Characters

The main character in a play is called the **protagonist;** the opposing character is the **antagonist.** While the protagonist can be a hero, many—in fact, most—protagonists are far from heroic. Hamlet, for example, lacks the leadership qualities of a hero, but he is the protagonist in Shakespeare’s play. Similarly, the antagonist can have many positive qualities, but in the play, the antagonist’s role is to oppose the protagonist.

Characters in a play are developed to different levels. Some are fully formed characters with an interior life; these are **round characters**. In contrast, **flat characters** have limited personalities and offer the audience little real interest. The role of a flat character is to participate in incidents that move the action forward or to behave in a predictable way that moves another character to change.

When a character does grow or change, he or she is said to be a **dynamic character**; it is more likely that a round character will also be a dynamic character, but this is not a requirement. In //A Doll’s House//, Nora is the outstanding example of the dynamic character. However, Ibsen has also infused two lesser characters, Mrs. Linde and Krogstad, with the ability to change. By peopling the play with more than one dynamic character, Ibsen has added depth and verisimilitude to his work. The reader should understand that characters other than the protagonist and antagonist can be dynamic characters.

A flat character, by definition, is limited in the ability to change or grow. Thus most flat characters are also **static characters**, meaning that they stay the same, developmentally, throughout the play. In A Doll’s House, Helmer is a static character. In fact, it is his very inability to change that forces Nora into her shocking decision. Yet Helmer is also the antagonist, taking a central role in the play.

In addition to round and fl at characters and to dynamic and static characters, plays can also be peopled by **stock characters.** These are almost like a mass-produced item that is kept in stock in a store: you know exactly what you are buying. A stock character is a stereotype, manifesting universal characteristics. Thus, the dumb blonde could be a stock character, as could the belligerent cop, the whining brat, the prejudiced Southerner. In the case of //A Doll’s House//, the nursemaid—loyal, patient, supportive—is a stock character.

Often, a stock, flat, or static character is used as a **foil** for a more highly developed character. In this case, the less developed character is used as a point of contrast in which a dynamic character’s growth is made more noticeable by the sameness of the foil. In //A Doll’s House,// Ibsen creates a traditional society in which a theater-goer of his day might expect the husband to be the dominant character, taking the role of protagonist. However, the playwright’s purpose in writing this play was to advance his own belief that society at large could not afford to overlook the talent and drive of half its members: that is, of women. By making Nora a more nuanced and dynamic character than Helmer, and by making her the protagonist, Ibsen was notifying his audience that things were not all as traditional as they seemed in the Helmer household. The play’s lasting interest owes much to Ibsen’s skill in mixing round and flat characters, his inclusion of static characters and bits of stereotypes, all of which contrast with the dynamism that builds Nora’s character. Ibsen uses the notion of the foil to good effect in Act III, where two fairly flat characters, Mrs. Linde and Krogstad, decide to band together in hopes of growing into the fuller selves each dreams of becoming. This development raises questions of whether a marriage of two people who recognize their faults can thrive and whether banding together will actually help them overcome those very faults. The contrast between their decision and the sterility of the Helmer marriage is a strong point of interest in the play, especially given Helmer’s absolute inability to change his understanding of Nora.