“A Doll’s House” is a play written by Henrik Ibsen. It is one of his most recognized works and is remembered for the ending scene of the door slamming. The story of the play consists of elements similar to “Hedda Gabler” such as blackmail, manipulation, and woman’s rights. The play centers around Nora and Torvald, a happily married couple, that bears a secret in which Torvald is unaware of. The secret is that Nora has taken out a loan to fund Torvald’s vacation, which the doctor recommended, under her dead father’s name. As the play unfolds, Torvald has received a job and plans to fire Krogstad for his fallacious dealings and dishonest nature. However, Krogstad is man that approved of Nora’s loan thus knows about her fraudulent request. He then uses this information to threaten Nora with blackmail if her husband, Torvald, fires him. As the play unfolds, Torvald exclaims how he wishes Nora was in danger so that he may save her. Nora then uses this opportunity to tell Torvald of Krogstad’s scheme only to have Torvald banish her from seeing her children due to moral corruption. However, Krogstad has a change of heart and decides not to blackmail the family. Hence, we are left with a cowardly, and hypocritical husband and a woman who realizes she was nothing more than a doll in his eyes. She states she is leaving due to her marriage being superficial, and slams the door behind her.

The story seems to center on elements of power between multiple parties and how it can be used to manipulate others. This is most notably shown through Krogstad’s scheme and Mrs. Christina’s, Nora’s long time friend, power over Krogstad since they were lovers. This is comparable to “Hedda Gabler” in which Judge Brak threatens Hedda with a scandal, and how Hedda manipulates the characters throughout the story. Yet despite the theme of power, we notice several  focuses on women throughout the play which are comparable to “Hedda Gabler.” Firstly, Nora is introduced as a woman whose responsibilities revolve around household duties such as chores and caring for her children. She is shown to be in a marriage that consistently displays her husband as being the dominant member through his financial influence, condescending treatment and verbal abuse. This is most apparent when Torvald bans Nora from eating macaroons, restricts her finances to an allowance, and calls her by several names.  Yet despite this, Nora seems to abide by it rather than challenge it, like Hedda Gabler. Although the play was set in the late 19th century, it can be seen that woman’s roles at the time did not change much compared to the time of writing of “Hedda Gabler.” They were largely expected to be within the household and take care of household duties. This is exemplified by Nora’s lifestyle and the treatment she gets from her husband.  However, we see a change of heart in Nora towards the end of the play. When her husband responds hostilely to Nora’s self-sacrifice, Nora realizes she was in an unfulfilling marriage and decides to leave him. The ending scene is the most dramatic scene within the play. The slamming of the door signifies the idea of individuality, control, and choice for women at the time. For one, Nora’s decision to leave her husband can be seen as her first act of defiance and a daring decision to take control of her life. She has decided to relinquish her dependency on Torvald and ultimately live a life outside of his domain and household. Additionally, Nora decision communicates the idea of choice, an idea that was rare among women at the time. One can say that Nora could’ve possibly stayed since she has abided by her husband for a long time, however, Nora decision to leave empowers her character since it is contradictory to her character’s behavior yet self-discovered. This, I believe, attributes to the dramatic impact of the slamming door.