In his play A Doll's House, Henrik
Ibsen uses references of masking to foreshadow Nora's change, or unveiling, at the end
of the play. Throughout the play, Ibsen indicates that Nora is more than what she
appears to be, she is especially more than what her husband, Torvald, sees her to
be.
One instance of masking is seen through the mascarade, or fancy
dress ball, that is given by Nora's neighbors after Christmas Day. According to
Torvald's suggestion, Nora goes dressed as a Neapolitan fisher-girl and dances the
Tarantella href="http://www.fullbooks.com/A-Doll-s-House1.html">(Act II). The costume
represents the pretenses Nora employed to get her husband to Italy. Although, Nora
wanted to get her husband to Italy to save his life, she used lies and cunning to get
them there. The mask of the costume Torvald chooses for her represents the innocent,
propper wife that Torvald believed her to be in Italy, and still believes her to be. The
costume also foreshadows change at the end of the play, because finally Nora
acknowledges the truth to her husband, and also acknowledges knew truths to
herself.
A second instance in which masking occurs is in
I when Nora first asks Torvald to let Krogstad keep his post at the bank.
Torvald refuses because he knows Krogstad is guilty of a fraudulent crime, such as
forging a signature, that Krogstad was never punished for because he managed to get
himself out of it. Torvald refers to Krogstad as a "guilty man" who wears "a mask in the
presence of those near and dear to him" href="http://www.fullbooks.com/A-Doll-s-House1.html">(Act I). The phrase
wearing a mask refers to Krogstad pretending to be innocent when he is really guilty.
Krogstad's mask directly parallels Nora's mask, because they both committed forgery for
similar reasons, to save the life of someone dear to them. Just like Krogstad, Nora must
pretend that she is innocent. The mask also foreshadows Nora's unveiling at the end of
play, because finally, Nora sheds her mask and admits the truth.
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