Foil Characters in A Doll’s House

Henrik Ibsen creates characters in A Doll’s House who change throughout the play. Ibsen’s use of foil characters helps the reader understand each individual character better. Some of the characters in the play are perceived as opposites but in fact share several similarities. Krogstad and Torvald, Christine and Nora, and Krogstad/Christine’s relationship and Torvald/Nora’s relationship are all foils to each other. Foil characters are mirror images of each other; they have similarities as well as differences. Nils Krogstad and Torvald Helmer are foils to each other. They both have children and are lawyers, even though Krogstad lost his license because he did a forgery. Krogstad did something immoral …show more content…
Christine and Krogstad truly love each other because they have both been out in the real world and want to be together. The Helmer’s do not have true love because Nora has never been out of her “dollhouse” to experience the world for herself. Nora and Torvald’s relationship is more similar to father/daughter rather than husband/wife. Torvald loves Nora as more of a daughter and cares more about what others think of him rather than what she thinks. “Torvald: From now on, forget happiness. Now it’s just about saving the remains, the wreckage, the appearance.” (Act 3). Torvald is extremely selfish in his relationship with Nora; Krogstad is not selfish at all in his relationship with Christine. Christine and Krogstad are able to solve their issues together as adults.
The main characters in this play have foil characters who are there to support them and help the reader understand the story. Certain characters seem to be opposites of each other while also having similarities. Krogstad and Torvald have similar jobs and families, but are also quite dissimilar. Christine and Nora were childhood friends but grew up in different worlds. The relationship between Christine and Krogstad and the Helmers’ relationship differs because Krogstad and Christine truly love each other and the Helmers do not. Even though these characters do have similarities to each other, they are almost exact opposites; they are mirror