Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House sought very hard to reveal the truths of marriage and gender expectations in the late nineteenth century. During this time period, women were expected to play the role of doting mother and wife. A wife was expected to heighten her husband's status by being beautiful and by pretending to be totally fulfilled with the domestic world in which she was confined. As the play progresses, the reader sees the reality of the society's restrictive demands of women. The reader is also allowed an honest look at how the limitations on women affected the marital relationships of the time. They see that Nora does not feel free to reveal her true emotions and abilities to her husband. Thus, Nora's marriage with her husband lacks substance and truth. To reveal this fact, Ibsen uses many symbols in the play which hint at the damage done by falsity and lies. The costume party and the act of forgery committed by Nora both symbolize the false personas that women had to wear to survive in a setting that did not validate the needs and abilities of women. In the end, the author shows Nora's true heroism when she reveals the truth to her husband about her own feelings and the superficiality of their marriage. The play caused much controversy in society, namely due to Nora's action of leaving her husband and children to find herself. When Nora leaves on this journey, she literally slams the door on her husband. This action reveals the anger Nora feels at being so misunderstood and invalidated by her husband and society. This action was called "the slam heard round the world" because the play caused women to look more deeply at the truth of their own lives and marriages. Ibsen's play allowed women to see the truth of their own existence and the confining society in which they lived.
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