The Christmas tree is delivered in Nora’s flurry of excitement for Christmas. It symbolizes family happiness and unity, as well as the joy Nora takes in making her home pleasant and attractive. At the beginning of Act Two, the tree has been stripped and the candles burned out; the stage directions dictate that it should look “bedraggled.” This represents the end of Nora’s innocence and foreshadows the Helmer family’s eventual disintegration.
Get the entire A Doll's House LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Christmas Tree Symbol Timeline in A Doll's House
The timeline below shows where the symbol The Christmas Tree appears in A Doll's House. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act One
...She is humming happily to herself. A porter enters behind her and delivers a Christmas tree ; Nora tells the maid to hide it so it is a surprise for the...
(full context)
...back down. She calls to the maid and asks her to bring her the Christmas tree. She mutters to herself: “No, really, it’s quite impossible!” The maid brings the Christmas tree...
(full context)
Nora decorates the tree, still talking to herself, saying everything Krogstad has said is nonsense and that she will...
(full context)
Nora continues to decorate the Christmas tree and tells Torvald she is excited for the Stenborgs’ fancy dress ball on Boxing Day....
(full context)
...that he will wrap up some money in gold paper to hang on the Christmas tree for Nora, as she requested. After laying his hand affectionately on her head, he exits.
(full context)
Act Two
The curtain opens to the same room, with the Christmas tree now stripped and “bedraggled.” Nora’s outdoor clothes are on the sofa, and Nora, who is...
(full context)
