The Marionette’s Secret: Seeking the Self Amidst the Tangled Loom of Expectations in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House


Authors : S. Usha; Dr. B. R. Veeramani

Volume/Issue : Volume 10 - 2025, Issue 8 - August


Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/5ekbexk3

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/5ambrxpe

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/25aug1291

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Abstract : This paper explores the difference between societal expectations and self-identity in Henrik Ibsen’s realistic play A Doll’s House, focusing on the feminist character Nora Helmer's journey toward self-realisation. The study examines how gender discrimination, family politics, and societal expectations entrap women within tangled societal norms. This paper reveals how Nora’s self-awakening challenges the deterministic roles assigned to her and underscores Ibsen’s critique of 19th-century social norms. This work argues that A Doll’s House remains a revolutionary exploration of autonomy and the silent struggle to assert the self in a world governed by secrets of expectation. This study uses a qualitative literary method. It is focusing on close reading of Henrik Ibsen’s literary text A Doll’s House. The research draws upon textual analysis: examining language, dialogue, and symbols.

Keywords : Gender, Social Expectation, Marionette, Self-Realisation, Autonomy.

References :

  1. Ahmed, Ahmed Saeed Ahmed Mocbil. "The Portrayal of Women in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House." Journal of Social Studies, vol. 29, no. 2, 2023, pp. 140–157. DOI:10.20428/jss.v29i2.2115.
  2. Balaky, Saman Salah Hassan, and Nafser Abdul Mosawir Sulaiman. "A Feminist Analysis of Henrik Ibsen’s  A Doll’s House." Beytulhikme: An International Journal of Philosophy, vol. 6, no. 1, 2016.
  3. Bhattacharya, Antara. "A Critical Study of Individual versus Society in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House." Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR), vol. 9, no. 2, Feb. 2022, pp. c90–c95. www.jetir.org/view?paper=JETIR2202231.
  4. Emon, Ariful Insan. "Use of Realism in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House." American Research Journal of Humanities and Social Science (ARJHSS), vol. 4, no. 1, Jan. 2021, pp. 1–8. www.arjhss.com.
  5. Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll’s House. Translated by Michael Meyer, Methuen Drama, 1994.
  6. Noorbakhsh, Hooti, and Pouria Torkamaneh. "Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House: A Postmodernist Study." Theory and Practice in Language Studies, vol. 1, no. 9, Sept. 2011, pp. 1103–1110. DOI: 10.4304/tpls.1.9.1103-1110.

This paper explores the difference between societal expectations and self-identity in Henrik Ibsen’s realistic play A Doll’s House, focusing on the feminist character Nora Helmer's journey toward self-realisation. The study examines how gender discrimination, family politics, and societal expectations entrap women within tangled societal norms. This paper reveals how Nora’s self-awakening challenges the deterministic roles assigned to her and underscores Ibsen’s critique of 19th-century social norms. This work argues that A Doll’s House remains a revolutionary exploration of autonomy and the silent struggle to assert the self in a world governed by secrets of expectation. This study uses a qualitative literary method. It is focusing on close reading of Henrik Ibsen’s literary text A Doll’s House. The research draws upon textual analysis: examining language, dialogue, and symbols.

Keywords : Gender, Social Expectation, Marionette, Self-Realisation, Autonomy.

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