A critic by the name of Dorothea Krook treats A Doll House as a tragedy because it has what she takes to be the four universal elements of the genre: the act of shame or horror, consequent intense suffering, a consequent increase in knowledge, and, finally, a reaffirmation of the value of life. If these are indeed the universal elements of tragedy, then I must agree with her assessment for I detect the occurrence of each of these four elements in the play.

The act of shame or horror in the play is Nora’s “shameful” act of forgery and chronic deceit and her consequent horror when Helmer explains to her the degenerate nature of the chronic liar. Ironically, Helmer lectures her on the evil and degenerate nature of a man like Krogstad, who, like Nora, has committed forgery: “I literally feel physically revolted when I’m anywhere near such a person,” says Helmer, and tells her how “that kind of atmosphere infects the whole life of a home,” especially the children (DiYanni 1072). Nora’s reaction is overt, contributing to the irony of the scene; elements of dialogue and character business reveal her horror and shame: When the children ask to

As we have seen above, the shame and horror of Nora’s actions cause her to experience intense suffering; indeed, it even leads her to contemplate suicide. Helmer, too, suffers as a consequence of this “shameful” act; for it is because of this act and its repercussions that Nora becomes aware of the true nature of her relationship with Helmer and, consequently, leaves him.

come in and play with her, Nora exclaims, “No, no, no, don’t let them come in to me!” indicating that she does not wish to “pollute” them with her shameful presence. Note that she is “pale with terror” when she states, “Hurt my children—! Poison my home?” indicating that the thought of her actions polluting her family and home horrifies her (1072).

All this leads to an increase in knowledge in both the characters of Nora and Helmer. Nora becomes aware of her individuality; she realizes that she must “stand up alone, if [she’s] ever going to discover [herself] and the world out there” (1098). Helmer learns that he has erred greatly in his treatment of Nora and realizes that for them to be together, as Nora puts it, “[. . .] it would take the greatest miracle of all [. . .] You and I must transform ourselves to the point that [. . .] our living together could be a true marriage,” in other words, a marriage based on equality, mutual respect, and love for each other (1101). The stage business and dialogue of Helmer in the closing lines reveal much about his desire to achieve this transformation:

Helmer is evidently deeply affected by Nora’s desertion, but that last “sudden hope” and his final, unfinished question reveal his belief that, if he changes, he may yet become the man Nora would approve of and accept.

Some topics in this essay:
Torvald Helmer, Empty She’s, Doll House, Krogstad Nora, Robert DiYanni’s, Helmer Nora, Tragedy Aristotle, Jung Moon, Ironically Helmer, elements tragedy, tragic hero, Aside Krook’s, tragic flaw, doll house, shame horror, value life, tragic hero elements, closing lines, transform ourselves, true nature, reaffirmation value, elements tragedy agree, act shame horror, hero elements anagnorisis, reaffirmation value life,