Ibsen's Inspiration
Welcome to Nora’s page on Henrik Ibsen’s inspiration for the heroine. Here you will find the story behind the story, the real life experiences that led to the creation of “A Doll’s House.”
Ibsen’s relationships with various women throughout his life invariably influenced his ideas and portrayals of the feminine characters in his works. According to Sharon Linnea, although Ibsen married in 1858, “all through his life, however, Ibsen continued to have flirtations with pretty young women” (Linnea). One of these was Laura Kieler, a woman with a similar financial and marital position as Nora Helmer. Like Nora, Kieler attempted to borrow money on her own for a vacation to try to cure the illness of her husband (Linnea). Ibsen and Kieler were relatively close, and during the summer of 1871, as Kieler was attempting a writing career, “they saw a good deal of each other during her stay; he called her his ‘skylark,’ and encouraged her to write more” (Meyer 443).
Later on, Laura Kieler’s circumstances led her, in a similar manner as Nora, to financial self-destruction. Kieler’s husband became ill from tuberculosis in 1876; Kieler thought that the only way to save him was a vacation to a warmer place (Meyer 443). Unfortunately, “they lacked the means for this and, since Kieler became neurotically hysterical at any mention of money, she took it on herself secretly to obtain a loan” (443). In this way, Kieler brought upon herself a similar, foreboding situation comparative to Nora Helmer.
When financial hardship thrust itself upon her, Kieler was unable to repay the loan and thus “forged a note but was discovered and placed in a mental institution” (Linnea). In contrast to Nora, when Kieler was let out, she decided to return to her role as a wife and a mother, “for her children’s sake” (Linnea). Ibsen supposedly heard of this story and was outraged. And the character of Nora was born.
To Ibsen, creating Nora was no ordinary case. According to Templeton in Ibsen’s Women, “anyone who claims that in Nora Ibsen had in mind a silly, hysterical, or selfish woman is either ignoring or misrepresenting the plain truth that Ibsen admired, even adored, Nora Helmer” (Templeton 124). Nora was supposedly his favorite and most realistic character; as he was writing “A Doll’s House,” he would sometimes feel or see her presence (Templeton). The personality and characteristics of Nora came from several sources through his experiences with women over the course of his lifetime.