Inspiration+for+the+Forgery

﻿Laura Kieler

﻿Ibsen's A Doll House plot was not totally orginal. Her crime is extremely similar to the forgery commited by a Norwegian woman named Laura Kieler. Kieler was married when Ibsen met her in 1871. After a few years Ibsen's "skylark', as she called her, was told that spending time in a warmer climate would save her husband's life. Just like Nora, Kieler couldn't afford this trip. She didn't want to bring up this subject with her husband so she secretly secured a loan to go to Italy. The loan fell through after two years and she was not able to pay it. Kieler asked Ibsen for help publishing a manuscript, however he was unaware of the cirucmstances so he declined. On the day of his refusal, Kieler forged a check and the crime was soon discovered. She ended up by telling her husband everthing and telling her husband everything, causing the break down of her marriage. He did everything he could to sperate her from the childern so she finally suffered a mental breakdown and was committed to an insane asylum. After being released, she begged her husband to take her back for the sake of her children and he agreed.