。”對於麻痹人民的精神鴉片———宗教，娜拉更不會把它放在眼裏,她宣稱:“我真不知道宗教是什麽。”對於資本主義社會的法律,娜拉深受其害,更是深惡痛絶。“國傢的法律跟我心裏想的不一樣..我不信世界上有這種不講理的法律。”娜拉的言語顯示了她是一個具有民主思想傾嚮的婦女。她同海爾茂决裂的行動是她用民主思想進行反抗的必然結果，儘管娜拉不是一個完美無缺的人。作者通過塑造娜拉這一鮮明的婦女形象，表達了中小資産階級婦女要求自由獨立，維護人格尊嚴等思想願望,並對現存的資本主義制度表現了某種程度的懷疑、否定和批判。
從歷史唯物主義觀點來看，娜拉要真正解放自己，當然不能一走了之。婦女解放的着急當然不在於僅僅擺脫或打倒海爾茂之流及其男權中心的婚姻關係。恩格斯在《家庭、私有製和國傢的起源》中一語中的地指出：“婦女解放的第一個先决條件就是一切女性重新回到公共的勞動中去”，因為“男子在婚姻上的統治是他的經濟統治的簡單的後果，它將自然地隨着後者的消失而消失。”娜拉在覺醒之前所以受製於海爾茂，正由於海爾茂首先在經濟上統治了她。
因此，娜拉要掙脫海爾茂的控製，决不能單憑一點反叛精神，而必須首先在經濟爭取獨立的人格。她所代表的資産階級婦女的解放，必須以社會經濟關係的徹底變革為前提。她所夢想的“奇跡中的奇跡”，即她和海爾茂都“改變到咱們在一起兒過日子真正象夫妻”，也衹有在通過改造社會環境而改造人的社會主義社會纔有可能。在世界文學史上，易卜生曾經被稱為“一個偉大的問號”。這個“問號”至今仍然發人深省，促使人們思考：在資本主義私有製經濟基礎被摧毀之後，還應當怎樣進一步消除和肅清易卜生在《玩偶之傢》等劇中所痛斥的資産階級的傳統道德、市儈意識及其流毒。在這個意義上，易卜生的戲劇對於以解放全人類為己任的無産階級，正是一宗寶貴的精神財富。
《玩偶之傢》是易卜生有關婦女問題的傑作，也是代表了他最高思想和藝術成就的作品。劇本描寫女主人公娜拉為了替丈夫治病，偽造父親的簽名嚮人借錢。 8年後，剛當上銀行經理的丈夫海爾茂决定解雇銀行職員柯洛剋斯泰，而柯洛剋斯泰正是當年的債主，債主寫信給海爾茂發出威脅。海爾茂知道後，深怕此事影響其前程和名譽，怒斥娜拉是“撒謊的下賤女人”，壞了他“一生的幸福”。當債主在娜拉的女友林丹太太（柯洛剋斯泰的舊情人）的感化下主動退回藉據後，海爾茂又對妻子裝出一副笑臉，稱她是自己的 “小鳥兒”、“小寶貝”，宣稱自己已經“寬恕”了妻子。但娜拉已看透了海爾茂的極端自私和虛偽，認識到自己衹不過是他的玩偶，不再信任他，果斷勇敢地離開了這個“玩偶之傢”。
易卜生通過娜拉覺醒、出走的故事，深刻揭露資本主義社會法律、宗教、道德、愛情、婚姻等的虛偽和不合理，提出了婦女從男人的奴役下解放出來的問題。娜拉是一個溫柔善良的女子，為了不讓病中的父親和丈夫擔心，偽造父親的簽名借錢為丈夫治病，多年以來默默地忍受困苦，以丈夫的愛好為愛好，以丈夫的歡樂為歡樂，自以為丈夫是愛她的，自以為是幸福的，滿足於當丈夫的“小寶貝”。當債主發出威脅的時候，娜拉等待發生“奇跡”：她的丈夫會勇敢地挺起寬闊的胸膛保護自己。但是奇跡沒有發生，娜拉徹底失望了。海爾茂在傢中是一個大男子主義者，在社會上是資産階級道德、法律和宗教的維護者。從表面上看，海爾茂是個“正人君人”、“模範丈夫”，似乎很愛妻子，實際上他衹是把娜拉當作一件裝飾品，一件私有財産，真正重要的是他的名譽地位。富有諷刺意味的是，海爾茂為了表白自己對妻子的“愛”，甚至聲稱希望發生一場巨大的災難以使他有機會顯示出“真正的男子漢大丈夫”。劇作揭露了資産階級婚姻的虛偽性，肯定了娜拉的出走，具有進步的社會意義。事實上，在當時的歷史條件下，娜拉在出走之後，完全能夠像林丹太太那樣靠自己的工作養活自己。但怎樣才能使婦女獲得真正的解放，易卜生並不清楚。他在劇中衹是提出了問題，並沒有提出解决問題的道路。而當他試圖提出解决問題的方案時（如《海上夫人》），他的方案卻是錯誤而不切實際的。
Plot synopsis
A Doll's House opens as Nora Helmer is telling Helen to hide the Christmas tree. Nora is treated as a silly, childish woman by her husband, Torvald. Her friend Kristine Linde, recently widowed and short of money, has heard about Torvald's recent promotion to head the bank and comes to ask Nora for help in persuading Torvald to give Kristine a job. Nora promises to ask Torvald to give Kristine a position as secretary. Nora confides to Kristine that she once secretly borrowed money from a disgraced lawyer, Nils Krogstad, to save Torvald's life when he was very ill, but she has not told him in order to protect his pride. She then took secret jobs copying papers by hand, which she carried out secretly in her room, and learned to take pride in her ability to earn money "as if she were a man." Torvald's promotion promises to finally liberate her from having to scrimp and save in order to be able to pay off her debt. However, she has continued to play the part of the frivolous, scatter-brained child-wife for the benefit of her husband.
Meanwhile, Dr. Rank, a family friend, flirts with Nora before revealing that he is terminally ill with tuberculosis of the spine (a contemporary euphemism for congenital syphilis), with only a month to live, and that he has been secretly in love with her.
Frightened after being fired by Torvald from his minor position at the bank, Krogstad approaches Nora, declaring he no longer cares about the remaining balance of her loan but will preserve the associated bond in order to blackmail Torvald into not only keeping him employed, but giving him a promotion. Krogstad informs Nora that he has written a letter detailing her crime (forging her father's signature of surety on the bond) and puts it in Torvald's mailbox, which is locked.
Nora tells Kristine of her predicament. Kristine says that she and Krogstad were in love before she married, and promises she will convince him to relent.
Torvald tries to check his mail before he and Nora go to a costume party, but Nora distracts him by showing him the dance she has been rehearsing for the party. Torvald declares that he will postpone reading his mail until the evening. Alone, Nora contemplates suicide to save her husband from the shame of the revelation of her crime, and more important to pre-empt any gallant gesture on his part to "save" her.
Kristine tells Krogstad that she only married her husband because she had no other means to support her sick mother and young siblings, and that she has returned to offer him her love again. Krogstad is moved and offers to take back his letter to Torvald. However, Kristine decides that Torvald should know the truth for the sake of his and Nora's marriage.
Back from the party, Doctor Rank gives his letters of death to the Helmers, and Nora talks to him as if nothing is going to happen. Torvald goes to check the mail; Nora does everything to stop him but fails. Torvald goes to read his letters and Nora prepares to take her life. Before she has the opportunity, Torvald intercepts her, confronting her with Krogstad's letter. In his rage, he declares that he is now completely in Krogstad's power—he must yield to Krogstad's demands and keep quiet about the whole affair. He berates Nora, calling her a dishonest and immoral woman and telling her she is unfit to raise their children. He says that their marriage will be kept only to maintain appearances.
A maid enters, delivering a letter to Nora. Krogstad has returned the incriminating papers, saying that he regrets his actions. Torvald is jubilant, telling Nora he is saved as he burns the papers. He takes back his harsh words to his wife and tells her that he has forgiven her. He also explains to her that her mistake makes her all the more precious to him because it reveals an adorable helplessness, and that when a man has forgiven his wife it makes him love her all the more since she is the recipient of his generosity.
By now Nora has realized that her husband is not the man she thought he was, and that her whole existence has been a lie. Her fantasy of love is just that—a fantasy. Torvald's love is highly conditional. She has been treated like a plaything, first by her father and then by her husband. She decides that she must leave to find out who she is and what to make of her life. Torvald insists she must fulfill her duty as a wife and mother, but Nora believes she also has duties to herself. From Torvald's reaction to Krogstad's letters, Nora sees that she and Torvald are strangers to each other. When Torvald asks if there is still any chance for them to rebuild their marriage, she replies that it would take "the greatest miracle of all": they would have to change so much that their life together would become a real marriage.
The play ends with Nora leaving, marked by a famous door slam, while Torvald hopefully ponders the possibility of "the greatest miracle of all".
Alternative ending
It was felt by Ibsen's German agent that the original ending would not play well in German theatres; therefore, for the play's German debut, Ibsen was forced to write an alternative ending for it to be considered acceptable. In this ending, Nora is led to her children after having argued with Torvald. Seeing them, she collapses, and the curtain is brought down. Ibsen later called the ending a disgrace to the original play and referred to it as a 'barbaric outrage'.
Productions
The play made its American premiere on Broadway at the Palmer's Theatre on 21 December 1889, starring Beatrice Cameron as Nora Helmer. Other productions in the United States include one in 1902 starring Minnie Maddern Fiske and a 1997 production starring Janet McTeer at Belasco Theater, which received four Tony Awards and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play. The first British production opened on 7 June 1889, starring Janet Achurch as Nora.. Achurch played Nora again for a 7-day run in 1897. A new translation by Zinnie Harris at the Donmar Warehouse, starring Gillian Anderson, Toby Stephens, Anton Lesser, Tara Fitzgerald and Christopher Eccleston opened in May 2009.
Film, television and radio adaptations
Main article: A Doll's House (film)
A Doll's House has been adapted for several film releases including two in 1973: one directed by Joseph Losey, starring Jane Fonda, David Warner and Trevor Howard; and one directed by Patrick Garland with stars Claire Bloom, Anthony Hopkins, and Ralph Richardson. In 1993, David Thacker directed, with stars Juliet Stevenson, Trevor Eve and David Calder. Dariush Mehrjui's 1993 film Sara is based on A Doll's House, where Sara, played by Niki Karimi, is the Nora of Ibsen's play.
A version for American television was made in 1959, directed by George Schaefer and starring Julie Harris, Christopher Plummer, Hume Cronyn, Eileen Heckart and Jason Robards. A 1938 US radio production starred Joan Crawford as Nora and Basil Rathbone as Torvald. A later US radio version by the Theatre Guild in 1947 featured Rathbone with Wendy Hiller, his co-star from a contemporary Broadway production.
Critics
A Doll's House criticises the traditional roles of men and women in 19th-century marriage. To many 19th-century Europeans, this was scandalous. Nothing was considered more holy than the covenant of marriage, and to portray it in such a way was completely unacceptable; however, a few more open-minded critics such as the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw found Ibsen's willingness to examine society without prejudice exhilarating. In Germany, the production's lead actress refused to play the part of Nora unless Ibsen changed the ending, which, under pressure, he eventually did. In the alternative ending, Nora gives her husband another chance after he reminds her of her responsibility to their children. This ending proved unpopular and Ibsen later regretted his decision on the matter. Virtually all productions today, however, use the original ending, as do nearly all of the film versions of this play, including Dariush Mehrjui's Sara (the Argentine version, made in 1943 and starring Delia Garcés, does not; it also modernizes the story, setting it in the early 1940s).
Much of the criticism is focused on Nora's self-discovery, but the other characters also have depth and value. The infected Dr. Rank and Nora both suffer from the irresponsibility of their fathers: Dr. Rank for the father who infected his family, Nora for the father she likely married to protect. Dr. Rank's disease becomes a metaphor for the poison infecting the Helmers' marriage and society at large. Mrs. Linde provides the model of a woman who has been forced to fend for and find herself – a self-aware, resourceful woman.
Real-life basis
A Doll's House was based on the life of Laura Kieler (maiden name Laura Smith Petersen). She was a good friend of Ibsen. Much that happened between Nora and Torvald happened to Laura and her husband, Victor, with the most important exception being the forged signature that was the basis of Nora's loan. In real life, when Victor found out about Laura's secret loan, he divorced her and had her committed to an asylum. Two years later, she returned to her husband and children at his urging, and she went on to become a well-known Danish author, living to the age of 83. In the play, Nora left Torvald with head held high, though facing an uncertain future given the limitations women faced in the society of the time. Ibsen wrote A Doll's House at the point when Laura Kieler had been committed to the asylum, and the fate of this friend of the family shook him deeply, perhaps also because Laura had asked him to intervene at a crucial point in the scandal, which he did not feel able or willing to do. Instead, he turned this life situation into an aesthetically shaped, successful drama. Kieler eventually rebound from the shame of the scandal and had her own successful writing career while remaining discontent with sole recognition as "Ibsen's Nora" years afterwards.