Student Question
What are the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution in A Doll's House?
Quick answer:
In A Doll's House, the exposition introduces Nora Helmer's relationship with her husband, Torvald, and the secret loan she took to save him. The rising action begins with Nils Krogstad's blackmail over the loan, escalating until Torvald learns the truth, marking the climax. The falling action sees Torvald relent after Krogstad forgives the debt, but Nora realizes the truth about their relationship. The resolution has Nora leaving her family to discover her identity, symbolized by the closing front door.
Exposition is provided up until the rising action begins, and the exposition in A Doll's House includes a depiction of Nora Helmer’s relationship with her husband, Torvald, as well as her past friendship with Mrs. Kristine Linde. We also learn of the loan she took out to save her husband’s life and how Nora had to conceal the loan from him. The rising action begins when Nils Krogstad returns to the Helmer home to blackmail Nora while her husband is out. Krogstad is the person who loaned Nora the money to save her husband years before, and now he asks Nora to use her influence with Torvald on his behalf, helping him to keep his position at the bank where both he and Torvald work. He threatens to reveal not only that Nora took out a loan, but that she did so illegally, forging her father’s name on the...
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loan documents.
The rising action continues, as Nora tries to contain her secret and control the damage, until Torvald reads Krogstad’s letter, which contains the truth about Nora’s loan: this is the play’s climax. Helmer calls her a “hypocrite, a liar,” and a “criminal.” He shames her and tells her that she shares her “father’s want of principle.” He will not let her speak and declares that she has ruined his life. In the fallingaction, a second letter comes in which Krogstad says that he will forgive the debt and never expose Nora’s actions, and Torvald suddenly relents. However, it is too late. Nora explains what has changed, how she now sees the truth about their relationship: that he has only ever seen and treated her like a “doll,” just as her father did.
In the resolution, Nora leaves their family home and her children behind so that she can go and discover who she truly is without the influence of a man in her life. The last sound is that of their front door closing, an indication that Nora will never return.