A Doll's House

What is symbolic meaning of the title?


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The symbolic meaning of the title, "A Doll's House," refers to the female characters in the story. Each woman has a role, and she is expected to fulfill that role without question. The women through the title are portrayed as dolls, inanimate objects bereft of free will, dignity, or intelligence. Nora is the story's best example when describing her relationship with her father, "He used to call me his doll-child, and he played with me the way I played with my dolls," and "he told me all his opinions, so I had the same ones too." This was how she lived her entire life in relation to men. She did what she was told, and she acted in the manner that was expected. She was a belonging not a person.


A Doll's House

Nora is pretending to live a somewhat normal life but being treated as an object (doll). Nora treats her kids like dolls, the same way her father treated her. All the members are dolls.