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  • A Doll's House (1911)
  • Short | 14 min | Drama, Short
A Doll's House (1911)
Short | 14 min | Drama, Short
Nora, the only child of a kindly old man, never "grew up" so far as he could see. He treated her "like a doll," as she said later when her eyes were opened, but her girlhood was happy and carefree. She never had opinions, those of her ...See moreNora, the only child of a kindly old man, never "grew up" so far as he could see. He treated her "like a doll," as she said later when her eyes were opened, but her girlhood was happy and carefree. She never had opinions, those of her father were enough for her, and when he suggested that she marry Torval Helmer, a young man of probity, she was not consulted. Neither did she object, for that is not one of the doll's privileges. The husband, as did the father, treated Nora like a doll. It never occurred to him that she was a being with a mind and intelligence, but he was fond of her, in his own superior, condescending way. When he was taken sick, he thought it was very kind of her old father to give them the money that paid for a health trip to Italy. He did not know that his "doll wife" had borrowed the cash from a money lender, and to get it has to forge her father's name. Her excuse, perfectly reasonable to her doll's mind, although not legal, was that her father would have signed had it not been that he was fatally ill at the time. And the money was needed, as the doctors told her that without the trip Torval would certainly die. But the artifices of the "doll wife" was a closely guarded secret for many years. She worked late at night, sewing, to pay off the load of her debt under which she labored. And the years passed on, and children came, and Torval grew in wealth and knowledge, but he never once realized that Nora had troubles, and anxiety, simply because she bore her cross with a smiling face. When Torval became the manager of a bank, the crisis came. One of the clerks was lazy and irresponsible, and the new manager discharged him. And he was the man who had loaned Nora the money. He saw a chance to get his place back, and called upon Nora, threatening her with exposure unless he was restored to duty. Then for the first time, she realized that she had committed, what in the eyes of the law was a crime. In her pitiful, doll-like way she tried to get her husband to restore the clerk to duty, but was rebuffed. For he could not see what right she had to interfere in his business. He was not really angry, just provoked. The clerk carried out his threat, but Nora, for a time was able to keep her husband from reading the letter. Then she decided to let the exposure come, believing that the husband who had guided and petted her for years, would, to clear her, take the blame upon himself. But Torval showed that she had not judged him wrongly. His terror was aroused, not for fear of consequences to her, but because of what might happen to himself. And the eyes of the "doll wife" were opened. When the danger of exposure had passes away, through the eleventh hour repentance of the clerk, Torval was ready to forgive and forget. But Nora was not. She saw hos her life had been spoiled from infancy, how she had been suppressed and ignored, and resolutely left her home to start life anew and alone. The pleadings of her husband, and the thoughts of her children did not move her. They were all a part of the "doll's house" and its furniture, and they had no part in the life of a woman, so she put them away from her. And Torval, too late, realizes the fault was his. She tells him that some day she may return "if the miracle happens, making me a different woman, and you are a different man." He lives on, striving for the miracle. Written by Moving Picture World synopsis See less
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Writer
Henrik Ibsen (play "Et dukkehjem")
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Edit Released
Updated Jul 28, 1911
Release date
Jul 28, 1911 (United States)

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