•Why it earns a slot
A Doll's House belongs in the archive because its 1879 closing scene, in which a wife chooses self-knowledge over marriage and motherhood, ignited a continent-wide debate about women's rights and redefined what serious drama could demand of its audience.
Nora Helmer appears to be a cheerful, childlike wife in a comfortable Norwegian household, but she harbors a secret: she forged her dying father's signature years ago to borrow money that saved her husband Torvald's life. When the moneylender Krogstad threatens to expose her, the crisis forces Nora to see her marriage and her own identity with devastating clarity. The play ends with Nora walking out on her husband and children to find herself as an independent person.
This distillation is written from the freely available original, which is always the better read when you have the time: gutenberg.org.