Significance Of Minor Characters In A Doll'S House Essay

After examining Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House, it is seen that a person who falls into the mood and complete dependency of another is unhappy unless they are being oneself, and also know one oneself through the characters who stood out of the spotlight throughout the play. It also shows that marriage is far from being a perfect institution, but proved that incompatible partners come at last to be accepted.   The unhappiness is caused by the demands of society.   Christine Linde, the children, Dr. Rank, Krogstad helped shape this moral through the main characters Torvald, and Nora.

Dr. Rank is an important minor character that symbolized “the sins of our mothers”, thus giving Nora encouragement to evolve.   Dr. Rank implies that his father gave the disease to him by sleeping with other women.   Thus, it is evident that that what Torvald said to Nora


that “Nearly all young criminals had lying mothers”   is true, and proves that the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree, and that society is diseased from their ancestors.

The children are only present during the narration of the play.   Yet, they bring meaning and symbolism to the title of the story. When Nora tells her husband that she went out to buy toys for her children, it shows that she is
a child who treats her children like dolls.   When she tells Torvold that she had bought toys for them at a cheap price, it becomes more evident that in the past she didn’t understand the value of money, like a child and wants to show her husband that she has taken a step to improve herself.   In the second act, Nora realizes that society is encouraging children to see their mothers as role models.   Thus, she realizes that if her children would follow her
behavior, they would never be more mature than they are now.   Then it is evident that Nora is actually a brave
woman, who would leave her own children to protect them

from being “morally corrupt”. (Ibsen 1365) Dr. Rank’s disease portrays as a symbol....