...The Theme of Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll House” In Henrik Ibsen’s play “A Doll House,” there are many clues to the kind of marriage Nora and Torvald Helmer have. Nora appears to be a “doll” controlled by her husband. She relies on him for everything and is literally trapped in the domestic comfort of “a doll house.” Nora seems to be a silly, selfish girl, but she has made great sacrifices to save her husband's life and pay back her secret loan. By the end of the play, she has realized her true strength and strikes out as an independent woman refusing to accept the false values of a contemporary society which deny the worth of an individual’s personality. Ultimately, the theme of “A Doll House” revolves around the fact that a true marriage is a joining of equals, and that every human being has a need and a right to find out the kind of person he or she really is, and deserves the opportunity to become that person. The play focuses on the ways that women are perceived in their various roles, especially in marriage and motherhood. Throughout the play Torvald treats Nora as if she is a child instead of a wife. He coddles, pampers, and patronizes Nora calling her his “little lark” and “squirrel.” He demands respect from her and expects her to live with him being the strong, dominant husband, and herself the dutiful wife. Torvald, like the other men of their society, believe that it is the sacred duty of a woman to be a good wife and mother. Torvald tells Nora that women are responsible...
Words: 543 - Pages: 3
...Techniques of a Well Made Play in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest End of Term Project Ivy Koranteng Saint Peter’s Insurance Page 1 Techniques of a Well Made Play in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House and Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest A well-made play usually opens with a discussion where the actors reveal essential information to the audience. This is set up in way where information logical to the plot is brought up in a conversation. The techniques of a well-made play include revelation of a secret, suspense, conflicts, mistaken identity and a climatic scene resolving all the problems in end. Majority of well-made plays are comedies, however Ibsen’s A Doll house, although it is a drama, it has most of the characteristics of a well-made play. In the beginning of the play, Ibsen uses conversation between Nora and Mrs. Linde to set up the plot of the play. Mrs. Linde, an old school mate of Nora, pays her a visit to see if her husband Torvald could help her secure employment at the bank where he works. During the visit, the two of them catch up on what has been going on in each other’s life, which is perfectly logically for two old friends to do. It is through their conversation that Nora’s secret that she took out a loan to go on a trip to help save her husband’s life without his knowledge is revealed to the audience. She had to keep the secret from her husband because he does not believe in taking out loans...
Words: 1496 - Pages: 6
...Ashley Griffin Professor Paulette J. Marek ENC1102 81 30 October 2013 Metaphors A Doll’s House is a play that is significant for its attitude toward the 19th Century Marriage norms. There is lots of controversy that talks about protagonist, Nora, Leaving her husband and children because she wanted to find out who she is as a person. Metaphors are use all the time in writing. The Pet name that torvald uses for Nora are metaphors for how women were treated during the Victorian era. I feel that the main idea of the author Ibsen’s work is all about metaphor that he uses in this drama The Doll’s House. In the begging Nora follows her childlike or housewife role that she plays. After sometime Nora speaks to Torvalds and realizes that he feels that Nora should only be the housewife and mother of his children. She should not be able to know or find out who she is as a person. Nora goes from a very immature person or just went along with what she was told to a very dependent, and very self-sufficient person. She now shows the idealized “doll” role of a woman but also keeps away from the limitations and social constraints of that time period. In the beginning of this drama Nora is a house wife and very childish person that she feels she needs to be. Growing up she had a father that was very dominant. She then married Torvalds who was also very dominant towards Nora. With the way Torvalds was it showed Nora’s Physical growth but her immaturity and emotional dependence hasn’t changed...
Words: 1645 - Pages: 7
...The Struggle for Identity in A Doll's House A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, is a play that was written ahead of its time. In this play Ibsen tackles women's rights as a matter of importance. Throughout this time period it was neglected. A Doll's House was written during the movement of Naturalism, which commonly reflected society. Ibsen acknowledges the fact that in 19th century life the role of the woman was to stay at home, raise the children and attend to her husband. Nora Helmer is the character in A Doll House who plays the 19th woman and is portrayed as a victim. Michael Meyers said of Henrik Ibsen's plays: "The common denominator in many of Ibsen's dramas is his interest in individuals struggling for and authentic identity in the face of tyrannical social conventions. This conflict often results in his characters' being divided between a sense of duty to themselves and their responsibility to others."(1563) All of the aspects of this quote can be applied to the play A Doll House, in Nora Helmer's character, who throughout much of the play is oppressed, presents an inauthentic identity to the audience and throughout the play attempts to discovery her authentic identity. The inferior role of Nora is extremely important to her character. Nora is oppressed by a variety of "tyrannical social conventions." Ibsen in his "A Doll's House" depicts the role of women as subordinate in order to emphasize their role in society. Nora is oppressed...
Words: 1496 - Pages: 6
...Feminism in The Doll’s House & Hedda Gabler To an average reader, at first glance, Henrik Ibsen’s plays Hedda Gabler and A Doll’s House are just an entertaining read. However a more in-depth study of the text shows that throughout A Doll’s House and Hedda Gabler Ibsen makes use of symbols, motifs and circular conclusions to demonstrate the development of two housewives throughout the late 19th century. One of the ways that Ibsen shows this is symbolism. Throughout Hedda Gabler the symbols that Ibsen presents are: the piano that Hedda plays shortly before her death, General Gabler’s two pistols, Tesman’s slippers, the portrait of General Gabler and the manuscript. The latter hangs in Tesman’s drawing room and it symbolizes the constant overlook of General Gabler. It also builds up a complex in Tesman, as the general is the man that Hedda loves and the man that he will never be. The portrait presents Hedda’s domination over Tesman as well, since it is his drawing room and yet it isn’t aunt Julle’s portrait that is hanging there it is Hedda’s fathers. General Gabler’s two pistols are amongst the most important symbols in the play. The two pistols represent, much like the portrait, the General’s power over the family even though he is deceased - this is proven, as it is the pistols that take Hedda’s life and that of her lover - which is also a case of circular conclusion, because Hedda has threatened others with her pistols before, and in Act One of the play Hedda says that at...
Words: 1494 - Pages: 6
...inHenrick Ibsen’s Play, “A Doll’s House” Henrick Ibsen has outdone himself in his play “A Doll’s House”. Ibsen has refined and fine-tuned the taste and view of his plays with the use of different techniques, among them being Symbolism. Symbolism is among the most common techniques used in drama. Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas and qualities, in an artistic and poetic style. It uses images, and indirect suggestions to express mystical ideas, emotions, suggestions and states of mind. Symbolism adds another layer of meaning to the meaning of script writing. While the clear, obvious meaning lies on the surface, symbolism is mostly hidden from the “front row” and it usually lies deeper than it seems. Ibsen utilizes symbolism in the play “A Doll’s House” with the purpose of revealing a certain character. In Nora’s character, Ibsen says that he used symbolism to develop her character and in the end the character’s qualities were incredibly outstanding that even the critics said it was an outstanding move. The play, “A Doll’s House,” revolves around the life of the two Main characters; TorvaldHelmer and his wife, Nora Helmer. They live in a “Doll looking House”, as it is symbolically represented by Ibsen. The play’ tittle, “A Doll’s House,” also symbolizes that all the people that live in Torvalds residence are “dolls.” Torvald plays with them when he pleases and ignores them when he has work to do or something else in his mind("Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House"). Torvald...
Words: 2290 - Pages: 10
...Research question: Nora’s struggle to find her identity in the play A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s house is a play, which was written way ahead of its time. In the play Ibsen has highlighted that women’s right is a matter of importance. During that time women were considered a mere doll. A Doll’s house reflects the common society during that time period. Ibsen has tried to bring out the fact that during 19th century the role of a woman was to stay at home, raise her children and serve her husband. The same is expected by Nora Helmer, a character in A Doll’s House. She is portrayed as a victim of the 19th century woman. Michael Meyer has quoted, "The common denominator in many of Ibsen's dramas is his interest in individuals struggling for and authentic identity in the face of tyrannical social conventions. This conflict often results in his characters' being divided between a sense of duty to themselves and their responsibility to...
Words: 686 - Pages: 3
...man’s heart. Money can help feed, clothe and shelter people but it can also lead people to heinous acts that leave those closest to them shocked. The decisions people make in pursuit of monetary assets can potentially push their loved ones away; this is especially true when people become obsessed with the idea. Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” tells the story of a married couple that is eventually torn apart by money and the pursuit of it. Nora Helmer has been desperately working to pay back a loan she took out to pay for a trip to Italy when her husband was sick. Krogstad is blackmailing her about this to gain a higher position and Torvald, Nora’s husband, is ignorant of all of this. They are all committing acts that they would not normally do in pursuit of money. This drives a wedge between Nora and Torvald, and Krogstad’s pursuit of money had already injured his relationship with people in his past. Money has driven all of them to do things that have driven people away. This happens everywhere. The lust for money, even when it is for a supposedly good cause, will drive those a person loves the most away and this is portrayed perfectly in Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”. The kind of hurt the hunt for money brings can be easily seen in the character of Krogstad. His love, Mrs. Linde, left him in pursuit of money and this left Krogstad devastated. She did this to support her family but her grab for money still hurt Krogstad profoundly. Krogstad claims that when Mrs. Linde left him it...
Words: 1167 - Pages: 5
...现代欧美戏剧名篇赏析 Discuss about the Miracle in A Doll’s House 院 系：经济学院 专 业：国际金融系 姓 名：陈卓佩 学 号：11307100212 日 期：2013年6月6日 Abstract This article focuses on the miracle Nora mentions in Act Three of A Doll’s House. The miracle Nora hopes for “in terror and hope” is for her husband to change and accept responsibility. But Torvald’s initial reaction towards her sacrifice is panic, then incomprehension. This makes Nora realize that she is only a doll dependent on man. The miracle she has always been waiting for never comes. However, I think the fact that Nora decides to leave and live independently itself is a miracle in that social and historical context. Some people doubt about whether Nora will succeed in becoming independent. Judging from her personality and what she has done, I believe she will. This miracle then spread to the whole Europe, China and other countries, which greatly affected the feminist movement. Key Words：A Doll’s House, miracle, Nora, feminist movement 摘要 本文重点分析了《玩偶之家》女主人公娜拉在第三幕中提及的“奇迹”。娜拉所盼望又害怕的奇迹是她的丈夫能做出改变并承担责任，但当托伐知道真相时，他的反应是惊惧和不理解。这让娜拉意识到她只是一个依附于丈夫的玩偶，从而毅然出走。娜拉所企盼的奇迹没有发生，但我认为在那样的时代背景下，她出走的事实本身就是最大的奇迹。有人质疑娜拉出走后是否能实现真正的独立，我认为就她的性格和所作所为而言，这一点是毋庸置疑的。随后，这种女性宣告独立的“奇迹”逐渐蔓延至整个欧洲乃至中国，并深刻地影响了女权主义运动的进程。 关键词：玩偶之家；奇迹；娜拉；女权运动 Discuss about the Miracle in A Doll’s House 1. Introduction As A Doll’s House opens, Torvald and Nora are at a point of financial success after...
Words: 2137 - Pages: 9
...A Doll House was one of Henrik Ibsen's most contentious plays. The world of financial freedom Nora glimpses at the plays outset which turns out to be the definition of a prison and is replaced by another kind of freedom at the end of the play: the frightening freedom to cut herself loose from the bonds of marriage, family and society. In my production of a Doll House, it is revealed, through Act III lines 155 to 282, that feminism is a key concept. While Nora dances the tarantella for Torvald, at first she dances with hardly any worry, as if she might just hold it all together if she kept on dancing. But as the spotlight on her grows stronger and darkness falls over Torvald, she looks lost, blank like a frantic puppet in someone else’s game. Nora eventually realizes that her husband does not see her as a person but rather as a beautiful possession, nothing more than a toy. When Toryald says to Nora, “Can I not look at my richest treasure? At all that beauty that’s mine, mine alone”(Henrik Ibsen, line 253-254) This displays his position of control. Those men in that society are more worthy than women. Set design is a production element that is essential in making this production happen. Since the set is generally the first element of a production that the audience sees, its job is to convey the information needed to launch the story. Through this set design my peers and audience will be able to question and further understand the feminism that took place in the play a Doll House...
Words: 425 - Pages: 2
...Ever since the beginning of man in Literature there has been a discussion over appearance vs. reality. The appearance of the apple to Eve was one that it would give her great wisdom as to that of the gods. In reality it did give her wisdom, but with that also came the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The appearance of the apple was good but the outcome was bad so was marriage in the 19th century. In Henrik Ibsen’s play "A Doll's House," where a man treats his wife with inferiority and where to him appearance of things is as water is to life, various symbols are used to express a theme. Three symbols used, a Christmas tree, the title, and the nicknames that Torvald calls Nora emphasize the theme of a comparison of perfect marriage relationship to the reality of their relationship that is an artificial " Doll's house" relationship. Ibsen’s use of a Christmas tree is used throughout the play epitomizes Nora's feelings. In the first act there is a festive tree with "pretty red flowers" and Nora comes into the house acting frivolously. Both tree and the Helmers look very happy. Nora's mood is festive and the tree gives a merry glow to the reader. In the end of Act I, Krogstad has threatened Nora that if she doesn't help him keep his job he will tell Torvald of their illegal loan. Torvald has said that Krogstad "has forged someone's name" so Torvald is going to fire him so in Act II, the tree is "stripped of its ornaments and with burnt down candle-ends." In this act the tree is...
Words: 1144 - Pages: 5
...The redefinition of a woman's role in society and the image of the maternal figure through comparison of female characters in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House and Bertold Brecht’s Mother Courage and her Children. Henrik Ibsen’s Nora Helmer and Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage present two strongly defined female heroines whose actions not only adversely affect the other characters’ lives but also suggest a fundamental problem with their societies. Both playwrights establish the macroscopic view of society’s turmoil in the microscopic, individual characters of Nora and Mother Courage. Both characters have an indomitable magnetism that, on the one hand, allows them to control others but, on the other, cause them to make desperate choices that reflect a repressive society. In analyzing the figures of Nora in A Doll House and Anna Fierling in Mother Courage and Her Children, it is important to examine the ways in which they interact with their respective societies, specifically how well they play the roles defined for them. For each play, there exist social structures, as well as exigencies of a given period within those structures, which range from being burdensome to downright inimical to the process of being a good mother. In the case of Nora, the perspective is bleak: due to the oppressively, male-dominated society , not only is she in no position to be a provider or protector for her children, but due to the condescending, patronizing attitudes of her father and...
Words: 2749 - Pages: 11
..."The Doll House" by Henrik Ibsen Eng/125 University of Phoenix In Dollhouse, the husband Torvald treated Nora as a child with no mind and intelligence. His pet names for her in the beginning demonstrates how he didn’t not treat her as his equal. His lack of accepting her as an equal was also demonstrated in his ability to see that Nora was a smart woman and could see and do things for her. Ibsen used many strategies to get this point across. In one of his strategies he takes a common housewife and made her secretly intelligent he uses metaphors and irony. In applying that Nora, was treated like a doll in her perfect Dollhouse was really stating that Nora was treated like a doll in her husband’s house. For example Torvalds used pet names for his wife giving her the appearance of a doll. In using irony Ibsen strategy was to state that what goes around comes around. For example the Irony of Krogstad and his forging of documents and that of Nora forging documents and the reality that both might lose their jobs, his being at the bank and hers being a mother and wife. The devices that Ibsen uses is that of the conventions of a marriage in the 1800’s, and the relationship of husband and wife. Women of this time were depended on their husbands. Most wives did not work, but instead stayed home with the children. Most women were not considered equal to the men of the family. And finally most women were considered simply-minded and lack schooling and understand the way the...
Words: 654 - Pages: 3
...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...
Words: 921 - Pages: 4
...Ibsen’s Influential Individuals Whenever people read A Doll’s House, they usually focus on the main character Nora. Because of her decision to abandon her children, many people have grown to dislike her. Although Nora ultimately decides to leave her children in the hands of a possessive man, she is not fully responsible for her actions. Ibsen cleverly includes feminist, possessive, loving, and desperate characters in order to create a controversial play. The characters in A Doll’s House affect each other, Nora’s development, and her decision to abandon her family in order to become independent. Anne Marie has a strong influence on Nora Helmer. She had given up her child, whom she had out of wedlock, for adoption. Instead of running away and marrying another man, she decides to work in order to send money to her daughter whom she is still in contact with. By not doing what was expected during the 1800s, Anne Marie proves to be a feminist. After seeing a woman who does not let society rule her, Nora is influenced to become a feminist by not allowing her husband or society to control her. Although Anne Marie inspires Nora to become independent, Anne Marie is not considered an independent woman. Anne Marie belongs to the lower class, so independence is not an option. Money is much more important than liberation for Anne Marie because it is a means of survival. She does not abandon her child in order to become independent but gives her daughter up for adoption because she cannot...
Words: 2757 - Pages: 12
