Krogstad for President
“A Doll’s house” is a three act play, which was written by Henrik Ibsen. It tells us a story about Nora and her husband Torvald and how their true relationship unravels throughout a short period of time. The main reason for the sudden turn of events is a man named Nils Krogstad who uses some iniquitous tactics over the course of play. He threatens and even blackmails Nora and he is perceived as the antagonist of Doll’s House. This perception is wrong because in fact, Mr. Krogstad is the most misunderstood character of the play and he is actually very emotional and soft person.
Krogstad is a an outcast of society but is he really the “bad guy” or is the society the reason of this problem? Krogstad is a single father with two boys and he is judged by the society based on only a little mistake that he has made early in his life. He has been rejected by the woman that he loved and later in his life, his wife died. He took care of his family very well and provided for his sons by working two jobs – one as a bank clerk and the second as a newspaper writer. So why do we feel no remorse for this character? It is of course because he committed a crime, which was considered as a very serious offense in the time and place where the play was set. But he committed the same exact crime as Nora who is perceived as a complete opposite. Krogstad also decides to black mail Nora and threatens her that he will release the information that he has. But we don’t quite understand the circumstances for Krogstad’s decision. He is trying to save his job and prevent Nora’s husband from firing him. The audience again forgets that he has to keep his job in order to provide enough money for his family. As Krogstad says in the play: “If necessary I shall fight for my little job in the Bank as if I were fighting for my life”. This hints that he is very determined, responsible and focused but also desperate. If Krogstad didn’t need the job so badly, he wouldn’t ever...