In the novel, Ibsen brings up questions concerning class conflict and accumulation of wealth, power of money, economic relations, and exploitation. The events reflect the economic and social constraints of society and the role of money in the life of the characters. The play is based on class-labor relations unveiling the socio-economic situation of the society. The theme of money shapes the atmosphere and creates a story conflict influencing the decisions and behavior patterns of the main characters.
Money rules the world of Nora and her husband Helmer. The background of the play is an industrial society that had a major impact on all social processes. A major concern of social thinking is to identify the nature of industrialization and to trace its social and political effects. The society depicted in the play is distinguished by its characteristic modes of production and economic life. Quite early Nora explores the meaning and significance of money in life. Helmer explains his vision of happiness: ‘There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt” (Ibsen). Nora hopes that a marriage with Helmer secures her social and economic position.
In the play, Ibsen depicts confrontations between money and honesty. As though to emphasize his vision of the life-denying nature of most modern existence, Ibsen does not use the imitative method to portray characters through motivation and conditionality. Ibsen portrays money in a specific manner which helps him to convey the main message of the story and express his own attitude towards interference of wealth and personal values. It means that economic power is a tool in the process of ruling the society. Ibsen depicts that when money starts to dominate people forget about moral principles and honesty driven by economic gain only. Ibsen portrays Krogstad as a man who lacks personal morality seeing money as the main source of power. Krogstad explains his position as: “And all this—only for the sake of money!” (Ibsen). Ibsen underlines that social conflict is a feature of the transition between older and newer social orders, world perception and values, spiritual and materialistic understanding of the world by Nora. Nora describes her experience: “I only know that I have paid every penny that I could scrape together. … Then I used to sit here and imagine that a rich old gentleman had fallen in love with me” (Ibsen). The theme of desperation is shown through the theme and symbol of money which helps to unveil the harsh realities of a family’s life. For Nora, money is freedom from debts while for Helmer money determines a class location and happiness. As the most important, money creates a story conflict and determines relations between all characters in the play, their happiness and anxieties. Nora explains: “It will be splendid to have heaps of money and not need to have any anxiety, won’t it?” (Ibsen). Through the character of Nora, Ibsen portrays that money can ruin the lives of people and their hopes. The idea is that a mix of money and low morals result in impunity. Ibsen creates a unique mixture of personal and social values driven by money and economic relations. On the other hand, Helmer criticizes his wife saying: “It’s a sweet little spendthrift, but she uses up a deal of money. One would hardly believe how expensive such little persons are!” (Ibsen).
In the play, an understanding of the individual and the society in which he lived plays a crucial role. Without an understanding of the influence of work and money on the characters, the readers would not be able to perceive the motives of their behavior and their decisions. It means that social values are influenced by the impact of wealth on society. In this way, class power affects the thoughts and desires of its victims without them being aware of it.
Works Cited
Ibsen, H. (n.d.) A Doll House. Web.