A Doll's House was banned because of its intense social criticism of the inequalities that often existed within marriage and the way women were treated by men during the Victorian era.

A Doll's House was a source of major cultural controversy when it was first performed in 1879. The play's ending, in which Nora walks out on her husband and children in order to find her own identity outside of marriage and motherhood, shocked Victorian audiences. It was believed that a woman's place was in the home and that any woman who rejected this role was unnatural.

Of course, Nora is mainly rejecting her husband's dominating, condescending attitude towards her as well as responding to his rage at saving his life by breaking the law. He even plans to prevent her from being around their children, claiming her influence will poison them. When Torvald learns that his reputation is free from any danger, he recants and claims to "forgive" her, but it is clear his masculine ego has no room to allow Nora to be an equal in their relationship. This criticism of male domination and vanity, as well as Nora's shocking final act, outraged certain audience members.

The play was ultimately banned in Britain until Ibsen agreed to pen a new ending. In Germany, one actress refused to perform the role of Nora until a different ending was adopted. Eventually, Ibsen did write an alternate ending, in which Nora is shown her children and then collapses, choosing not to abandon them. Ibsen found this ending a "barbaric outrage" and untrue to the spirit of the story as he originally intended it. Today, the original ending is better-known and used far more often.