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113 A Doll’s House Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best a doll’s house topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 interesting topics to write about a doll’s house, 🎓 good essay topics on a doll’s house, ❓ a doll’s house essays questions.

• Feminism in “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen Nora is referred by her husband as a songbird, a lark, a squirrel, names that suggest how insignificant she is to her.
• A Doll’s House Modernism Theme In A Doll’s House, one of the outstanding depictions of this way of thinking was seen at the end of the play; in other words, the overall plot of the story has been used to […]
• Relationships in “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen He cares mostly about his money and reputation, and through his pressure and arrogance, he makes Nora believe that her life has to only be devoted to her husband and children.
• Setting’s Influence: “A Doll’s House” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” This paper focuses on the setting in the works A Doll’s House and The Handmaid’s Tale and its impact on the characters and the author’s context through the prism of the chosen historical periods, culture, […]
• Liberation of Women: “A Doll’s House” Analysis While in some scenes the lights are turned off, towards the end of the play the intensity of light increases especially when Nora is talking to her husband. This is escalated towards the end of […]
• “A Doll’s House” and “Death of a Salesman” Comparison The main conflict of the play is thoroughly intergenerational and lies in Willy’s inability to accept the decision of his older son Biff, as the latter is willing to leave town to go to farmland […]
• A Doll’s House by Norway’s Henrik Ibsen It’s ironic when Torvald says that he pretends Nora is in some kind of trouble, and he waits the time he can rescue her.
• Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” Analysis The purpose of this paper is to discuss the prominent elements of fiction used in A Doll’s House as the most vivid example of Ibsen’s approach, analyze the applied dramatic techniques, and describe different layers […]
• Freedom in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” Literature Analysis In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, the main character, Nora is not an intellectual, and spends no time scouring books or libraries or trying to make sense of her situation.
• Analysis of Setting, Character Development, and Symbolism in the Play A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. In the play, the author creates the unity of setting so as to underscore the feeling that the main heroine Nora is the prisoner of her life.
• Drama Analysis: A Doll’s House This paper analyses the position of a woman in society, the aspect of social life as well as the importance of responsibility in the drama A Doll’s House.
• Marriage in Plays “A Doll’s House” and “Fences” The revelation of her husband’s true character and perspective on life causes Nora’s disillusionment with her relationship and the institution of marriage in general.
• “A Doll’s House” by H. Ibsen: Do Desires Have a Gender? In the end, many of the characters’ desires are shaped by social norms that are imposed on them, and while some characters choose to go along with society’s expectations of them, others revolt and seek […]
• Comparison of Nora From A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen and Elisa From The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck The story of John Steinbeck describes only one day of life of the character, while Henrik Ibsen uses three acts in order to provide the whole picture and to describe the rise of the conflict […]
• The Interpretation of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House Presented by Patrick Garland The role of women in the society of the 19th century is a rather controversial point for the discussion in literature because of the fact the end of the century can be characterized as the […]
• Feminism in “A Doll’s House” by Ibsen Benhabib’s chapter, “Feminism and the Question of Postmodernism,” highlights the connection between feminism and postmodernism in contemporary society. Nasrin examines the role of feminism in enforcing justice and human rights activism.
• “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen He watches and describes the atmosphere of all-absorbing illusion in the society, drawing attention to the rights and destiny of a woman in it. The core of this illusion is a woman’s position in society, […]
• Plays Comparison: Pygmalion, A Doll’s House and Trifles This especially appears to be the case in the situations when what happened to be the actual truth, simply does much of a logical sense in the concerned person’s eyes.
• Personal Freedom in A Doll’s House, A Room of One’s Own, and Diary of a Madman In Chapter Three of Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, the protagonist attempts to make sense of the nonsensical elements of female history, namely, how it could be that “in Athena’s city, where women […]
• Parents as Failed Role Models: A Doll’s House and Fight Club The drinking culture of parents revealed in the story of the Fight Club underscores the elements that increase children’s exposure to alcohol and drug taking.
• Deception in “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen It is important to note that the topic of deception and self-deception in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” is of paramount criticality in order to understand the underlying message and characters’ actions.
• “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen Review Thus, in the story, the main theme, which is the sacrificial role of female characters, is supported by the conflict of societal standards and personal intentions alongside symbolic elements.
• Henrik Ibsen’s History of “A Doll’s House” Drama While I desired Nora to become a type of Everyman in the exploration of the development of the individual as a real and valid human being, this type of exploration was only possible within this […]
• Symbolism in “A Doll’s House” Play by Henrik Ibsen The main objective of the play “A Doll’s House” is to advocate for the ability of each individual in making decisions that are not based on the influences of other persons around him or her. […]
• Henrick Ibsen’s A Doll’s House Nora’s father is mentioned quite often in the play, a fact that makes him equal to his daughter because of the deeds of the daughter.
• The Play “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen: Feminist Themes Hossain’s article explores the manifestations of the ideas of post-modernist feminism in the play through the analysis of the main character’s development and the overall social order where women were subordinate to men.
• Semiotic Analysis of “A Doll’s House” by H. Ibsen Nora is in an intermediate position between a man and a tree, decorating the tree and allowing her husband to such behavior.
• Positive Role Model in “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen To sum up, A Doll’s House presents the harsh life of the mother and wife, Nora, who is trapped with her husband with no choices and goals.
• Feminism in “A Doll’s House” Play by Ibsen Her father used to refer to her as his doll-child, and he used to play with her in the same way she used to play with him. As a result, near the end of the […]
• Similarities and Differences in “The Little Foxes” and “A Doll’s House” The same parallel exists with Ibsen’s Nora, who realized that to her husband, she was a doll to be played with and admired.
• Ibsen’s A Doll’s House Play From a Biographical Perspective Later in the play, the reader learns that this is a childhood trait and she cannot allow her husband to feel obligated to her.
• The Play ‘A Doll’s House’ The play A Doll’s House is the best play the audience is presented to. Besides, the actors must come up to the audience from behind the scenes because the viewer does not need to […]
• “The Father” and “A Doll’s House” Resting on these facts, it is possible to analyze some works which belong to the same period of time in order to understand the main ideas of the epoch and the authors message to readers.
• Drama: A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen Given actions at the end of the play, she may appear to be a villain, but, in fact, she is a victim of her circumstances she was driven to her decision by the blackmail and […]
• The Change of Gender Roles This similarity is one of the most important to focus on the structure of the narrative. In both plays, the main actions of the characters are not directly described by the authors.
• “A Doll’s House”, “The Storm” and “The Victims” Even though Nora is loyal to her husband in the “Doll’s House”, she is brave enough to look forward to a future on her own due to her husband’s unwillingness to become more considerate.
• Costs and Benefits of Conformity and Rebellion in Selected Literature The works are often a depiction of the way of life of the people in the society at that particular period of time In this essay, the author uses the works of chosen authors to […]
• Women’s Refusal in Euripides’ “Medea” and Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• Nora’s Character Development in Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• Using Soren Kierkegaard’s “Philosophies of Truth” to Analyze “A Doll’s House”
• The Transformation of a Woman in Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• An Analysis of a Woman’s Manhood in “A Doll’s House”
• The Role of the Dress in “A Doll’s House”
• Reasons for Nora Helmer to Stay in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• Male Roles in the Plays “Antigone” and “A Doll’s House”
• Searching for a Hero in Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• The Binary Opposition of Phylogeny Versus Misogyny in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• The Theme of Feminism in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• Women’s Rights as a Theme of “A Doll’s House”
• The Role of Symbolism in “A Doll’s House”
• Deception of Family in “Death of a Salesman” and “A Doll’s House”
• Gender and Theatricality in “A Doll’s House”
• How Does the Title “A Doll’s House” Demonstrate an Allegory for Women’s Role at That Time
• Plot, Irony, Characterization of Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• Representation of Patriarchal Ideology in “A Doll’s House”
• Rights of Women in the Nineteenth Century and in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• Role Playing and Control in “A Doll’s House”
• Escaping the Cage of Marriage in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• Significance of Nora’s Financial Contract With Krogstad in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• The Morality of Relationships in “A Doll’s House”
• Symbols of Personal Renewal in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• The Problem of Free Will in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• The Detrimental Nature of a Love for Money in Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• Historical Context of “A Doll’s House”
• Metaphors and Realistic in the Play “A Doll’s House”
• Societal Views of Women in the Victorian Era in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• The Position of Masculinity and Femininity in “A Doll’s House”
• Symbols and Symbolism as Indicative of Key Themes in Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• Reading “A Doll’s House” Through Aristotelian Ideas
• The Importance of Truth in “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen
• Themes and Symbols in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• A Double Standard in “A Doll’s House”
• Perception of Love and the Institution of Marriage in “A Doll’s House”
• The Character Develpoment of Nora Helmer in “A Doll’s House”
• Mrs. Linde’s Influence on Nora’s Personal Development in “A Doll’s House”
• Links Between “Crime and Punishment” and “A Doll’s House”
• Comparison of Feminist Literary Heroines Nora in Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” and Antigone in Sophocles’ “Antigone”
• Appearance vs. Reality in Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
• Limitations on Women in “A Doll’s House”
• Individual Growth, Marriage, and Social Convention in “A Doll’s House”
• Society’s Influence on the Relationships in “A Doll’s House”
• Inferior Role of a Married Woman Nora in “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen
• Social Issues as Reflected in “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen
• How Does Nora Helmer Change by the End of “A Doll’s House”?
• Why Was Ibsen Forced to Create an Alternate Ending for “A Doll’s House”?
• How Is Feminism Portrayed in “A Doll’s House”?
• What Does the Play’s Title “A Doll’s House” Mean?
• Why Is Nora From “A Doll’s House” a Hypocrite?
• What Are Three Main Themes of the Play “A Doll’s House”?
• What Is the Moral of “A Doll’s House”?
• What Is the Symbolic Meaning of the Tarantella in “A Doll’s House”?
• What Are the Symbols in “A Doll’s House”?
• Why Did Nora From “A Doll’s House” Borrow Money?
• What Is Wrong With the Relationship of Nora and Torvald in “A Doll’s House”?
• What Does “A Doll’s House” Say About Society?
• Why Does Nora Dance Wildly in “A Doll’s House”?
• What Does the Christmas Tree Symbolize in “A Doll’s House”?
• How Is “A Doll’s House” an Example of Realism?
• What Crime Did Nora Commit in “A Doll’s House”?
• In What Ways Does Dr. Rank Provide a Contrast to Torvald in “A Doll’s House”?
• Who Is the Antagonist of “A Doll’s House”?
• What Does Nora’s Happiness Symbolize in “A Doll’s House”?
• Why Is Nora Compared to a Doll in “A Doll’s House”?
• What Does the Lamp Come To Symbolize in “A Doll’s House”?
• What Does Nora Sacrifice in “A Doll’s House”?
• What Do Macaroons Represent in “A Doll’s House”?
• What Is the Most Wonderful Thing That Nora Helmer Talks About in the Last Scene of “A Doll’s House”?
• Why Does Nora Forge Her Father’s Signature?
• What Is the Central Problem of “A Doll’s House”?
• What Does the Mailbox With a Key Symbolize in “A Doll’s House”?
• What Secret Has Nora Been Keeping in “A Doll’s House”?
• How Did Ibsen Use Dramatic Irony in “A Doll’s House”?
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117 A Doll's House Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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117 A Doll's House Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen is a play that has captivated audiences and sparked debates since its first performance in 1879. The play explores themes of societal expectations, gender roles, and the pursuit of individuality. If you are tasked with writing an essay on A Doll's House, here are 117 topic ideas and examples to help you get started.

• Analyze the character development of Nora Helmer throughout the play.
• Discuss the significance of the title "A Doll's House" and its relation to the play's themes.
• Explore the portrayal of marriage in A Doll's House.
• Compare and contrast Nora's and Torvald's views on money and financial independence.
• Examine the role of secrecy and hidden truths in the play.
• Discuss the concept of identity and self-discovery in A Doll's House.
• Analyze the character of Torvald and his impact on Nora's journey.
• Explore the theme of rebellion against societal norms in the play.
• Discuss the significance of the Christmas tree in A Doll's House.
• Examine the use of symbolism in the play, focusing on specific objects or actions.
• Discuss the portrayal of motherhood in A Doll's House.
• Analyze the role of Krogstad in the play and his relationship with Nora.
• Explore the theme of appearance versus reality in A Doll's House.
• Discuss the role of Mrs. Linde in the play and her impact on Nora's life.
• Examine the theme of sacrifice and its consequences in the play.
• Analyze the portrayal of gender roles in A Doll's House.
• Discuss the theme of power dynamics in the play, focusing on the relationship between Nora and Torvald.
• Explore the concept of freedom and its limitations in A Doll's House.
• Analyze the significance of the tarantella dance in the play.
• Discuss the theme of societal expectations and its impact on the characters.
• Examine the role of the macaroons in A Doll's House.
• Analyze the motif of deception and its consequences in the play.
• Discuss the importance of dialogue and communication in A Doll's House.
• Explore the theme of individuality and its suppression in the play.
• Analyze the portrayal of love and its complexities in A Doll's House.
• Discuss the role of Dr. Rank in the play and his significance to the story.
• Examine the theme of morality and ethical choices in A Doll's House.
• Analyze the ending of the play and its implications for the characters.
• Discuss the theme of social class and its impact on the characters' lives.
• Explore the portrayal of marriage as a contract in A Doll's House.
• Analyze the role of society in shaping the characters' actions and decisions.
• Discuss the theme of manipulation and control in A Doll's House.
• Examine the symbolism of the letter in the play.
• Analyze the portrayal of forgiveness and redemption in A Doll's House.
• Discuss the theme of duty and obligation in the play.
• Explore the concept of justice and its absence in A Doll's House.
• Analyze the significance of the dollhouse as a metaphor in the play.
• Discuss the theme of appearance and reality in A Doll's House.
• Examine the role of Nora's children in the play and their impact on her decisions.
• Analyze the portrayal of friendship and loyalty in A Doll's House.
• Discuss the theme of self-discovery and personal growth in the play.
• Explore the concept of rebellion against societal norms in A Doll's House.
• Analyze the symbolism of the key in the play.
• Discuss the theme of independence and its challenges in A Doll's House.
• Examine the role of religion and morality in the play.
• Analyze the portrayal of masculinity and femininity in A Doll's House.
• Discuss the theme of appearance versus reality in the play.
• Explore the concept of sacrifice and its consequences in A Doll's House.

These essay topic ideas and examples should provide you with a solid foundation to explore the various themes, characters, and symbols in A Doll's House. Remember to choose a topic that interests you and allows for in-depth analysis. Good luck with your essay!

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A Summary and Analysis of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

A Doll’s House is one of the most important plays in all modern drama. Written by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in 1879, the play is well-known for its shocking ending, which attracted both criticism and admiration from audiences when it premiered.

Before we offer an analysis of A Doll’s House , it might be worth recapping the ‘story’ of the play, which had its roots in real-life events involving a friend of Ibsen’s.

A Doll’s House : summary

The play opens on Christmas Eve. Nora Helmer has returned home from doing the Christmas shopping. Her husband, a bank manager named Torvald, asks her how much she has spent. Nora confides to her friend Mrs Linde that, shortly after she and Torvald married, he fell ill and she secretly borrowed some money to pay for his treatment. Mrs Linde is looking for work from Nora’s husband.

She is still paying that money back (by setting aside a little from her housekeeping money on a regular basis) to the man she borrowed it from, Krogstad – a man who, it just so happens, works for Nora’s husband … who is about to sack Krogstad for forging another person’s signature.

But Krogstad knows Nora’s secret, that she forged her father’s signature, and he tells her in no uncertain terms that, if she lets her husband sack him, Krogstad will make sure her husband knows her secret.

But Torvald refuses to grant Nora’s request when she beseeches him to go easy on Krogstad and give him another chance. It looks as though all is over for Nora and her husband will soon know what she did.

The next day – Christmas Day – Nora is waiting for the letter from Krogstad to arrive, and for her secret to be revealed. She entreats her husband to be lenient towards Krogstad, but again, Torvald refuses, sending the maid off with the letter for Krogstad which informs him that he has been dismissed from Torvald’s employment.

Doctor Rank, who is dying of an incurable disease, arrives as Nora is getting ready for a fancy-dress party. Nora asks him if he will help her, and he vows to do so, but before she can say any more, Krogstad appears with his letter for Torvald. Now he’s been sacked, he is clearly going to go through with his threat and tell his former employer the truth about what Helmer’s wife did.

When Mrs Linde – who was romantically involved with Krogstad – arrives, she tries to appeal to Krogstad’s better nature, but he refuses to withdraw the letter. Then Torvald arrives, and Nora dances for him to delay her husband from reading Krogstad’s letter.

The next act takes place the following day: Boxing Day. The Helmers are at their fancy-dress party. Meanwhile, we learn that Mrs Linde broke it off with Krogstad because he had no money, and she needed cash to pay for her mother’s medical treatment. Torvald has offered Mrs Linde Krogstad’s old job, but she says that she really wants him – money or no money – and the two of them are reconciled.

When Nora returns with Torvald from the party, Mrs Linde, who had prevented Krogstad from having a change of heart and retrieving his letter, tells Nora that she should tell her husband everything. Nora refuses, and Torvald reads the letter from Krogstad anyway.

Nora is distraught, and sure enough, Torvald blames her – until another letter from Krogstad arrives, cancelling Nora’s debt to him, whereupon Torvald forgives her completely.

But Nora has realised something about her marriage to Torvald, and, changing out of her fancy-dress outfit, she announces that she is leaving him. She takes his ring and gives him hers, before going to the door and leaving her husband – slamming the door behind her.

A Doll’s House : analysis

A Doll’s House is one of the most important plays in all of modern theatre. It arguably represents the beginning of modern theatre itself. First performed in 1879, it was a watershed moment in naturalist drama, especially thanks to its dramatic final scene. In what has become probably the most famous statement made about the play, James Huneker observed: ‘That slammed door reverberated across the roof of the world.’

Why? It’s not hard to see why, in fact. And the answer lies in the conventional domestic scenarios that were often the subject of European plays of the period when Ibsen was writing. Indeed, these scenarios are well-known to anyone who’s read Ibsen’s play, because A Doll’s House is itself a classic example of this kind of conventional play.

Yes: the shocking power of Ibsen’s play lies not in the main part of the play itself but in its very final scene, which undoes and subverts everything that has gone before.

This conventional play, the plot of which A Doll’s House follows with consummate skill on Ibsen’s part, is a French tradition known as the ‘ well-made play ’.

Well-made plays have a tight plot, and usually begin with a secret kept from one or more characters in the play (regarding A Doll’s House : check), a back-story which is gradually revealed during the course of the play (check), and a dramatic resolution, which might either involve reconciliation when the secret is revealed, or, in the case of tragedies, the death of one or more of the characters.

Ibsen flirts with both kinds of endings, the comic and the tragic, at the end of A Doll’s House : when Nora knows her secret’s out, she contemplates taking her own life. But when Torvald forgives her following the arrival of Krogstad’s second letter, it looks as though a tragic ending has been averted and we have a comic one in its place.

Just as the plot of the play largely follows these conventions, so Ibsen is careful to portray both Torvald Helmer and his wife Nora as a conventional middle-class married couple. Nora’s behaviour at the end of the play signals an awakening within her, but this is all the more momentous, and surprising, because she is hardly what we would now call a radical feminist.

Similarly, her husband is not nasty to her: he doesn’t mistreat her, or beat her, or put her down, even if he patronises her as his ‘doll’ or ‘bird’ and encourages her to behave like a silly little creature for him. But Nora encourages him to carry on doing so.

They are both caught up in bourgeois ideology: financial security is paramount (as symbolised by Torvald’s job at the bank); the wife is there to give birth to her husband’s children and to dote on him a little, dancing for him and indulging in his occasional whims.

A Doll’s House takes such a powerful torch to all this because it lights a small match underneath it, not because it douses everything in petrol and sets off a firebomb.

And it’s worth noting that, whilst Ibsen was a champion of women’s rights and saw them as their husbands’ intellectual equal, A Doll’s House does not tell us whether we should support or condemn Nora’s decision to walk out on her husband. She has, after all, left her three blameless children without a mother, at least until she returns – if she ever does return. Is she selfish?

Of course, that is something that the play doesn’t answer for us. Ibsen himself later said that he was not ‘tendentious’ in anything he wrote: like a good dramatist, he explores themes which perhaps audiences and readers hadn’t been encouraged to explore before, but he refuses to bang what we would now call the ‘feminist’ drum and turn his play into a piece of political protest.

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2 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House”

This powerful play foretold the 1960’s monumental epic of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, A similar awakening for middle class women, of their unnamed discontent within a marriage. Both paved the the way to the Feminist Movement of the 1970’s where with increased consciousness of economic inequities, women rebelled, just as Nora had done. Homage is owing to both Ibsen in his era and Friedan in hers. Today there are increasing numbers of women serving as Presidents of their nations and in the USA a female Vice-President recently elected to that prestigious office.

I remember reading the play while being a college student. It seemed so sad but at the same time so close to real life. Maybe our lives are quite sad after all.

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'A Doll's House' Questions for Study and Discussion

Henrik Ibsen's Famous Feminist Play

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A Doll's House is an 1879 play by Norwegian writer Henrik Ibsen , which tells the story of a discontented wife and mother. It was highly controversial at the time of its release, as it raised questions and criticism about the societal expectations of marriage, especially the subservient role women were expected to play. Nora Helmer is desperate to keep her husband Torvald from discovering that she forged loan documents, and thinks if she is revealed, he will sacrifice his honor for hers. She even contemplates killing herself to spare him this indignity.

Nora's being threatened by Nils Krogstad, who knows her secret and wants to reveal it if Nora doesn't help him. He's about to be fired by Torvald, and wants Nora to intervene. Her attempts are unsuccessful, however. She asks Kristine, a long-lost love of Krogstad's, to help her, but Kristine decides Torvald should know the truth, for the good of the Helmers' marriage.

When the truth comes out, Torvald disappoints Nora with his self-centered reaction. It's at this point Nora realizes she has never truly discovered who she is but has lived her life as a plaything for the use of first her father, and now her husband. At the end of the play, Nora Helmer leaves her husband and children in order to be herself, which she is unable to do as part of the family unit.

The play is based on a true story, of Laura Kieler, a friend of Ibsen's who went through many of the same things Nora did. Kieler's story had a less happy ending; Her husband divorced her and had her committed to an asylum.

Discussion Topics

• What is important about the title? Who is the "doll" Ibsen refers to?
• Who is the more significant female character in terms of plot development, Nora or Kristine? Explain your answer.
• Do you think Kristine's decision not to prevent Krogstad from revealing the truth to Torvald is a betrayal of Nora? Does this act ultimately hurt or benefit Nora?
• How does Henrik Ibsen reveal character in A Doll's House ? Is Nora a sympathetic character? Did your opinion of Nora change from the beginning of the play to its conclusion?
• Does the play end the way you expected? Do you think this was a happy ending?
• A Doll's House is generally considered a feminist work. Do you agree with this characterization? Why or why not?
• How essential is the setting, both in terms of time period and location? Could the play have taken place anywhere else? Would the final outcome have had the same impact if A Doll's House had been set in the present day? Why or why not?
• Knowing that the plot is based on a series of events that happened to a female friend of Ibsen's, did it bother you that he used Laura Kieler's story without it benefiting her?
• Which actress would you cast as Nora if you were to stage a production of A Doll's House ? Who would play Torvald? Why is the choice of actor important to the role? Explain your choices.
• 'A Doll's House' Summary
• The Character of Nora Helmer
• 'A Doll's House' Overview
• 'A Doll's House' Characters: Descriptions and Analysis
• Profile of Torvald Helmer From "A Doll's House"
• 'A Doll's House': Themes and Symbols
• "A Doll's House" Character Study: Nils Krogstad
• 'A Doll's House' Character Study: Dr. Rank
• 'A Doll's House' Quotes
• "A Doll's House" Character Study: Mrs. Kristine Linde
• Nora's Monologue from "A Doll's House"
• Torvald Helmer's Monologue From 'A Doll's House'
• Biography of Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian Playwright
• The Best Plays For New Theatergoers
• Quotes From Henrik Ibsen's 'Hedda Gabler'
• 4 Creative Ways to Analyze Plays

A Doll’s House Essay Topics & Samples

In this particular section, you can find excellent topics for A Doll’s House essay. You might be a tired student who is out of ideas. You may be a journalist who wants to write a piece about this great play. No matter what brought you here. Custom-Writing.org experts have created this guide to provide enough inspiration for everyone to keep on going!

Here, we put together the best A Doll’s House essay questions and topics supplemented with short prompts that give extra details. As a bonus, there are essay samples! Moreover, they are all related to the materials discussed in other parts of this guide, so don’t forget to check them out as well!

• 🏆 Essay Questions
• 💡 Essay Topics with Prompts
• 📝 Essay Examples

🏆 A Doll’s House Essay Questions

• A Doll’s House: what does the play’s title mean?
• What do macaroons symbolize in A Doll’s House?
• Is a Doll’s House a feminist play?
• Why was Ibsen forced to create an alternate ending for A Doll’s House?
• How does Nora Helmer change by the end of the play?
• What is Nora’s secret in A Doll’s House?
• Who is the antagonist in A Doll’s House?
• What genre is A Doll’s House?
• How did Ibsen use dramatic irony in A Doll’s House?
• What is the theme of A Doll’s House?
• Nora and Torvald: what is wrong with their relationship?
• In what ways does Dr. Rank provide a contrast to Torvald?
• What is the most wonderful thing that Nora Helmer talks about in the play’s last scene?

💡 A Doll’s House Essay Topics with Prompts

• Describe your opinion about how realistic the play is. Usually, Ibsen’s play is viewed as realistic . However, there might be some contradictions. For example, all the literary devices the author uses. Metaphors and plenty of symbols don’t precisely align with realism in A Doll’s House . Consider both points of view and write an argumentative essay. 
• How are gender roles in A Doll’s House represented? One of the central themes in the play is gender roles and feminism . Nora’s behavior is strongly identified with those issues as she tries to find the way out of her dependency. It wasn’t surprising back then for a woman to be an obedient, quiet wife who only takes care of the house and kids. Ibsen opens up this theme through Nora’s conflict. 
• Write A Doll’s House character analysis. It is a rather generic theme, so you should think it through and pick one or more characters you wish to analyze. One of the options is to make a comparative analysis of two characters of your choice. If you are not sure where to begin, check out our complete guide to this play! 
• Discuss the purpose and effects of dramatic irony in A Doll’s House . Ibsen uses irony in his play a few times. Even though it doesn’t really fit the definition of drama, which is A Doll’s House genre, it adds s excellent impression. Find the most prominent examples of this literary device and try to discuss why the author put it there. 
• The theme of marriage and love in the play. It would be an argumentative essay on love in A Doll’s House . Ibsen highlights this theme as one of the most important. You may consider adding a few paragraphs about how characters other than Nora perceive love and the institution of marriage. 
• What are the most prominent symbols in the play? Every literary piece has at least one symbol presented in it. Ibsen’s play is not an exception. The symbolism in A Doll’s House is tightly related to the central themes such as freedom and gender roles. Moreover, you should discuss their roles in the play and relevance back then. 
• Mrs. Linde’s influence on Nora’s personal development. It seems like everything starts escalating with Mrs. Linde’s arrival in A Doll’s House . However, you would need to consider some indirect influence of that event. It appears that their first conversation might have brought some insights for Nora and promoted her transformation as well as self-realization. 
• Compare and contrast A Doll’s House characters: Nora and Krogstad. This A Doll’s House essay should be focused mainly on the similarities between these two characters. They have both committed a crime to save their loved ones. Therefore, you need to consider how Nora and Krogstad feel about social rules and why they were so desperate. 
• The theme of freedom in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House . Look into how the play’s characters use the word “freedom.” In this writing, you should focus on the differences between perspectives introduced by various characters. Moreover, it might be a good idea to mention the causes of such mindsets. For example, society at the time was quite influential. 
• Discuss Torvald’s point of view on his life. As the play progresses, the audience might notice that Torvald’s perspective is somehow too idealistic. Even though A Doll’s House is supposed to be realistic, this character prefers imaginary life to the real world. Here, you need to find the moments when such Torvald’s traits are the most obvious and analyze them. 
• When Mrs. Linde calls Nora a “child,” how does it reflect the truth? In one of the scenes, Mrs. Linde comments on Nora’s irresponsible and inappropriate behavior by calling her a “child.” However, no one truly knows Nora’s natural character and struggles. How fair is it to make such judgments?  
• Look into an inheritance in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. How does the author describe the traits that characters inherit from their relatives? For example, Dr. Rank blames his father for having a disease that slowly kills him. Meanwhile, Nora’s relationship with her father was complicated to the point that even Torvald comments on it. 
• What is the meaning behind the title of Ibsen’s play? A Doll’s House might as well hide a metaphor behind its title. Torvald often calls his wife his “doll.” How does it reflect their relationship? What is the correlation of the title to the central theme of gender roles? Nora doesn’t seem to feel free in her house and is getting more and more tired of those plays. 
• How feminist is A Doll’s House ? Ibsen highlights gender roles’ theme in the play and reflects on the state of this issue back then. Even though the rise of feminism would happen years after its publication, the author had already introduced a character representing the movement . Discuss Nora’s liberation from her husband in this essay. 
• Analyze the progression of Nora’s character in the play. Nora is not the only dynamic character in A Doll’s House . However, she is one who undergoes the most change. She goes from pretending to be an obedient and happy housewife to a woman who is ready to leave her family to seek independence and her true self. 
• Write about the theme is self-sacrifice in Ibsen’s play. The central themes of A Doll’s House are gender roles, freedom, and marriage. However, there are some less popularly analyzed issues that Ibsen highlights. For instance, self-sacrifice appears to be a shared aspect amongst some characters. All female characters have experienced it, and some men in the play have gone through it as well. 

📝 A Doll’s House Essay Examples

• Thorvald and Nora in A Doll’s House: Character Analysis
• Theme and Conflict in “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen
• The Role of Women in A Doll’s House
• Historical Context of A Doll’s House
• Characters in A Doll’s House: Analysis
• Ibsen’s A Doll’s House: Critical Analysis
• Symbolism in A Doll’s House
• Nora in A Doll’s House: Character Analysis
• Setting in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
• The Role of Women in A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen
• “Ghosts” vs. “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen
• Nora in “The Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen

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The play may seem as a simple story about an average family. A husband thinks he’s a good family member, while his wife takes care of three children and is supposed to be charming and dependent. However, everything turns upside down when the truth is revealed. If you want to...

If you’re looking for A Doll’s House summary, you’re in the right place. This page prepared by our experts contains a short play’s synopsis, an illustrated timeline, as well as detailed summaries of A Doll’s House act 1, act 2, and act 3. Let’s dive right in! ✂️ A Doll’s...

Want to know more about A Doll’s House characters? Nora and Torvald, as well as minor characters in The Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, are discussed in this article by Custom-Writing.org experts. Let’s dive right in! 🗺️ A Doll’s House Character Map Below you’ll find A Doll’s House character map....

Ibsen introduces quite a lot of serious topics in his play. The key themes in A Doll’s House are: love and marriage, money and work, feminism and gender roles. All of them are related to social issues that are still considered relevant nowadays. Gender roles and the way women stand...

On this page with A Doll’s House analysis, you can find a few aspects that may help you understand Ibsen’s work. Custom-Writing.org experts have prepared it for those who love getting into details. The first things to look into are A Doll’s House symbolism and literary devices since there may...

In case you don’t have enough time to read out the complete guide on Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, this section can serve you well. There might be too much information available about this play, which is quite confusing and exhausting since it would take forever to go through all of...

Dr. Rank is generally considered to be Torvald’s foil because of such different attitudes and behavior. The most sticking aspect is how the two men treat Nora. It is clear that Torvald doesn’t see his wife as an individual, which is one of the leading causes of her transformation. Meanwhile,...

The setting of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is not totally clarified. It is only said that the play takes place in some city or town in Norway. Moreover, everything happens at Helmer’s house. There is a reason why the place is described so generally. Such a trick prevents the audience...

Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll’s House in 1879. The same year the play was published and performed for the first time. It appeared to be a pretty revolutionary piece, from the perspective of both the perspective and genre. Ibsen’s play started up a trend for realistic writing. However, it wasn’t...

A Doll’s House takes place at the same time period as when it was written. Nowadays, we call it the Victorian era, since those were the years of Queen Victoria’s reign. That time was characterized by specific social norms that dictated how marriages and families should be run. Ibsen highlights...

There are quite a few themes that Ibsen highlights in his play. A Doll’s House is a unique mix of drama and realism, which allows the author to work on relevant and essential topics. Marriage, gender roles, money, and society are only a few of the themes that open up...

A Doll’s House is Henrik Ibsen’s play which describes challenges that women of that time had to go through. We can only assume that this realistic piece was quite relevant in the Victorian era. The author pictures a life of an average Norwegian family that seems happy. However, everything starts...

It would only be fair to claim that A Doll’s House‘s central theme is gender equality. Even though Ibsen masterfully raised many others, such as marriage and social code, they don’t seem to be as crucial in the play. Nora’s character represents the theme of gender roles and proves that...

The mentality and perspective of people change with time. Therefore, we shouldn’t be shocked by the fact that the audience saw Nora as scandalous in the Victorian era. Back then, the whole of Europe had pretty traditional views on marriage, and women who leave their families behind just to self-explore...

A Doll’s House is considered to be a drama. Ibsen presented it in the limits of one family. However, this issue concerns many people. At the same time, the play is also tragic, even though no character is shown dying. A Doll’s House introduces a conflict between an individual and...

The play is set in some random Norwegian town in the Victorian age. No details are describing the exact location and time of the events. However, even that little information about the setting can give you some insight into Ibsen’s style and intentions. It appears to be vaguely described on...

Mrs. Linde is Nora’s old friend who unexpectedly shows up at Helmer’s house at the beginning of the play. Her husband died, leaving her without any money, so she comes to ask for a job. She seems to be a sensible and understanding woman yet following the generally accepted social...

It didn’t take long for the play to go out to the public. A Doll’s House was first performed in December 1879, the same year Ibsen finished it. The Royal Theatre in Copenhagen was honored to offer the stage for it. Even though Henrik Ibsen was quite popular, this play...

Nora is the main character of the play, and we get to find out about her secret when Mrs. Linde comes to have a chat with her. It appears that Nora borrowed a large sum of money from Krogstad to pay for the trip to Italy. It was the only...

A Doll’s House was written and presented to the public in 1879. It was a time when women had few rights. Ibsen used it as the central theme for his play, which was met with some criticism. However, we can’t ignore that the social issues he highlights weren’t relative back...

A Doll’s House ending was considered somewhat scandalous back in the Victorian age. At the time, when women were supposed to be obedient wives and take care of the family, Nora’s decision to leave everything behind was not exactly socially acceptable. She chose independence and the path to self-discovery over...

A Doll's House

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1. Throughout the play, Torvald refers to Nora in relation to different objects, animals, or images in their conversations.

• What is Nora’s general response to this Objectification ? ( topic sentence )
• Find 3 examples of Objectification throughout the play and explain the context and given circumstances of each.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, summarize the ways in which these examples of Objectification demean Nora as an individual.

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2. Many of the characters touch upon the importance of possessing financial freedom within the play.

• Select one character and share their position on financial freedom. ( topic sentence )
• Find and discuss 2-3 examples in which their opinion on financial freedom informs their decisions.
• Does this character achieve financial freedom at the end of the play? Why or why not? Explain in your concluding sentence or sentences.

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"A Doll’s House" by Henrik Ibsen

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A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen

A Doll's House essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House.

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A Doll’s House Essays

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Ibsen's Portrayal of Women Emma Young

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When Nora Helmer slammed the door shut on her doll's house in 1879, her message sent shockwaves around the world that persist to this day. "I must stand quite alone," Nora declares, "if I am to understand myself and everything about me" (Ibsen...

A Doll's House: Breaking With Theatrical Tradition Kristen Roggemann

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Analysis of Ibsen's A Doll's House: Feminist or Humanist? Ashley J. Smith

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The term "social criticism" refers to a type of condemnation that reveals the reasons for malicious conditions in a society which is considered deeply flawed. Indeed, both Ibsen and Osborne, in their respective plays A Doll’s House and Look Back...

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“A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen, in many ways, addresses the divide between the concept of work itself and the perceptions of one’s own work. In reality, a person’s idea of work can differ from the kind of work actually done. When people think of...

Nora: Subservient and Independent Amy Allison 11th Grade

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A Doll’s House Essay

A Doll’s House was written by Henrik Ibsen in 1879. A Doll’s House is not only one of Henrik Ibsen’s most famous plays, but it has also been seen as the starting point for realist drama. A Doll’s House, along with Brand and Peer Gynt, are often considered to be the first modern plays written in Europe. A Doll’s House is a play about power, money, guilt, duty, and family relationships.

A Doll’s House starts with Mrs. Nora Helmer who decides that her family should have an evening at home to celebrate Torvald’s birthday even though there are various outside activities planned earlier on that day. After getting all the children to bed Nora makes some coffee and brings some cake for herself and Torvald. She notices that the maid is not coming in to clear the table, despite several requests. As it turns out, Aune (the maid) is sick and unable to come to work. Nora remarks on Aune’s “poor condition”, saying she will take up Aune’s duties while Aune is ill.

Eventually, Nora forgets about Aune entirely as she becomes engrossed in her own thoughts of how their life together has become stifling; all play rather than essential sustenance of family life had ceased, with Torvald preferring to read newspapers alone in his study each evening rather than engaging with his wife or children. Nora decides she must break free from the chains that bind her. Aune, who turns up at one point is too sick to help with Nora’s children. Nora promises Aune that she will hire a nurse for Aune once Aune has recovered from her illness.

Aune leaves and Torvald enters. He asks about Aune, not believing that an important event would prevent Aune from attending work. The two converse until Nora suggests that they go out to visit Mrs. Linde (who had earlier announced temporary departure due to poor health). Torvald becomes irate over this suggestion as he does not have time to waste on “unimportant” people currently immersed in newspaper reading. He complains of the dinner being cold, further displaying his ignorance of his family and Aune’s conditions.

Nora sees past Torvald’s narrow-mindedness and decides to sit down and play the piano without his permission. He becomes even angrier because Nora has lost track of time while playing; instead of taking up Aune’s duties, she should be finishing the housework such as what Aune would typically do. Nora sees that her husband is quite ignorant in not understanding why Aune is unable to come into work, yet he will not allow Aune a few days’ leave when needed. She tells Torvald about Aune’s illness, but he does not believe it to be a serious affliction.

Not wanting to argue with him so late night, Nora decides to postpone Aune’s endeavor to find a nurse for Aune. The play moves to the following morning, as Nora narrates her daily routine (how she is to be “the perfect wife”). She is aware of Torvald’s explicit caresses every time he returns home from work, but his attentions are merely symbolic gestures signifying their financial arrangement. Aune enters, having recovered from her illness enough to return to work.

Aune relates that one of Mrs. Linde’s family friends has offered Aune a better-paid position in another town. Aune asks Nora whether she believes she is doing the right thing by leaving Nora in need of help with the children and housework. Aune also asks Nora if Torvald will speak to Aune about her departure. Aune requests that Nora not mention Aune’s leaving to Torvald, because Aune does not want him to feel obliged to give Aune a reference. Aune also discloses why she has taken the position, stating she is leaving for “personal reasons”.

Mrs. Linde enters, stating that an old friend of hers who works as a lawyer in Rome has offered her well-paid work caring for his motherless daughter. She requests permission from both Aune and Nora before accepting the job offer. The two are supportive; they will need help while Aune is gone. Mrs. Linde remarks on how overjoyed she is by the prospect of finding employment once again after such a long period of unemployment. Aune also shares her plans of finding a nurse for Aune, but Nora is reluctant to share the news, Aune, leaving with Torvald because he will be disappointed at Aune’s departure.

Aune warns Mrs. Linde that she must not mention Aune’s departure to Torvald either. Aune leaves and Mrs. Linde takes over Aune’s duties in the kitchen while Nora continues playing the piano. Torvald once again returns from work, ruining his routine when he finds no one in the sitting room waiting for him. He calls out “Nora”, and Nora responds by going into her bedroom where Torvald sits on a chair reading a newspaper. She tells him about Aune having left the house. Aune, Nora points out, will definitely provide a reference for Aune.

Torvald begins to worry about Aune leaving, citing that Aune’s work has been outstanding and she would be an exceptional nurse even to his children. He accuses Nora of not being considerate enough towards Aune in allowing Aune the choice of whether or not to stay. Torvald proceeds with his newspaper reading while Nora returns to playing the piano; he comments on how well-played the piece is and praises her talent at playing it so excellently together with such speed and agility. Torvald remarks that Nora never ceases to amaze him (“”Det star mig sa n? som for/Og det driver mig saa forf? rdeligt til vanvidd””).

Aune returns from the kitchen, where Aune has been packing her belongings. Aune asks Nora if she could have a few moments alone with Torvald to say goodbye. A few minutes later Aune asks Mrs. Linde to take a peek at Aune and Torvald to see whether they are finished talking yet because Aune cannot hear anything from Aune’s bedroom. Mrs. Linde enters first before calling for Aune; she tells Aune that it would be best for Aune not to come inside as it appears that there is trouble between them.

Aune stays anyway, deciding that enough time should have passed by now as Mrs. Linde re-enters Aune’s room. Aune enters the bedroom to see Torvald embracing Aune; they are back in love. Aune overhears that Torvald has no idea Aune is leaving until Aune hears Torvald describe how it feels like Aune has left him all alone with three children—he knows exactly how much Aune means to Nora (and vice versa); he wants Aune to stay, even though he can offer her very little except for his gratitude and admiration of Aune’s work.

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The ‘Betches’ Got Rich. So What’s Next?

The women’s media company, which started as a raunchy college blog, is a rare financial success story — and on the White House’s radar. Now, it’s wrestling with how to grow up alongside its readers.

By Sapna Maheshwari

On a cold February morning, Betches Media, the millennial and Gen Z women’s humor company best known for its Instagram memes, was celebrating its 13th birthday, which its three co-founders had gleefully named its “betch mitzvah.”

There would be a toast and cake for its employees — there are 63 full-time — at the company’s Flatiron district office but the occasion was mostly an inside joke, said Sami Sage, its chief brand officer.

“There’s no Torah reading,” Jordana Abraham, the chief comedy officer, deadpanned.

As far as coming-of-age tales go, Betches has an upbeat one in a digital media landscape without many. The company, which was early to the phenomenon of viral content as a foundation for digital media companies, never took on outside investment, unlike most of its peers. Now, it is reaping the benefits of that approach.

Ms. Abraham, 34, Ms. Sage and the chief executive, Aleen Dreksler, both 35, have known one another since they were fifth graders in the well-to-do Long Island suburb of Roslyn. They started an anonymous humor blog, called “Betches Love This Site,” while they were seniors, roommates and sorority sisters at Cornell University in 2011. It satirized their affluent social cohort, going heavy on shock value. (A guide to drinking recommended shots, preferably of vodka, with the aim of blacking out; recommended diets included anorexia.)

That blog, which later dropped “Site” from its name, turned into a book deal, then a website, then eventually a media company anchored by a dozen or so Instagram accounts. The company’s main profile, which has 9.2 million followers, posts funny short-form videos and other jokes from around the web that are intended to be relatable enough to DM to a friend. (Its bio reads: “POV: you’re the funniest friend in your group chat.”) One of the site’s greatest hits is “American Girl Dolls Ranked By Betchiness” and its Instagram account recently received a flurry of coverage when Taylor Swift “liked” a post of a meme ranking her exes.

Christian Tom, director of the White House’s office of digital strategy, recently said @BetchesNews was among the Instagram accounts the White House used to reach millennials. Betches News visited the White House in March for a round table with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Still, the company has remained somewhat under the radar in New York media. The women — who joke that they’re in a “three-way marriage” that their husbands tolerate — fully owned the company, which they have led since inception. But industry watchers took notice last fall when they sold it for $24 million to LBG Media, the publicly traded British media company that owns the Facebook meme sites LADbible and Unilad. (Those sites were criticized for promoting sexist content to teenagers and 20-somethings in their early years, but more recently, largely peddle quirky news stories, videos of “epic fails” and unusual animal encounters.)

Rather than take the money and run — it was a cash transaction — the founders are doubling down on Betches, with the chance to make another $30 million if the company can reach certain revenue and profit targets by 2026.

Ms. Dreksler, grandly, declared the company’s ambition to be “the leading global platform for women’s content and culture.”

Betches is exploring a variety of strategies to grow, from sports and events to a splashy podcast deal with the TikTok news star V Spehar of Under the Desk News. It’s in talks for a partnership with the comedian Ilana Glazer (a gushy fan who described Betches as “if ‘Broad City’” — her cult hit TV show — “were a media company”).

But the company is also contending with the perils of expansion and new ownership, including a spate of core employee exits amid frustration from staff who say they were underpaid and unfairly shut out from the founders’ financial success.

And like any media company, it faces the question of how Betches, now “a grown woman,” as its founders recently quipped, can increase its relevance as its original audience gets older and a new generation enters the life phase that once defined the brand.

Define ‘Betch’

A “betch,” for the uninitiated, is a play on the pejorative word that’s a letter away from being largely unprintable in this publication. The founders originally used the term on their blog to mock the preferences of a type of shallow, higher-income, college-educated woman who was probably white (and seemed to resemble, well, them). These included Diet Coke (“water for betches”) and manicured eyebrows (“is it normal to pay upwards of $100 for someone to remove hair from 2 square inches of your body? absolutely”). It jived with other millennial women who felt in on the joke and spread their favorite posts on Facebook walls.

“Betches” and “betchy” provided girls with an equivalent word to guys acting like “bros” and doing “bro-y things,” the founders wrote in their first book, but they also argued that it represented women who “want to be strong, confident, not care what people say about them.”

“It’s a mind-set,” Ms. Abraham said. The company uses the word liberally: a wedding planning newsletter is called “Say Yes to the Betch”; book recommendations are served on “Betch Lit Society”; a podcast that recaps “Bachelor” episodes is called “The Betchelor.” When asked if they ever considered changing the name, the founders instantly shook their heads.

“We had so much advice over the years to change it to make it more brand safe and we always said no,” Ms. Dreksler said. “This is why it’s good, because we speak to women the way they speak to each other.”

It’s also stopped being a liability, they say. “In 2014, you had brands that maybe our ad sales team reached out to and they were like, ‘Oh, we could never work with a company with that name,’” Ms. Abraham said. “Fast-forward five years later, and that’s a big client of ours.”

The company sometimes draws comparisons to The Skimm, which was built on a current events newsletter for millennial women, or Doing Things, the company that oversees popular Instagram humor accounts like Overheard New York and Middle Class Fancy. Doing Things told The Times it expects more than $40 million in revenue this year; The Skimm reportedly brought in about $20 million in 2019.

Betches, which disclosed its financial results for the first time with the acquisition, is smaller, with $17.2 million in revenue last year. It posted a $1 million profit, about one-fourth of what it made in 2022, largely based on costs from the deal.

At the company’s headquarters, one wall is covered in gold-framed celebrity mug shots, including of Lindsay Lohan and Khloe Kardashian. The founders’ individual offices are named after places in “The Sopranos”: Ms. Dreksler’s is Bada Bing, Ms. Abraham’s is Vesuvio and Ms. Sage’s is Satriale’s. There’s no return-to-office mandate, and so all three commute in as they wish from Long Island, where they live once more.

The women have wrestled with whether to call Betches a media company. “We always felt like we were a brand and an entertainment company,” Ms. Dreksler said. The distinction seems to be about humor, in their view. That thinking might explain its short-lived forays into canned cocktails (branded “Faux Pas”), a dating app with Match Group and a never-made animated Comedy Central series based on the founders.

In college, they were obsessed with Chelsea Handler, comedies like “Bridesmaids” and the New York magazine “Gossip Girl” recaps, the co-founders said. They weren’t on the school paper or involved in much outside of their sorority. But they were always “coming up with funny ideas,” Ms. Sage said, like a 15-page pilot for a show called “The Apartment.” (HBO’s “‘Girls’ made what we wanted to make,” she said.) And they viewed their writing, which was often expletive-ridden and frank about casual sex, female-friend hierarchies and recreational Xanax use, as a response to the genre of “fratire” exemplified by Tucker Max, the writer who crudely chronicled his drunken sexual exploits at the expense of young women.

The site fueled interest in their 2013 book, “Nice Is Just a Place in France: How to Win at Basically Everything,” then became its own project. The women started writing snarky recaps of “The Real Housewives” series, “The Bachelor,” the Oscars and “Pretty Little Liars.” (For many millennials, Betches is synonymous with Bravo reality TV shows, which Ms. Abraham called “the soap operas of this generation.”)

They were early to Instagram memes, with an account where they posted silly internet stuff: jokes about Adderall, an illustration of a bra clasped shut with a Rubik’s Cube and the caption, “Good luck, bro.”

Instagram, where brands will pay tens of thousands of dollars for a post, remains the main cash cow for the company, which has also created popular offshoot accounts like @BetchesMoms, @BravoByBetches, @WhensHappyHr and is expanding a Gen Z-focused account called @SendHelp. The company also has a growing TikTok account, with 1.2 million followers. Ads are mixed in with regular posts. A recent Instagram video , for example, poked fun at how Type A and Type B people make plans, as a means of promoting same-day delivery service from Shipt.

“When you think of a meme, like a really good meme that makes you laugh and makes you tag you friends in an Instagram post, it gives you this feeling of, ‘someone understands me,’” Ms. Abraham said. “It’s like a very short story,” Ms. Sage added.

The trio ran the company largely on their own for years, nervous about spending on full-time employees while figuring out the business. They tapped freelancers and agencies to help with ad sales and merchandise (think $44 shirts that said “Drunk Enough For Pizza” and “Mean Girls”-inspired Halloween costumes .) They fielded acquisition offers, but didn’t feel as if any of the suitors understood the connection they were trying to build with other women.

“They saw an audience number and that was it — how could our total numbers add to their total numbers?” Ms. Dreksler said.

Bryan Goldberg, the chief executive of Bustle Digital Group, which has amassed women’s sites like Romper and Scary Mommy, said he met with the founders several times over seven years. (He wrote in an email he would have “LOVED” to buy the company but it would have been too pricey.)

“What’s nice about Betches is it had a demographic focus, which was young women, but also a category focus, which was relatable humor,” Mr. Goldberg said. “That’s a really good place to be if you’re trying to get brand advertisers. I’m not sure that very many digital media companies had clear audience and voice.”

Mr. Goldberg said that the company’s success stands out after implosions at companies like BuzzFeed, Vice and NowThis.

“They never seemed interested in taking capital or playing the V.C. game or going down the path of fund-raising against massive growth expectations — that’s why I think they just got a ton of cash and a lot of other venture-backed companies went to zero,” he said.

The women hesitated when asked if they bought anything fun with their recent payday. Ms. Dreksler said she treated herself to a gold Cartier watch she had always wanted while Ms. Abraham said she refreshed her wardrobe. But that wasn’t their vibe, they said.

“We’ve been running this business with such calculated, careful risks for so long that I think it’s really ingrained in us to not be the crazy, flashy, whatever people,” Ms. Abraham said.

Disgruntled Employees

Still, the founders — who made around $8 million each with the sale — have also left some disgruntled employees in their wake. Several former employees said the flip side of the bootstrapping mentality was that many workers at the company were underpaid, with some earning around $50,000 a year in New York while churning out the funny posts that fueled the company. That has rankled them more as the founders’ fortune has grown.”

“When Betches was a smaller organization, we were at a different stage of revenue and scale, which was reflected in compensation packages at all levels of the company,” Michelle Ciciyasvili, a spokeswoman for the company, said in an email.

After the October announcement, morale soured among some employees after they did not receive bonuses or equity tied to the acquisition or incentives linked to the founders’ potential $30 million payout. Then came annual bonuses, which shocked several people when they were lower than previous years, according to two former employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing fear of professional retribution. LBG told investors that Betches’ revenue grew 17 percent last year. (“Year-end bonuses have historically varied based on a combination of business and individual performance, and in 2023 they were determined similarly,” Ms. Ciciyasvili said. The new ownership will expand Betches, she said, and “in turn provide exciting new opportunities for growth and compensation for our team.”)

Some workers said they felt uncomfortable raising concerns, including about pay, to human resources for years because it was led by Ms. Dreksler’s sister-in-law, who shared the chief executive’s last name for some time, three former employees said. She was the company’s sole HR representative for a period, and left the company shortly after the acquisition. (The company said that she joined “when it was a very small team, and wore many different hats from marketing to recruiting.”)

A document of talking points for senior leadership on the deal, which was viewed by The New York Times, described how to address the lack of payouts “if someone is upset by the news,” and how to respond to the question, “Why am I not getting a cut of the sale?” The answer explained that Betches was self-funded and fully owned by the co-founders, adding, “Most companies that offer equity are usually already invested in (i.e. private equity or VC funding”).

It also described how to respond to the question, “Are we at all concerned that LADbible used to publish sexist and misogynistic content?” (The scripted response said that the 2011 internet was “a wild west” with male-dominated content “that would be deemed highly unacceptable today,” but that the company now had “zero-tolerance” for hate and bigotry.)

Still, Betches’ head of news and activism, its top two leaders in podcasts and the employee who ran the main company account departed in the past few months, though they did not specify why; Ms. Ciciyasvili said that “It’s a natural next step for long-term employees to move on to new roles.”

The company also recently lost one of its most recognizable personalities on Instagram and its director of short-form video content, Nicole Pellegrino, as she aims to become a full-time influencer.

One big question for the company is how its content can change as its audience gets older — and how to keep courting women in their 20s. As the founders entered their 30s, they added verticals about weddings and motherhood. Recently, Ms. Abraham started a podcast chronicling her infertility journey. The founders tossed out ideas for Betches Sports and were considering a @BetchesUK. (The brand’s humor can go over better across the pond, Ms. Sage said, because “they’re a little less sensitive.”)

Emily Sundberg, the writer of a daily business newsletter called “Feed Me,” said she doesn’t follow Betches but its posts are “unavoidable” through links from friends and Instagram’s “Explore” page. Ms. Sundberg said the next stage of expansion may be a challenge for Betches, which doesn’t appear to have evolved dramatically in recent years and is now competing in an environment where more people are building individual media companies. “They probably have to onboard some serious existing talent similar to what Alex Cooper is doing,” she said, referring to the “Call Her Daddy” podcast host who recently added the TikTok star Alix Earle to her network.

Betches is hoping events, like its “Betches Night Out” comedy shows and a dating mixer it held in New York in February, might be another lucrative way to build connections with their audience. (The party was hosted by the company’s dating podcast “U Up?” which has a devoted following, with more than 10,000 subscribers who pay $5 per month for a premium tier of material.)

The company has also experimented with news as a promising area — a pet passion of Ms. Sage’s, who is co-writing a book about political action — despite the industry’s challenges with advertising. The Betches News Instagram account, recently rebranded from “Betches Sup” has 625,000 followers. A Skimm-like news and politics newsletter with headlines like “Resting Mitch Face” has more than 80,000 subscribers. Its deal with Mx. Spehar, who has 3.1 million TikTok followers, for the podcast “American Fever Dream” is also part of the effort, though it abruptly added Ms. Sage as a co-host when the head of news departed.

Broadly, its content is unabashedly liberal and concerned with social issues like reproductive rights and gun safety.

Still, news is a loose term. When asked about the absence of topics like the Israel-Hamas war on its feeds — where campus protests and former President Donald J. Trump’s trial are also missing — Ms. Sage clarified that the company did not have reporters or “the resources to have a newsroom,” and added that “there are so many places you can go to read reporting on the war and I don’t know that we are the place that you want be seeing those types of images from.”

“If people are really interested in learning more,” she explained, “we see ourselves more as a gateway to that.”

Whatever the next phase, Ms. Sage said that the founders feel that they have “decades” left in them for the site.

“It still feels like you’re doing your dream job,” Ms. Abraham said. “Even though we haven’t had other jobs.”

An earlier version of this article misstated the current title for Sami Sage, one of the co-founders of Betches Media. She is the company’s chief brand officer, not chief creative officer. Her title changed earlier this year.

How we handle corrections

Sapna Maheshwari reports on TikTok, technology and emerging media companies. She has been a business reporter for more than a decade. Contact her at [email protected] . More about Sapna Maheshwari

Money blog: Darts fans in shock over price of pint; which biscuits have most sugar?

The new energy price cap has been announced, and it means average bills will fall by more than £100 from July. Read about this and the rest of today's consumer and personal finance news - and leave a comment - in the Money blog below.

Friday 24 May 2024 15:07, UK

• Energy bills to be cheaper from July as price cap falls to £1,568
• But predictions say cap will rise again
• What now for mortgages after inflation and election announcements?
• TSB and Nationwide are paying new customers to join  
• June cut in interest rates 'ruled out by inflation figures'
• 'Absolutely disgraceful': Darts fans left in shock over price of pint

Essential reads

• Which biscuits have the least sugar? Your guide to elevenses
• Savings Guide: Britons urged to act quickly to grab above-inflation savings rates while they last
• Top Northern Ireland chef picks his Cheap Eats - in Belfast and at home
• Money Problem : 'My second-hand Ford is being written off with a known issue - but no one is taking responsibility'
• Best of the Money blog - an archive

Ask a question or make a comment

If you are looking for a detailed analysis of today's cut in the energy price cap (see our breaking news post from 7am) then the following from Martin Lewis is worth digesting.

The founder of Money Saving Expert has split his reaction into three sections.

Lewis says the cap will drop on 1 July by an average of 7.2% for Direct Debit customers, 6.9% for prepay customers, and 7.1% for those who pay when they get a bill.

The cap will fall to £1,568 a year - a drop of £122 from the previous quarter. 

Standing charges (what you pay regardless of how much energy you use) "remain high" and are "virtually unchanged", Lewis says.

"All the cut" is via unit rates, he adds.

That means those who use more energy will be seeing bigger savings.

The electricity unit rate for Direct Debit customers from July will be 22.36p/kwH - down 9% from 24.5p, Lewis says.

The electricity standing charge will be 60.12p a day - up from 60.1p.

The gas unit rate will be 5.48p/kwH - down 9% from 6.04p.

And the gas standing charge will be 31.41p - slightly down from 31.43p.

Lewis says the results of a consultation on standing charges are likely to be published sometime in the "summer", adding: "Whenever that is."

As we reported in our post at 7.34am, respected market researcher Cornwall Insight is predicting that bills are likely to rise once more in the run-up to winter. 

Lewis comments: "If they're right this is the last fall, and the coming rises are big.

"On 1 July it's confirmed [the cap] drops 7%, so for every £100 paid today you pay £93. 

"Then on 1 Oct it's predicted to rise 12%, so you'll go back up and be paying £104. 

"Then on 1 Jan the crystal ball is saying it'll stay flat (at £104). 

"All this makes the cheapest fixes, which are currently 9% cheaper than now (so £91 per £100 on the price cap), look a decent bet."

Thousands of darts fans packed out the O2 last night as Luke Littler was crowned champion in the Premier League Darts final.

While his victory was met with big celebrations, the price of a pint left many upset.

Tom Park shared a photo of the menu on X which showed a pint of Camden Hells Lager cost £9.50. 

A Budweiser came in at £8.95 - and it was the same for a Stella Artois. 

Other social media uses responded to his post in shock.

Here are some of the replies we saw: 

• "That's absolutely disgraceful."
• "Bloody hell! That's a joke." 
• "We get so ripped off in this country."
• "£9.50 for a pint of Camden Hells in f****** robbery." 

Two pint offers didn't seem to be any better, with the menu showing the deal just worked out the same as buying two normal pints.

The Money team has contacted the O2 for comment. 

We've spoken a lot about shoplifting, with offences rising to their highest level in 20 years across England and Wales earlier this year. 

But here are two culprits we didn't expect to see... 

A pair of Labradors stealing a loaf of bread from a petrol station in Herefordshire. 

They were captured on CCTV walking down an aisle and picking goods off the shelves before wandering out. 

After the dogs were caught in the act, workers put out an appeal online and reunited them with their owner. 

Don't worry, the petrol station hasn't pursued charges. 

It can be hard to balance the demands of eating well without spending a lot.

In this series, we try to find the healthiest options in the supermarket for the best value - and have enlisted the help of  Sunna Van Kampen , founder of Tonic Health, who went viral on social media for reviewing food in the search of healthier choices.

In this series we don't try to find the outright healthiest option, but help you get better nutritional value for as little money as possible.

Today we're looking at biscuits. 

"When some brands are up to two teaspoons of sugar per biscuit (and we all know you aren't having just one), then we need to look or substitutes or find ways to biscuit smarter for your health," Sunna says. 

The typical biscuit breakdown on average for market leading brands by type:

Freshly baked cookies: 40% sugar or 27g per 66g cookie 

"That's over six teaspoons of sugar - they're also generally the biggest biscuit on the shelf by some distance, so potentially a good choice to avoid," Sunna says. 

Chocolate chip cookies: 34% sugar or 8.6g per 25g cookie 

"That's the equivalent of over two teaspoons of sugar - delicious but there are better options."

Chocolate digestives: 28% sugar or 4.8g per 16.7g biscuit 

"That's a teaspoon per biscuit and I'm definitely not just eating one."

Shortbread: 17% sugar or 2.6g per shortbread 

"Almost half the sugar of a chocolate digestive."

Digestive biscuits: 15% sugar or 2.2g per 15g biscuit 

"These are starting to look a lot healthier as we are only talking half a teaspoon per biscuit."

Rich tea biscuits: 18% sugar or 1.5g per 8.3g biscuit. 

"This one's a bit healthier due to the size, but the best choice is Rich Tea's own 30% less sugar variety.

"That sits at 12% sugar (or just 1.1g per biscuit) - only a quarter of a teaspoon of sugar per biscuit."

The verdict 

The Rich Tea Light biscuit is hard to beat in Sunna's mind. 

"Its low sugar content make it a winner for health-conscious tea drinkers," he says.

"If you eat just four biscuits a week, swapping from chocolate chip cookies to Rich Tea Light could save you over 1.5kg of sugar per year from your diet.

"Small changes make a big impact," Sunna says. 

Digestive biscuits are also a solid choice, especially if you prefer a bit more substance with your tea. 

"For those moments when only chocolate will do, chocolate digestives are the best option, although they have a higher sugar content," he adds. 

Naturally, he urges biscuit-lovers to stay away from fresh-baked cookies and chocolate chip due to the high sugar levels. 

If you're looking to save money, own-brand biscuits from major supermarkets often offer comparable taste at 30-50% discount on average. 

"For example, Tesco's Rich Tea biscuits are just £0.65 per pack or £0.22 per 100g compared with McVities Rich Tea at £0.47 per 100g.

Here's a handy comparison; 

• Supermarket Baked Cookies - £0.68 per 100g
• Fox’s Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies - £1.14 per 100g
• McVities Chocolate Digestives - £0.50 per 100g
• Patterson’s Shortbread - £0.45 per 100g
• McVities Digestives - £0.42 per 100g
• McVities Rich Tea - £0.47 per 100g
• McVities Rich Tea Light - £0.60 per 100g

The nutritionist's view - by Dr Emily Prpa, nutritionist and science manager at Yakult . 

"It's no secret that Brits love biscuits, with a staggering 27 million UK households buying them every year. 

"A little of what you love is not a bad thing, but really it's all about moderation and making some positive swaps.

"For example, consider opting for biscuits that are made with wholemeal flour or whole grains such as oats. 

"Those which contain dried fruits and nuts can provide more fibre than other biscuits to help you meet the NHS-recommended 30g of fibre per day for adults. 

"The majority of your fibre needs to be obtained through other wholegrain sources of pasta and bread, as well as vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and seeds.

"Fibre aids digestion, helps to regulate bowel movements and is a food source for one's gut bacteria, contributing to a healthy and diverse gut microbiome."

Read more from this series... 

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire , business reporter

It was already going to be a big week of economic announcements before Rishi Sunak called a general election: April inflation came down - though less than expected - as did retail sales and, from July, so too will the energy price cap. 

At the same time, we learned government borrowing in April was the fourth-highest on record and consumer confidence was that bit better than a month earlier. 

Sterling has come down from the highs reached after inflation data came out - £1 buys £1.27, pretty much back where we started the week. Against the euro, sterling held gains, with a pound equal to €1.1731, up from a €1.1671 low on the Monday open.

The oil price ticked down throughout the week and is now at $81.04 a barrel - down from $84 on Monday, which was already lower than all of April and most of March. It's good news for motorists and should impact prices at the pumps in about 10 days. 

On the stock market front, the FTSE 100 index of the most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange is down 1.5747% since the week.

There is almost zero chance of a cut in interest rates next month, a senior economist has said.

Michael Saunders, an adviser at Oxford Economics and a former member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), said Wednesday's higher than expected inflation figures made it very unlikely.

The rate of price rises dropped to 2.3% in April - but economists had been predicting 2.1% .

The general election, called for 4 July, also makes an interest rate cut unlikely, Mr Saunders said.

"They themselves [the MPC] wouldn't want to be a cause of volatility," he told Bloomberg.

"The MPC would be especially reluctant to do a surprise rate change during an election campaign. 

"But, in practice, a June rate cut is already ruled out by inflation figures."

The first rate cut is likely to come in August, Mr Saunders said.

He added: "I do think over the course of the year, markets may now be slightly under-pricing the extent to which interest rates come down.

"I would still say [there will be] three rate cuts - the first one not until August, and then a couple more later in the year."

Nationwide and TSB have both launched current account switch deals as banks fight to draw in new customers. 

Nationwide announced the deal after recording a £1.77bn profit for the year ending 4 April. 

For existing members who don't have a current account, the building society is offering a £200 switch sweetener. 

To qualify, you need to use the Current Account Switch Service and complete a full transfer. 

There needs to be a minimum of two direct debits from the account and the switch must be complete within 28 days of the request to move in order to qualify for the deal. 

To celebrate its record-breaking profits, Nationwide is also rewarding its customers (who were members as of 31 March) with £100, which will be transferred into their accounts in June.

Meanwhile, TSB is offering £100 to new customers switching to its Spend and Save or Spend and Save Plus current account. 

The accounts can be open in branch, online or via the app.

To grab the deal, the switch needs to be complete through the CASS within 21 days of the request, a minimum of five payments need to be made using your card, and you have to log into the app at least once by 5 July. 

You can also nab £60 cashback if you make 20 debit card payments each calendar month. 

Spend & Save account customers will get £10 per month in cashback for the first six months for new customers, totalling £60.

For those opening the £3 per month Spend & Save Plus account, they will get £10 cashback per month for the first six months before reverting to £5 per month.

Every Friday we get an overview of the mortgage market with the help of industry experts - before honing in on the best deals available right now with the guys at Moneyfacts.

Two major announcements this week are set to have a big impact on mortgages and the housing market in the coming months.

First, inflation came in at 2.3% for April - within touching distance of the Bank of England's 2% target but higher than the Bank and most analysts had anticipated.

The markets instantly scaled back their expectations for a June rate cut - from around 50% to around 15%.

What does this mean for borrowers?

It's probably too early to say - with TSB and Santander announcing cuts on Thursday, but Barclays going the other way.

David Hollingworth, associate director at L&C Mortgages , said: "Mortgage rates have eased back a touch in recent weeks, but [the inflation] figures may well hold back the chance for that to become a stronger trend.  A big fall in inflation was already expected and therefore already priced into fixed rates.

"Holding off in the hope of rates dropping could make for a bumpy ride for homeowners. Those eyeing the end of their current fixed deal may want to secure a rate now. That still leaves the chance to keep rates under close review and switch to a better deal if rates do improve before the end of the current product."

James Hyde, spokesman for  Moneyfactscompare.co.uk , added: "Week on week, the overall average two- and five-year fixed rates remained very steady, currently sitting at 5.93% and 5.50% respectively."

The second big announcement was the general election - which we now know will be on 4 July.

Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla , said buyers who are close to agreeing a sale will "ideally want to push through and agree to sales now".

However, those who are "earlier in the process" may try to "delay decisions until the autumn after the election is over", Mr Donnell said.

This election may not have as much impact as previous ones, though.

That is because there is "not a huge divide in policy between the two main parties", Mr Donnell said.

Best rates on offer right now

This week we've asked the independent experts at Moneyfacts to look at the best rates on the market for homeowners who are on the move....

Moneyfacts advises borrowers to always look beyond the best rates as additional costs and conditions mean you could end up paying more.

"Factors such as a low product fee, free valuation or legal fees, and cashback options can mean that certain deals are more cost-effective than those that may have a more eye-catching headline rate," said Mr Hyde.

Here's a look at the deals judged "best buys" by Moneyfacts this week...

As we've been reporting, the energy price cap has been set at £1,568 a year for a typical dual-fuel consumer and will come into force from July. 

The new cap represents a 7% decrease from the current rate of £1,690. 

It has played a significant role in reducing the UK's inflation rate to a near three-year low of 2.3%. 

But respected market researcher Cornwall Insight has predicted the drop in the price cap will be temporary and that bills will likely rise once more in the run-up to winter. 

Its forecasts show a typical bill could increase to £1,762 - even higher than the current rate - from October and remain around this level from January 2025.

The prediction is due to an uptick in the wholesale market.

"It is clear the cap in its current form is not going to bring down bills to pre-crisis levels," Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, said . 

"However, while the general election is likely to put a halt to any immediate reforms to household energy bills, parties may use this opportunity to highlight how they intend to approach this challenge in the future. 

"Whatever the outcome of the election, we hope the government will work with Ofgem to review the current cap and implement changes that not only lower bills but also support struggling customers."

Today's fall in the energy price cap will be "small comfort" for those struggling with the cost of living, the chief executive of Citizens Advice has said.

Dame Clare Moriarty said the organisation's data shows "millions have fallen into the red or are unable to cover their essential costs every month".

She added: "People cannot rely on lower energy prices alone to escape the financial issues they've been experiencing.

"That's why we need better targeted energy bill support for those really struggling to keep the lights on or cook a hot meal."

The cap will fall to £1,568 a year from 1 July - a drop of £122 from the previous quarter. 

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