By Ethan Doskey
Perhaps the playwright’s personal connection to the story behind A Doll’s House explains why it rose to such heights and has defined Ibsen’s career. Going back two years before the curtain rose on the Helmer household, Laura Kieler, a family friend of Ibsen, asked him for a favor. She wrote to Ibsen asking him to endorse a novel she wrote, a sequel to his play Brand. She went on, saying that she needed money to pay for her husband’s medical bills, and to do so, wanted to publish this book with the help of Ibsen’s good word. Ibsen never responded. Laura Kieler couldn’t get her novel published as a consequence. Left with no other option, Kieler was forced to forge her husband’s signature to take out a loan, saving her husband’s life. Sound familiar? She kept it a secret for as long as she could, but when her husband found out, he admitted her to a mental institution. When Ibsen got word of what happened to Laura Kieler, he felt he owed it to her to write a play based on her terrible situation. In doing so, he would change the ending, leaving her victorious.
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