In his play A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen relies on humorous elements to convey deeper, more serious messages and character development. He uses dramatic irony which gives the play an air of suspense and the character’s obliviousness of the truth seems amusing. He also presents Nora as childlike as she behaves comically for a woman her age. But although she seems superficial and childish, she is a complex woman with a dark secret.

Ibsen uses dramatic irony throughout his play. For example, when Torvald says: “Rank had me expecting some grand masquerade" and is disappointed not to find Nora dressed up in her party costume, it seems funny to the reader that Torvald would say that, since we know there is a real masquerade going on. Ibsen sets this humorous element to give the play a lighter side, and the irony conceals the depth of Torvald’s commentary. He believes that he will find his wife dressed up in a magnificent costume and is disappointed to find her plainly dressed. In reality, to the reader’s view, she is truly dressed up; she is wearing a mask which hides her true self. Behind her daily clothes, she hides her deepest secret—that she took a loan by forging a signature to save Torvald’s life.

Nora also acts very childishly which makes her character amusing, since she is a grown woman. She plays around with her children and makes trivial comments to her husband. Buys macaroons and hides them from Torvald, she acts like a little girl hiding her candy which has been prohibited to her and eats them when he is not looking. This seems a funny instance, since we see this woman hiding herself to eat a treat just like a kid would. This scene seems like a small, unimportant one, but her hiding and eating the macaroons has a much deeper meaning. First of all, the fact that her husband does not allow her to buy candy shows how controlling he is, and how he treats Nora as if she were his child. Second, her hiding the macaroons sets the stage for the truth being concealed. Then when her husband comes in and suspects that she has been eating the macaroons and he questions her about it, Nora repeatedly lies about not having bought them. This scene presents her dishonesty which again sets the theme of falsehood that takes place all throughout the play.

Lastly, another element that I find comic and conceals a deeper message are all the nicknames that Torvald calls Nora. I find the entire name-calling corny and stupid—two elements that I find to be funny. I laughed at all the stupid nicknames that he called her such as, squirrel and lark, the always diminishing little something. Although this name-calling may sound loving and funny, it is truly a way of his being superior and treating her like a child or even worse, a doll.

Ibsen uses comic scenes to make the important and serious messages lighter. Although they seem funny and unimportant, they have real depth. Ibsen makes Nora’s character seem childlike, thus funny to the reader, but she truly is a well-developed character with inner problems and secrets.