I read this in High school for the first time and loved it. I saw a free audiobook on Audrey and decided to give it another go. I loved it more this time. Incredibly, this was written in the 19th century. This is a short play with only 3 acts. The audiobook was wonderfully dramatized with a cast of characters that breathed life into the story. In A Doll's House, we see a glimpse into the life of Nora, her husband Torvald, their three children, their maides, and their friends. Nora does her best to navigate domestic life, respecting her husband's demands while indulging herself without her husband's knowledge.

On Christmas eve, Nora is visited by her childhood friend Kristine. They haven't seen each other in 8 years, and they start talking about their lives. Soon we learn that Nora had indebted herself to Mr. Krogstad, to be able to pay for a trip to Italy. Her husband was deathly ill, and the doctor recommended a change of climate. Nora didn't have enough money and could not borrow from her father as he was on his deathbed. Nora did not want to trouble her father with her husband's illness so she forged his signature on the check. At the time, women had to have a man's permission to borrow money. Due to odd circumstances, Kristine got Mr. Krogstad's position at a bank where Torvald was the manager, which led to Mr. Krogstad blackmailing Nora. He wanted her to exert her wifely power over Torvald and convince him not to fire Krogstad, or he would expose her crime to her husband in a letter. 
From a broader perspective, this play shows the lack of autonomy women had back in the day. They were dependent on men. It shows how little thought men paid about women's position in marriage and general society and how obvious the power dynamics become when you pay close attention. The nicknames Torvald uses for Nora (songbird, my little skylark, my little squirrel) reflect his opinion of her and his sense of authority and security in their marriage. He considers Nora to be a silly little wife who need not concern herself with important issues. He merely copies the prevalent societal opinions that women's brains cannot do a great deal of thinking because it could make them ill.

By the end of the play, Nora becomes aware of her submissive position in what she calls the doll house. She was her father's doll child and later her husband's doll wife. Nora and Torvald's ideal marriage slowly falls to pieces with the story's progression. Only when Nora threatens to leave him and their children, does Torvald realize he was living a perfectly crafted lie and begs for Nora to stay. She leaves.

This has become my new favorite classic alongside Madame Bovary and Lady of the Camellias.