《玩偶之家》是19世纪挪威最伟大的戏剧家亨利克•易卜生的著名社会剧。作于 1879年。女主人公娜拉出身中等家庭，美丽活泼，天真热情。她热烈而真诚地爱着自己的丈夫海尔茂。为替丈夫治病，她曾冒名举债，又熬夜抄写文件，挣钱、省钱，偷偷还债。如果需要，她甚至表示可以为丈夫而死。但她的丈夫（过去的银行职员，现在的银行经理），却是个虚伪自私的资产阶级市侩，他平时管她叫“小鸟儿”、“小松鼠儿”，可一旦知道娜拉曾冒名举债，危及自己的社会名声和地位时，便一反常态，大骂她是“犯罪女人”，还扬言要剥夺他教育子女的权利，要对她进行法律、宗教制裁。后来，当债主受女友感化，退回了冒名借据时，他又转变态度，表示要永远爱她和保护她。经此转折，娜拉终于看清了自己的“泥娃娃”处境，发现自己不过是丈夫的“玩偶”，于是对保护这家庭关系的资产阶级法律、道德、宗教，提出了严重怀疑和激烈批判，并毅然离开了这个“玩偶之家”。娜拉是个具有资产阶级个性解放思想的叛逆女性。她对社会的背叛和弃家出走，被誉为妇女解放的“独立宣言”。然而，在素把妇女当作玩偶的社会里，娜拉真能求得独立解放吗？茫茫黑夜，她又能走向何处？
《玩偶之家》-作者简介
《玩偶之家》易卜生
易卜生（1828——1906），挪威人，世界近代社会问题剧的始祖和最著名的作家，商人家庭出身。一生共写剧本26 部。《觊觎王位的人》、《厄斯特洛的英格夫人》等早期剧作，大多以历史题材表现爱国主义思想，浪漫色彩浓郁；中期创作就有意识地揭示当时的各种社会问题，有《培尔•金特》、《社会支柱》、《玩偶之家》、《群鬼》、《国民公敌》等剧作。代表作《玩偶之家》（1879）通过娜拉形象的塑造，提出资本主义社会的法律、伦理和妇女地位等社会问题，对现实的批判深刻有力。晚期的《野鸭》、《罗斯莫庄》、《海上夫人》、《咱们死人再生时》等剧作转向心理描写和精神分析，象征主义色彩浓厚。其剧作以鲜明的主题、生动的情节、严谨的结构、优美的语言和独特的艺术风格，对世界近现代戏剧的发展有广泛、深刻的影响。
《玩偶之家》-人物评价
娜拉是个具有资产阶级个性解放思想的叛逆女性。她对社会的背叛和弃家出走，被誉为妇女解放的“独立宣言”。然而，在素把妇女当作玩偶的社会里，娜拉真能求得独立解放吗？茫茫黑夜，她又能走向何处？鲁迅先生在《娜拉走后怎样？》一文中说：“从事理上推想起来，娜拉或者其实也只有两条路：不是堕落，就是回来。”这确实是问题的症结所在。
女主人娜拉表面上是一个未经世故开凿的青年妇女，一贯被人唤作“小鸟儿”、“小松鼠儿”，实际上上她性格善良而坚强，为了丈夫和家庭不惜忍辱负重，甚至准备牺牲自己的名誉。她因挽救丈夫的生命，曾经瞒着他向人借了一笔债；同时想给垂危的父亲省却烦恼，又冒名签了一个字。就是由于这件合情合理的行为，资产阶级的“不讲理的法律”却逼得她走投无路。更令她痛心的是，真相大白之后，最需要丈夫和她同舟共济、承担危局的时刻，她却发现自己为之作出牺牲的丈夫竟是一个虚伪而卑劣的市侩。她终于觉醒过来，认识到自己婚前不过是父亲的玩偶，婚后不过是丈夫的玩偶，从来就没有独立的人格。于是，她毅然决然抛弃丈夫和孩子，从囚笼似的家庭出走了。
易卜生出生于一个以小资产阶级为主体的国家，周围弥漫着小资产阶级社会所固有的以妥协、投机为能事的市侩气息。对这一类庸俗、虚伪的政治和政治家，他是深恶痛绝的，甚至如他自己所说，不惜与之“处于公开的战争状态”。但是，这里也相应地产生了挪威小资产者易卜生的悲观主义。弗朗茨•梅林在一篇关于这位剧作家的评论中指出：“易卜生再怎样伟大，他毕竟是个资产阶级诗人；他既是悲观主义者，并且必然是悲观主义者，他对于本阶级的没落便看不见、也不能看见任何解救办法。”这位剧作家在自己的作品中，只能唯心地歌颂“人的精神的反叛”，把具有这种反叛精神的主人公当作“高尚的人性”加以憧憬。他限于环境和阶阶，看不见革命的政治和政治家，更不信仰他根本无从接触的社会主义革命，因此也就不能在坚实的历史基础和生活基础上为他的主人公开辟真正的出路。
《玩偶之家》-作品背景
易卜生的整个创作生涯恰值十九世纪后半叶。在他的笔下，欧洲资产阶级的形象比在莎士比亚、莫里哀笔下显得更腐烂、更丑恶，也更令人憎恨，这是很自然的。他的犀利的笔锋饱含着愤激的热情，戳穿了资产阶级在道德、法律、宗教、教育以及家庭关系多方面的假面具，揭露了整个资本主义社会的虚伪和荒谬。《玩偶之家》就是对于资本主义私有制下的婚姻关系、对于资产阶级的男权中心思想的一篇义正辞严的控诉书。
《玩偶之家》-作品主题
剧本主题突出、人物鲜明、结构严密、情节集中，矛盾的发展既合情合理、又有条不紊。作者把剧情安排在圣诞节前后三天之内，借以突出节日的欢乐气氛和家庭悲剧之间的对比；以银行职员柯洛克斯泰因被海尔茂辞退，便利用借据来要挟娜拉为他保住职位为主线，引出人物之间各种矛盾的交错展开，让女主人公在短短三天中，经历了一场激烈而复杂的内心斗争：从平静到混乱，从幻想到破裂，最后完成自我觉醒，从而取得了极为强烈的戏剧效果。
《玩偶之家》-作品思想
它通过女主人公娜拉与丈夫海尔茂之间由相亲相爱转为决裂的过程，探讨了资产阶级的婚姻问题，暴露男权社会与妇女解放之间的矛盾冲突，进而向资产阶级社会的宗教、法律、道德提出挑战，激励人们尤其是妇女为挣脱传统观念的束缚，为争取自由平等而斗争。娜拉与丈夫已结婚八年，是三个孩子的母亲了，然而在家庭中仍然是玩偶的地位，起初她并不自知，易卜生在此着重描写了她的觉醒和“精神反叛”，她终于逐渐认识到自己可悲的社会地位：结婚前属于父亲的，结婚后属于丈夫的，“像要饭的叫化子，要一口吃一口”；她再也不愿意处于奴隶的地位，经过一番激烈的辩论而勇敢地出走了，她要到社会中去弄清楚“究竟是社会正确还是我正确”。可以这么说，娜拉从幼稚的和谐到复杂的矛盾，从耽于幻想到幻想破灭，从安于玩偶之家到坚决出走的过程是妇女觉醒的苦难的历程，当然出走了的娜拉走向何方，她未来的生活道路在哪里，连易卜生也无法回答，但易卜生对妇女解放的心理过程的刻划其意义已十分重大。
作品从家庭夫妇之间的矛盾冲突来揭示社会矛盾,对娜拉和海尔茂的不同性格,可淋漓尽致地体现在作品之中。
《玩偶之家》-作品评价
娜拉身上更为可贵的品质，就是倔强,不肯向恶势力屈服。从外表看，人们以为她是个无忧无虑的人，其实这是误会。她对林丹太太说:“你们都以为在这烦恼世界里,我没经过什么烦恼事?”实际不是这样，她也有“烦恼事”，如家庭经济困难，要借钱为丈夫治病，借了钱要想尽办法还债等等，但她从不垂头丧气。还是很积极、乐观。债主柯洛克斯太利用她的借据上的假签字，对她进行威胁、恐吓，她没有丝毫软弱的表现。为了救丈夫的命去借债，债主威逼她，她仍然不把事情告诉丈夫，自己坚定地准备承担一切责任，为了保全丈夫的名誉，甚至决定自杀，所有这些都是娜拉倔强性格的表现。娜拉这种坚强不屈的精神是她最终同海尔茂决裂，脱离“玩偶家庭”的性格基础。如果是一个软弱的女人，即使认识了丈夫的恶劣品质，要采取与丈夫断绝关系的行动，往往也是不可能的。
娜拉毅然决然地同海尔茂决裂,更主要的是有她的思想基础。现实生活教育了她,使她不仅认清了海尔茂的丑恶灵魂,而且也认识了现实社会的不合理。娜拉对资本主义社会的教育、道德、宗教、法律等问题的看法,跟一般资产阶级庸人如海尔茂之流的见解是不相同的。“醒悟”后的娜拉,对资本主义社会持敌视态度。当海尔茂说她“你不了解咱们的社会”时,她激昂地回答说:“究竟是社会正确还是我正确!”“我知道大多数人赞成你的话，并且书本里也这么说。可是从今以后我不能相信大多数人的话,也不能一味相信书本里的话。”对于麻痹人民的精神鸦片———宗教，娜拉更不会把它放在眼里,她宣称:“我真不知道宗教是什么。”对于资本主义社会的法律,娜拉深受其害,更是深恶痛绝。“国家的法律跟我心里想的不一样..我不信世界上有这种不讲理的法律。”娜拉的言语显示了她是一个具有民主思想倾向的妇女。她同海尔茂决裂的行动是她用民主思想进行反抗的必然结果，尽管娜拉不是一个完美无缺的人。作者通过塑造娜拉这一鲜明的妇女形象，表达了中小资产阶级妇女要求自由独立，维护人格尊严等思想愿望,并对现存的资本主义制度表现了某种程度的怀疑、否定和批判。
从历史唯物主义观点来看，娜拉要真正解放自己，当然不能一走了之。妇女解放的着急当然不在于仅仅摆脱或打倒海尔茂之流及其男权中心的婚姻关系。恩格斯在《家庭、私有制和国家的起源》中一语中的地指出：“妇女解放的第一个先决条件就是一切女性重新回到公共的劳动中去”，因为“男子在婚姻上的统治是他的经济统治的简单的后果，它将自然地随着后者的消失而消失。”娜拉在觉醒之前所以受制于海尔茂，正由于海尔茂首先在经济上统治了她。
因此，娜拉要挣脱海尔茂的控制，决不能单凭一点反叛精神，而必须首先在经济争取独立的人格。她所代表的资产阶级妇女的解放，必须以社会经济关系的彻底变革为前提。她所梦想的“奇迹中的奇迹”，即她和海尔茂都“改变到咱们在一起儿过日子真正象夫妻”，也只有在通过改造社会环境而改造人的社会主义社会才有可能。在世界文学史上，易卜生曾经被称为“一个伟大的问号”。这个“问号”至今仍然发人深省，促使人们思考：在资本主义私有制经济基础被摧毁之后，还应当怎样进一步消除和肃清易卜生在《玩偶之家》等剧中所痛斥的资产阶级的传统道德、市侩意识及其流毒。在这个意义上，易卜生的戏剧对于以解放全人类为己任的无产阶级，正是一宗宝贵的精神财富。
《玩偶之家》是易卜生有关妇女问题的杰作，也是代表了他最高思想和艺术成就的作品。剧本描写女主人公娜拉为了替丈夫治病，伪造父亲的签名向人借钱。 8年后，刚当上银行经理的丈夫海尔茂决定解雇银行职员柯洛克斯泰，而柯洛克斯泰正是当年的债主，债主写信给海尔茂发出威胁。海尔茂知道后，深怕此事影响其前程和名誉，怒斥娜拉是“撒谎的下贱女人”，坏了他“一生的幸福”。当债主在娜拉的女友林丹太太（柯洛克斯泰的旧情人）的感化下主动退回借据后，海尔茂又对妻子装出一副笑脸，称她是自己的 “小鸟儿”、“小宝贝”，宣称自己已经“宽恕”了妻子。但娜拉已看透了海尔茂的极端自私和虚伪，认识到自己只不过是他的玩偶，不再信任他，果断勇敢地离开了这个“玩偶之家”。
易卜生通过娜拉觉醒、出走的故事，深刻揭露资本主义社会法律、宗教、道德、爱情、婚姻等的虚伪和不合理，提出了妇女从男人的奴役下解放出来的问题。娜拉是一个温柔善良的女子，为了不让病中的父亲和丈夫担心，伪造父亲的签名借钱为丈夫治病，多年以来默默地忍受困苦，以丈夫的爱好为爱好，以丈夫的欢乐为欢乐，自以为丈夫是爱她的，自以为是幸福的，满足于当丈夫的“小宝贝”。当债主发出威胁的时候，娜拉等待发生“奇迹”：她的丈夫会勇敢地挺起宽阔的胸膛保护自己。但是奇迹没有发生，娜拉彻底失望了。海尔茂在家中是一个大男子主义者，在社会上是资产阶级道德、法律和宗教的维护者。从表面上看，海尔茂是个“正人君人”、“模范丈夫”，似乎很爱妻子，实际上他只是把娜拉当作一件装饰品，一件私有财产，真正重要的是他的名誉地位。富有讽刺意味的是，海尔茂为了表白自己对妻子的“爱”，甚至声称希望发生一场巨大的灾难以使他有机会显示出“真正的男子汉大丈夫”。剧作揭露了资产阶级婚姻的虚伪性，肯定了娜拉的出走，具有进步的社会意义。事实上，在当时的历史条件下，娜拉在出走之后，完全能够像林丹太太那样靠自己的工作养活自己。但怎样才能使妇女获得真正的解放，易卜生并不清楚。他在剧中只是提出了问题，并没有提出解决问题的道路。而当他试图提出解决问题的方案时（如《海上夫人》），他的方案却是错误而不切实际的。
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.
《玩偶之家》-作者简介
《玩偶之家》易卜生
易卜生（1828——1906），挪威人，世界近代社会问题剧的始祖和最著名的作家，商人家庭出身。一生共写剧本26 部。《觊觎王位的人》、《厄斯特洛的英格夫人》等早期剧作，大多以历史题材表现爱国主义思想，浪漫色彩浓郁；中期创作就有意识地揭示当时的各种社会问题，有《培尔•金特》、《社会支柱》、《玩偶之家》、《群鬼》、《国民公敌》等剧作。代表作《玩偶之家》（1879）通过娜拉形象的塑造，提出资本主义社会的法律、伦理和妇女地位等社会问题，对现实的批判深刻有力。晚期的《野鸭》、《罗斯莫庄》、《海上夫人》、《咱们死人再生时》等剧作转向心理描写和精神分析，象征主义色彩浓厚。其剧作以鲜明的主题、生动的情节、严谨的结构、优美的语言和独特的艺术风格，对世界近现代戏剧的发展有广泛、深刻的影响。
《玩偶之家》-人物评价
娜拉是个具有资产阶级个性解放思想的叛逆女性。她对社会的背叛和弃家出走，被誉为妇女解放的“独立宣言”。然而，在素把妇女当作玩偶的社会里，娜拉真能求得独立解放吗？茫茫黑夜，她又能走向何处？鲁迅先生在《娜拉走后怎样？》一文中说：“从事理上推想起来，娜拉或者其实也只有两条路：不是堕落，就是回来。”这确实是问题的症结所在。
女主人娜拉表面上是一个未经世故开凿的青年妇女，一贯被人唤作“小鸟儿”、“小松鼠儿”，实际上上她性格善良而坚强，为了丈夫和家庭不惜忍辱负重，甚至准备牺牲自己的名誉。她因挽救丈夫的生命，曾经瞒着他向人借了一笔债；同时想给垂危的父亲省却烦恼，又冒名签了一个字。就是由于这件合情合理的行为，资产阶级的“不讲理的法律”却逼得她走投无路。更令她痛心的是，真相大白之后，最需要丈夫和她同舟共济、承担危局的时刻，她却发现自己为之作出牺牲的丈夫竟是一个虚伪而卑劣的市侩。她终于觉醒过来，认识到自己婚前不过是父亲的玩偶，婚后不过是丈夫的玩偶，从来就没有独立的人格。于是，她毅然决然抛弃丈夫和孩子，从囚笼似的家庭出走了。
易卜生出生于一个以小资产阶级为主体的国家，周围弥漫着小资产阶级社会所固有的以妥协、投机为能事的市侩气息。对这一类庸俗、虚伪的政治和政治家，他是深恶痛绝的，甚至如他自己所说，不惜与之“处于公开的战争状态”。但是，这里也相应地产生了挪威小资产者易卜生的悲观主义。弗朗茨•梅林在一篇关于这位剧作家的评论中指出：“易卜生再怎样伟大，他毕竟是个资产阶级诗人；他既是悲观主义者，并且必然是悲观主义者，他对于本阶级的没落便看不见、也不能看见任何解救办法。”这位剧作家在自己的作品中，只能唯心地歌颂“人的精神的反叛”，把具有这种反叛精神的主人公当作“高尚的人性”加以憧憬。他限于环境和阶阶，看不见革命的政治和政治家，更不信仰他根本无从接触的社会主义革命，因此也就不能在坚实的历史基础和生活基础上为他的主人公开辟真正的出路。
《玩偶之家》-作品背景
易卜生的整个创作生涯恰值十九世纪后半叶。在他的笔下，欧洲资产阶级的形象比在莎士比亚、莫里哀笔下显得更腐烂、更丑恶，也更令人憎恨，这是很自然的。他的犀利的笔锋饱含着愤激的热情，戳穿了资产阶级在道德、法律、宗教、教育以及家庭关系多方面的假面具，揭露了整个资本主义社会的虚伪和荒谬。《玩偶之家》就是对于资本主义私有制下的婚姻关系、对于资产阶级的男权中心思想的一篇义正辞严的控诉书。
《玩偶之家》-作品主题
剧本主题突出、人物鲜明、结构严密、情节集中，矛盾的发展既合情合理、又有条不紊。作者把剧情安排在圣诞节前后三天之内，借以突出节日的欢乐气氛和家庭悲剧之间的对比；以银行职员柯洛克斯泰因被海尔茂辞退，便利用借据来要挟娜拉为他保住职位为主线，引出人物之间各种矛盾的交错展开，让女主人公在短短三天中，经历了一场激烈而复杂的内心斗争：从平静到混乱，从幻想到破裂，最后完成自我觉醒，从而取得了极为强烈的戏剧效果。
《玩偶之家》-作品思想
它通过女主人公娜拉与丈夫海尔茂之间由相亲相爱转为决裂的过程，探讨了资产阶级的婚姻问题，暴露男权社会与妇女解放之间的矛盾冲突，进而向资产阶级社会的宗教、法律、道德提出挑战，激励人们尤其是妇女为挣脱传统观念的束缚，为争取自由平等而斗争。娜拉与丈夫已结婚八年，是三个孩子的母亲了，然而在家庭中仍然是玩偶的地位，起初她并不自知，易卜生在此着重描写了她的觉醒和“精神反叛”，她终于逐渐认识到自己可悲的社会地位：结婚前属于父亲的，结婚后属于丈夫的，“像要饭的叫化子，要一口吃一口”；她再也不愿意处于奴隶的地位，经过一番激烈的辩论而勇敢地出走了，她要到社会中去弄清楚“究竟是社会正确还是我正确”。可以这么说，娜拉从幼稚的和谐到复杂的矛盾，从耽于幻想到幻想破灭，从安于玩偶之家到坚决出走的过程是妇女觉醒的苦难的历程，当然出走了的娜拉走向何方，她未来的生活道路在哪里，连易卜生也无法回答，但易卜生对妇女解放的心理过程的刻划其意义已十分重大。
作品从家庭夫妇之间的矛盾冲突来揭示社会矛盾,对娜拉和海尔茂的不同性格,可淋漓尽致地体现在作品之中。
《玩偶之家》-作品评价
娜拉身上更为可贵的品质，就是倔强,不肯向恶势力屈服。从外表看，人们以为她是个无忧无虑的人，其实这是误会。她对林丹太太说:“你们都以为在这烦恼世界里,我没经过什么烦恼事?”实际不是这样，她也有“烦恼事”，如家庭经济困难，要借钱为丈夫治病，借了钱要想尽办法还债等等，但她从不垂头丧气。还是很积极、乐观。债主柯洛克斯太利用她的借据上的假签字，对她进行威胁、恐吓，她没有丝毫软弱的表现。为了救丈夫的命去借债，债主威逼她，她仍然不把事情告诉丈夫，自己坚定地准备承担一切责任，为了保全丈夫的名誉，甚至决定自杀，所有这些都是娜拉倔强性格的表现。娜拉这种坚强不屈的精神是她最终同海尔茂决裂，脱离“玩偶家庭”的性格基础。如果是一个软弱的女人，即使认识了丈夫的恶劣品质，要采取与丈夫断绝关系的行动，往往也是不可能的。
娜拉毅然决然地同海尔茂决裂,更主要的是有她的思想基础。现实生活教育了她,使她不仅认清了海尔茂的丑恶灵魂,而且也认识了现实社会的不合理。娜拉对资本主义社会的教育、道德、宗教、法律等问题的看法,跟一般资产阶级庸人如海尔茂之流的见解是不相同的。“醒悟”后的娜拉,对资本主义社会持敌视态度。当海尔茂说她“你不了解咱们的社会”时,她激昂地回答说:“究竟是社会正确还是我正确!”“我知道大多数人赞成你的话，并且书本里也这么说。可是从今以后我不能相信大多数人的话,也不能一味相信书本里的话。”对于麻痹人民的精神鸦片———宗教，娜拉更不会把它放在眼里,她宣称:“我真不知道宗教是什么。”对于资本主义社会的法律,娜拉深受其害,更是深恶痛绝。“国家的法律跟我心里想的不一样..我不信世界上有这种不讲理的法律。”娜拉的言语显示了她是一个具有民主思想倾向的妇女。她同海尔茂决裂的行动是她用民主思想进行反抗的必然结果，尽管娜拉不是一个完美无缺的人。作者通过塑造娜拉这一鲜明的妇女形象，表达了中小资产阶级妇女要求自由独立，维护人格尊严等思想愿望,并对现存的资本主义制度表现了某种程度的怀疑、否定和批判。
从历史唯物主义观点来看，娜拉要真正解放自己，当然不能一走了之。妇女解放的着急当然不在于仅仅摆脱或打倒海尔茂之流及其男权中心的婚姻关系。恩格斯在《家庭、私有制和国家的起源》中一语中的地指出：“妇女解放的第一个先决条件就是一切女性重新回到公共的劳动中去”，因为“男子在婚姻上的统治是他的经济统治的简单的后果，它将自然地随着后者的消失而消失。”娜拉在觉醒之前所以受制于海尔茂，正由于海尔茂首先在经济上统治了她。
因此，娜拉要挣脱海尔茂的控制，决不能单凭一点反叛精神，而必须首先在经济争取独立的人格。她所代表的资产阶级妇女的解放，必须以社会经济关系的彻底变革为前提。她所梦想的“奇迹中的奇迹”，即她和海尔茂都“改变到咱们在一起儿过日子真正象夫妻”，也只有在通过改造社会环境而改造人的社会主义社会才有可能。在世界文学史上，易卜生曾经被称为“一个伟大的问号”。这个“问号”至今仍然发人深省，促使人们思考：在资本主义私有制经济基础被摧毁之后，还应当怎样进一步消除和肃清易卜生在《玩偶之家》等剧中所痛斥的资产阶级的传统道德、市侩意识及其流毒。在这个意义上，易卜生的戏剧对于以解放全人类为己任的无产阶级，正是一宗宝贵的精神财富。
《玩偶之家》是易卜生有关妇女问题的杰作，也是代表了他最高思想和艺术成就的作品。剧本描写女主人公娜拉为了替丈夫治病，伪造父亲的签名向人借钱。 8年后，刚当上银行经理的丈夫海尔茂决定解雇银行职员柯洛克斯泰，而柯洛克斯泰正是当年的债主，债主写信给海尔茂发出威胁。海尔茂知道后，深怕此事影响其前程和名誉，怒斥娜拉是“撒谎的下贱女人”，坏了他“一生的幸福”。当债主在娜拉的女友林丹太太（柯洛克斯泰的旧情人）的感化下主动退回借据后，海尔茂又对妻子装出一副笑脸，称她是自己的 “小鸟儿”、“小宝贝”，宣称自己已经“宽恕”了妻子。但娜拉已看透了海尔茂的极端自私和虚伪，认识到自己只不过是他的玩偶，不再信任他，果断勇敢地离开了这个“玩偶之家”。
易卜生通过娜拉觉醒、出走的故事，深刻揭露资本主义社会法律、宗教、道德、爱情、婚姻等的虚伪和不合理，提出了妇女从男人的奴役下解放出来的问题。娜拉是一个温柔善良的女子，为了不让病中的父亲和丈夫担心，伪造父亲的签名借钱为丈夫治病，多年以来默默地忍受困苦，以丈夫的爱好为爱好，以丈夫的欢乐为欢乐，自以为丈夫是爱她的，自以为是幸福的，满足于当丈夫的“小宝贝”。当债主发出威胁的时候，娜拉等待发生“奇迹”：她的丈夫会勇敢地挺起宽阔的胸膛保护自己。但是奇迹没有发生，娜拉彻底失望了。海尔茂在家中是一个大男子主义者，在社会上是资产阶级道德、法律和宗教的维护者。从表面上看，海尔茂是个“正人君人”、“模范丈夫”，似乎很爱妻子，实际上他只是把娜拉当作一件装饰品，一件私有财产，真正重要的是他的名誉地位。富有讽刺意味的是，海尔茂为了表白自己对妻子的“爱”，甚至声称希望发生一场巨大的灾难以使他有机会显示出“真正的男子汉大丈夫”。剧作揭露了资产阶级婚姻的虚伪性，肯定了娜拉的出走，具有进步的社会意义。事实上，在当时的历史条件下，娜拉在出走之后，完全能够像林丹太太那样靠自己的工作养活自己。但怎样才能使妇女获得真正的解放，易卜生并不清楚。他在剧中只是提出了问题，并没有提出解决问题的道路。而当他试图提出解决问题的方案时（如《海上夫人》），他的方案却是错误而不切实际的。
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.