Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House” has a characteristic property – a realistic symbol associated with social problems and designed to explain them. The very title of the play contains symbolism: “A Doll’s House” is a world of illusive well-being and false values. At first glance, the cozy and elegant house of the lawyer Helmer turns out to be a decoration behind which his gross selfishness and his wife’s suffering are hidden. The main character of the play, Nora, and the house owner live a doll life. Her role in the family boils down to keeping her husband in a good mood. Thus, symbolism gives the play an emotional explanation; “A Doll’s House” is something fake and flawed.
The Christmas tree is used by Ibsen to portray Nora and her inner conflict. At first, it is green and graceful, then – frayed and unnecessary, like Nora’s family life. The life of the main character, like that tree, faded, lost its external charm, and a terrible truth took the place of the game. Moreover, the author uses the New Year to depict the new beginnings of Nora and Torvald. Nora is now free from her parenting and can start a new life without worries away from Torvald. She is free from all her secrets and lies. She can start over, leaving behind the stress of her past, and learn to be independent. From Torvald’s perspective, the New Year symbolizes growth and new thinking. He should try to be a new person, less demeaning and stern, and he needs to understand that he cannot control others.
Macaroons also become a symbol that reveals the essence of the Helmer family life. For the attentive reader and viewer, the impression of a family idyll is broken at the very beginning, when Nora secretly eats several macaroons from her husband. Helmer forbids his wife to nibble on macaroons because he is afraid that Nora will ruin her teeth and lose her beauty. But the macaroons also point to the heroine’s independence from her husband that grows as the play develops. In the scene where Nora feels on the verge of death, she shouts after the servant, “and some macaroons, Helene … lots of them, for once in a while.” Thus, the macaroons symbolize Nora’s relationship with her husband and the transformation of the woman.
Another symbol used in the play is the tarantella dance performed by Nora. In medieval Italy, the frantic dance of a woman bitten by a tarantula was seen as a healing power: during the tarantella dance, the poison of the tarantula allegedly left the woman’s body. Tarantella remains the only way to express deeply hidden emotions. Through the eloquent silence of the dance, she prepares human growth, leading her to a powerful, volitional denouement, which allows her to enter a new life as a whole person as it is now possible for her.
Thus, through the use of external symbols, Ibsen portrayed the inner qualities of the characters from A Doll’s House. Symbolism lies in the title of the play and develops as the plot progresses. The Christmas tree symbolizes Nora’s inner conflict, and the New Year is the transformation of the heroes. No less important are macaroons – the heroine’s favorite delicacy, which symbolizes her journey from timidity to independence. Furthermore, Nora’s transformation into an independent personality is associated with the tarantella dance.