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Written during the Victorian era, the controversial play, “A Doll’s House” by Henrick Isben, features a female protagonist struggling for independence and self respect. During the time in which the play took place society frowned upon women asserting themselves. Women were supposed to play a role in which they supported their husbands, took care of their children, and made sure everything was perfect around the house. Work, politics, and decisions were left to the males. Nora serves as a symbol for women of the time; women who were thought to be content with the luxuries of modern society with no thought or care of the world in which they lived. By presenting this theme of the relationship between women and their surroundings at the beginning, Ibsen indicates that this is the most basic and important idea at work in the play. As the play reveals, Nora does delight in material wealth, having been labeled a spendthrift from an early age. “You’re never at a loss for scaring up money; but the moment you have it, it runs right out through your fingers...Its deep in your blood. Yes, these things are hereditary, Nora” (Ibsen, 213), Torvald tells Nora. She has the attitude that money is the key to happiness. However, it is also clear that Nora's simplistic approach to the world is not entirely her fault. Torvald's treatment of Nora as a small helpless child only contributes to Nora's separation from reality. Just as Nora relates to the exterior world mainly through material objects, Torvald relates to Nora as an object to be possessed.
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