...Is Anything Really as it Seems Marion Graham Eng 125 Dr. Dolores Kiesler February 18, 2013 Is Anything Really as it Seems “A Doll’s House” is a play where nothing is as it seems; the play written by Henrik Ibsen was an extremely controversial play in that time. Many thought that Ibsen wrote as part of a feminist movement but when asked about this, Ibsen said that this wasn’t so he meant it to be about humanism. He saw it as, every person has the right to be who they wanted to be no matter what their gender was. In “A Doll’s House” everyone is keeping some kind of secret from some other character, that is till the very end where everything comes out and it causes hard feelings between some characters and some to come together. “A Doll’s House” is set during the holiday season. The Helmer is in the midst of getting ready for the Christmas season, buying presents and Christmas trees. Christmas and New Year’s celebrate the birth of Jesus and the renewal of the New Year. This is symbolic of the rebirth that the characters go through during the course of the play. Nora is awakened and brought to a realization that her marriage is in some ways, what one might call a sham. She realizes that to her husband she is not another person, not really. She is seen as most women at that time were as a second rate human being, somebody to satisfy man and take care of his needs, as well as help him in reproducing more human beings. She is unable to be her own person as long...
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...A Doll’s House – Being More Than Just A Doll June 15, 2015 Dr. Ozichi Alimole A Doll’s House – Being More Than Just A Doll In A Doll’s House, Ibsen uses many literary conventions such as realism and symbolism to convey his message about marital inequality and the rights of individuals. His play is powerful, requiring imagination on the part of both the author and reader to experience wholly. Additionally he very effectively shows the conservative way in which women were treated and expected to behave, as well as the consequences for standing alone or taking action. In addition to feeling that Mr. Ibsen’s depiction of marriage in 1870’s Norway was likely very relatable for women I also agreed with a description of A Doll’s House in his biography where it says: This 1879 play set tongues a-wagging throughout Europe for exploration of Nora's struggle with the traditional roles of wife and mother and her own need for self-exploration. Once again, Ibsen had questioned the accepted social practices of the times, surprising his audiences and stirring up debate. (“Ibsen,” n.d., para. 9) He uses realism in delivering his ideas as evidenced by the fact that there are limited numbers of similes and a dearth of flowery language, and in capturing a subject that is accepted as an every day norm ("Realism," n.d., para. 4). The effect this has is to cast a fairly strict tone, one free from enhancement with a very matter of fact representation. The strong social criticism issued...
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...Zubeda Begum Professor Keenan English 102- 0014 July 11, 2011 A Doll’s House The role of women has evolved since the 19th century. Generally, our social norms and outlooks on males and females have changed dramatically over time compared to the daily lives we now live. These changes have especially been more significant toward women. The only obligation women had to fulfill when Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll’s House was to take care of the house and bring up the children. Nora does not realize her decision can lead to breaking her marriage with Helmer who meant the world to her, but we can assume that Nora’s decision has a tremendous negative effect on the people close to her. Nevertheless, her decision benefits her in the end because it gives her a chance to discover herself and see what she is capable of after having to deal with lies and deception she has put up with to keep Helmer from finding out her secret. Along with lies and deception, hypocrisy plays a major role in how Helmer treats Nora, and sexism is a major part of the play because both genders are looked at very differently. Nora’s decision to leave her “doll’s house” does not only affect her but also the people around her including her husband, Kristine, Anne Marie, and most importantly, her children. She is oblivious to the hardships her children will have to endure without her presence. They will be missing a mother figure and certain facets of the children's lives will be greatly affected in a negative...
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...Kandis Kresinske Dr. Hall September 21, 2015 A Doll’s House Love is Equality Imagine living inside a house where the feeling of alienation is present at all times. The same house where you have children and a husband that provides, but yet you still felt like you are living in solitude. Visualize a situation where your husband becomes deathly ill and the only way for him to heal is if you move somewhere very warm. Sounds picture perfect if you had the money to do so and there was hope that this move could change your feelings of alienation. In the 19th century marriages were defined with patriarchy. Where men rule over women in every aspect. Put yourself in a woman in the 19th century’s shoes. You’ll always have everything you need but not necessarily everything you want. You will have a husband that provides, children that fill the house with laughter, fancy clothes to prance around in, and a nice house to come home to. But you will not have a husband who loves, cares, and listens. You would not be filling the home with laughter as your kids do, and at that point, you would not care what clothes you were in. Henrik Ibsen pushes readers to decipher his text in a way that makes Nora justified in her decision to leave her husband after eight years of marriage for the following reasons: she was a hand-me-down, Torvald treats her like a child and sex toy, and Torvald is hypocritical by his reaction to Krogstad’s letter. Ibsen allows the readers to believe Nora is justified...
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...In the play, “A Doll’s House,” by Henrik Ibsen, we see a man and a woman who have a seemingly wonderful life together in their home with their children. Soon into the play, we learn the strength of her love that she has for her husband through her actions. She proves her love for Torvald by forcing her father’s signature on the promissory note, stating that she would pay back every penny that she owed from borrowing money to move her husband south to Italy when he fell ill. Throughout this story, it is no surprise that Nora is deeply in love with Torvald, considering how much she has done for him and to hide her secret to protect his “manhood.” However, Torvald sees Nora as nothing more than a trophy wife, just a puzzle piece to the picture of a perfect family. In my opinion, I prefer the original play’s ending, where Nora ends up leaving Torvald, her children, and her entire life behind to start a new one. She feels she has become too alienated from religion and law and that for years she has lived for her husband and now it’s time she live for herself. This ending, rather than the ending where Nora decides to stay, makes the play. The entire play is just building up to this moment, when Nora, who has done nothing but love Torvald, retaliates and stands up for herself. “…I was simply transferred from papa’s hands into yours. You arranged everything according to your own taste, and so I got the same taste as you-- or else I pretended to, I am really not quite sure which--I...
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...PEnglish 102-5 March 29, 2011 A Doll’s House Nora is the main character all throughout the first act of A Doll House. She has several different qualities that both work together and against one another to build up her character in this play. The two most prominent are her as a child, and as both a manipulator and one who has been manipulated. Nora is seen as a “doll” or child throughout this play. She is treated this way because of the way she “acts”. She will clap her hands when she gets excited about something, and is often humming and moving all around. Nora’s character can be controversial. Nora’s attitude toward her husband Torvald Helmer is very young as well. Torvald had always treated her this way because he regarded for her as a squirrel, which demonstrates that he does not believe her capable of dealing with adult matters such as finances and health crises. Instead of treating her as a wife or adult, Torvald lectures her on posturing, child rearing, and even dancing. By the end of the story, when he is hit with the knowledge of Nora’s complicated efforts—to save his life, he chooses to take aim and talk at her, rather than discussing her reasoning and emotional state when she made the choice she did by getting a secret loan. Throughout the play I felt that she couldn’t take care of herself without her husband by her side. I didn’t really know what to think of Nora at the beginning of the play. Nora’s “hidden” strength is shown the most toward her husband. She is...
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...Abraham Smith Prof: Rennie English 102 18, May 2013 "A Doll's House" The play " A Doll's House" written by Henrik Ibsen was published on December 4, 1879. This play was first performed in Copenhagen on December 21, 1879 and sold its first eight hundred copies. The title in this play narrates the theme that symbolize the "contrast between realistic and idealistic". (English Literature & Grammar) The plot this play shows a seemingly perfect happy family but later starts to go bad when Krogstad shows up. The speaker also used the title as a symbol that conveys into the story. The main character Nora, is play as a "Doll" and living in a "Doll's House". Ibsen also used several symbols to relate the expected meaning of his audience, such as: Christmas tree, tarantella, and masquerade. In act I Nora quotes, " Hide the Christmas tree well, Helene. The children mustn't get a glimpse of it till this evening, after the it's trimmed". The tree represents Nora. She and the tree has to be dress up and ready for people to admire, most especially her husband. Also, Nora is not to be exposed in her party dress until she looks completely dress and decent. Throughout the play, it is clear that Nora and the tree are one in the same. As the tree becomes untidy so as Nora. The speaker reveals that Nora was control by her husband and even treated like a child relatively than a wife. Nora was demanded to eat certain food. Nora Husband calls her by nicknames such as, songbird, squirrel...
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...In the play, A Doll’s House, by Henrick Ibsen, the author begins by cleverly painting a picture of a beautiful couple who seem to be very much in love, and very happy. Throughout the first act, the reader is kept in the dark about the fact that Nora is being controlled, if not physically, but mentally, by her husband. Torvald, her husband, often refers to her as his “little skylark,” (1.6), and reminds her that she must not “droop her wings” (1.6) if she does not get exactly what she wants, when she wants it. By the middle of Act 1, the reader is enlightened to the fact that Torvald is a bit more controlling than one might think, as he asks of Nora “what are little people called that are always wasting money?” (1.8) This implies to the reader that he looks down on Nora, and tries to control what she spends of his money. Torvald’s control of Nora becomes even more evident, when the reader realizes that Nora lies, and hides things from him. The fact that Nora lies about going to “…pay a visit to the confectioners” (1.10), is proof that she feels the need to hide things from her husband that goes against his wishes. While the play does not necessarily paint a picture that a woman must leave an oppressive husband to gain her own independence, it does a good job of showing, through Nora’s eyes, the reasons she felt that the only way she could be herself, was to leave her family. In today’s society, a woman leaving her husband isn’t that strange of an idea, however in the...
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...In a Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, Nora's mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires, that of wanting to be free while still being morally obligated to her family. For Nora's entire life, society has forced her to succumb to its expectations of a woman's role as a mother and wife, rather than to her personal desires. These repressed desires then lead to her feeling trapped and confused, considering her responsibility to her family but also her own wish to be free of this life full of lies and deception. In society's point of view, at the time when this play was written, a husband and wife were expected to live happily ever after with their children, if any, and never leave each other's side. Because of this, Nora felt a sort of principled obligation set upon her by others to stay with her family. Nora was a victim of subjugation to Torvald. Whether it was his absurd command for her to not eat macaroons, or to not spend money, Torvald had complete control over her. This dominance only drives Nora further and further away from her family. Torvald's control doesn't stop at the macaroons and the setting of a budget. Towards the end of the play, we are made aware of a dance called the tarantella, here, Torvald makes Nora dress up and dance for him, as though she were a doll. After he teaches her the dance, he proclaims "When I saw you turn and sway in the tarantella-my blood was pounding till I couldn't stand it", showing how he is more interested in Nora...
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...The Puppet On Strings Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House is a portrayal of a Victorian lifestyle in the 1800’s, when the men of the family were powerful figures and the women merely powerless in their own homes. Throughout the entire piece, Ibsen included many symbols to show the mistreatment of women in the Victorian era. During the 1800’s, the time period this play was based in, women had little to no control or power, merely accessories for their husbands to wear to events, “trophy wives”. In A Doll’s House, Torvald, being the man of the house, makes all of the executive decisions, when he tells Nora to jump, she asks how high. Throughout the entire story, Nora is treated like a naive child and a puppet, by the man who supposedly “loves” her. In a literary criticism, Emma Goldman states, “In A Doll's House, Ibsen returns to the subject so vital to him,--the Social Life and Duty,--this time as manifesting themselves in the sacred institution of the home and in the position of woman in her gilded cage” (Goldman). Torvald believes that she is his property, ordering her around like she is his toy to play with. This creates a great deal of stress and dishonesty within the relationship. This forces Nora to lie and involve her friends Dr. Rank and Christine to protect herself from Torvald’s power. Henrik Ibsen’s play, A Doll’s House, uses symbols of macaroons, the Tarantella performance, and Torvald’s pet names for Nora, to demonstrate the imbalance of power in their parent-child...
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...A Doll's House's Symbolism A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen was written in the late 1800’s and uses symbolism to get the writer’s ideas and descriptions across to the reader in greater detail. We will examine four of the writer’s uses of symbolism. The first is actually the title of the play and sets the stage for everything that transpires in the play. The second symbol is the Christmas tree that is brought into the first scene by Nora. The third use of symbolism that Ibsen uses is the macaroons that are only introduced in the first scene. Finally, the Tarantella can be interpreted as one of the most symbolic parts of the whole play. The title of Henrik Ibsen’s play, “A Doll’s House,” is symbolic in itself. The doll in the play would be Nora. Nora is in a mindless role of a plaything that first belongs to her father and then to Torvald. Nora play’s her part in the life but secretly wants more and is constantly reminded of how little control over her own life she has. An example of this is that after 8 years of marriage and three children, Torvald Helmer wags his finger at Nora and asks “Hasn’t Miss Sweet-Tooth been breaking the rules in town today ?” (Ibsen, 1897, p.)_Torvald speaks to Nora as a parent would speak to child in a condescending tone throughout the play. The title “A Doll’s House” is an ironic metaphor for what could be considered as more of a prison than a home for Nora who is really not expected to ever make decisions for herself or think for herself. In the...
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...A Doll’s House 1. DRAMATIC STRUCTURE ‘A Doll’s House’ is widely considered by many to be Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s magnum opus. The play is tightly structured with 3 acts that take place over a short span of three days. Each act contains just one long scene. The scenes are primarily two person scenes that are interleaved with temporary entrances and quick exits by the other characters in the play. Furthermore, the play has a strong sense of unity of action, in the sense that events in the play take place in a causal manner, where each character’s actions on inaction have a significant impact on the course of events that follow. I shall elucidate this point in a latter part of the essay. The dramatic structure of the play is well defined, with a transparent inciting incident, point of attack, climax and strong resolution. In my opinion, the inciting incident occurs when Torvald Helmer receives a promotion to bank manager. This incident occurs before the beginning of the action of the play and this directly results in the creation of a crisis at the start of the play when Nils Krogstad comes to visit Nora Helmer to get her to prevent Torvald from firing Krostad when he becomes a bank manager. When his initial strategy fails he resorts to blackmailing her with the fact that she has committed fraud by falsifying her father’s signature on the bond note owed by her. The point of attack in this play is the moment when Mrs. Linde prevents Krogstad from taking back...
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...that compares the lifestyles of men and women. In the late 1800s the average man was known to be the head of the household and could obtain certain jobs while a women could not. Women were only expected to marry a man and spend the rest of their lives serving him. Henrik Ibsen’s practical and considerable play titled A Doll’s House reveals a new side of gender roles in the late 1800s, playing a role in individual rights and on being true to oneself. In this story the female protagonist, Nora, is seen as being confined to social values of that era. Throughout the entire play, we see many situations where Nora is being put down and underestimated. Three of these situations can be when Torvald bans Nora from eating macaroons,...
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...In the play, “A Doll’s House”, by Henrik Ibsen, the drama deals with the underlying issue of parental obligation and its effect on the lives of the children involved. The play was written in 1879, during a time where it was believed by society that a mother should stay home and take care of the children, while the father provided for the family but had little or no responsibility at home. Although the story is centered around the unhappy, controlled life of Nora, who chooses to leave her family and her role as a mother in order to find herself, her concealed problems stem from her father. Nora’s husband, Torvald, hints at the true issues with fatherhood when he states, “It seems most commonly to be the mother’s influence, though naturally a...
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...Critical Analysis of "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House was a controversial play for its time because it questioned society's basic rules and norms. Multiple interpretations can be applied to the drama, which allows the reader to appreciate many different aspects of the play. This paper examines how both Feminist and Marxist analyses can be applied as literary theories in discussing Ibsen's play because both center on two important subject matters in the literary work: the roles of women in a male-dominated society, and, the power that money has over people. In Marxism it is believed that a person's thoughts, behaviors and relationships with others are all influenced by the individual’s social class and economic conditions. In addition, the Marxist approach looks at the mechanics of the system where the working class or the subordinates of society are kept powerless and dependent upon the higher classes. A common theme found in A Doll's House, is the exploitation of the weak and the poor by the strong and the rich, and an obsession with material possessions and social status. The characters in the play are all affected by the lack or acquisition of money, and their entire lives and way of thinking are based upon it. In the beginning of the play, Nora’s outlook on life and her desires are completely consumed by wealth and material things. For instance, in Act I when Nora returns home from a shopping trip, she asks her maid to hide the Christmas...
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