Foreshadowing is a literary device where the author of a text drops small clues that hint toward coming events in the plot. With foreshadowing, an author can steer a reader’s expectations and prepare them for upcoming scenes. In Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll’s House,” there are numerous examples of foreshadowing.
Perhaps the most glaring and early example of foreshadowing in A Doll’s House is Nora’s lie in the opening scene regarding a seemingly innocuous dessert: macaroons. Torvald Helmer asks his wife, "Hasn't Miss Sweet Tooth been breaking rules in town today? […] taken a bite at a macaroon or two?" Nora innocently replies, “No, Torvald.” The audience knows that she has been indulging in macaroons and this lie foreshadows her eventual all-out rebellion against her husband.
A second detail that foreshadows Nora’s departure is her conversation with the nurse in Act 2. Speaking of her children, Nora says, “Yes, but, nurse, I shall not be able to be so much with them now as I was before.” This is a small, but clear hint that Nora will leave Helmer by the end of the play.
A final, albeit a more minor example of foreshadowing, is when Dr. Rank tells Helmer that he will be “invisible” at the next masquerade, obliquely referring to his own death. He tells his friend, “There's a big black hat—haven't you heard of the invisible hat? It comes down all over you, and then no one can see you.” Despite the hint, Helmer is as oblivious to Rank’s impending death as he is to his wife’s looming departure. I hope this helps!
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