Taylor Ryan January 30, 2012 English IV Ms.

Hochman Changed Perceptions

Nils Krogstad fills the archetypal role of the antagonist. At least, this is the readers first impression. As the play progresses to the final act, the readers opinion of the audience change toward Krogstad. While he is presenting his evidence for black mail to Nora, he acts as the villain. He threatens her with the charges of forgery and provokes thoughts of suicide. After this exchange, the reader has feelings of resentment towards Krogstad. Why would he do such a thing to Nora? Later, however, we see a different side of him. Krogstad is shown in his house with his children. The his living conditions are far below that of Nora and Torvald. When Krogstad is shown this way, the reader feels pity for Krogstad. He is no longer seen as a villain trying to hurt Nora with spiteful intentions, but rather a man who is desperately trying to sustain his livelihood. In act III, Krogstad and Ms. Linde begin to repair their love. In the wake of his new found love, he decides to forget about blackmailing Nora. The reader then realizes that Krogstad is not the antagonist. He is rather just a desperate man who is misunderstood.

For almost the whole play, the reader does not see Torvald that often. He is only seen when Nora needs to speak with him or in passing on his way to his office. He is initially portrayed as the working family man. His intentions seem to be to care for his family and maintain a comfortable living style for his loved ones. However, he is only truly seen when his career and reputation were on the line. The readers now see him for the selfish man he truly is. It took this crisis for Nora to see that he did not care for her as she thought. She sees Torvalds true character as the reader does, and then finally shows hers. Torvalds change in faade shows that Torvald is the actual antagonist of the play. He is the driving force that leads Nora to show her true feelings and leave the family.

One may wonder, why does Ibsen write A Doll House so that our view of the characters are ever changing? The structure of his play can be largely attributed to his personal life; specifically his childhood. As a child he was the son of a successful sea captain. However, when he was still young, rumors of his father being a bastard tainted the family reputation. This lead to his fathers business was repossessed (Gradesaver). This sent the family into a state of economic turmoil. They eventually ended up living in a house that was owned by his fathers half brother who was a banker (Wiki). When we take into account all these facts, we can see a direct correlation to A

Doll House. While the story has a sad ending, it can ultimately be seen as a happy ending for Ibsen. Torvalds reputation and career a only actually threatened in his head. The only, if you will, bad outcomes of the whole event is extreme anxiety. As for Ibsen, his father lost everything when such slanderous events came his way. The play can also be seen as a portrayal of Ibsens life by the fact that they ended up living in the house of a banker that was not theirs! This was clearly the insperation for the setting of A Dolls House.