A Doll's House Play Analysis

In 1880s, women in America were trapped by their family because of the culture that they were living in. They loved their family and husband, but meanwhile, they had hard time suffering in same patterns that women in United States always had. With their limited rights, women hoped liberation from their family because they were entirely complaisant to their husband. Therefore, women were in conflicting directions by two compelling forces, their responsibility and pressure. In A Doll’s House, Ibsen uses metaphors of a doll’s house and irony conversation between Nora and Torvald to emphasize reality versus appearance in order to convey that the Victorian Era women were discriminated because of gender and forced to make irrational decision by inequity society.

That first letter acts as the first push that sends the house of cards tumbling down around Nora and Torvald. It causes Nora to start questioning her role in the marriage and household and when Torvald eventually does find out about Nora’s forgery, his reaction contrasts so heavily

Nora is a married woman and has children to take care of. She really has little freedom because of the way Torvald treats her. She is not even I feel as if deep down she knows she is not free and wants something more in her life then to be a entertaining puppet for Torvald. She realizes at the end of the story that Torvald is not good to her because of the way he acted when she told him about forging the signature. When Torvald called her a criminal and other harsh words she realized that she had no true love from Torvald and wanted to be free from him.

A Doll’s House: Character Comparison and Contrast Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House contains a cast of deeply complex characters that emulate the 1800’s societal norms that they belong to. Two characters that compare and contrast each other throughout the play are Nora Helmer and Kristine Linde. Nora and Kristine are similar because they both display a sense of independence. Their personalities differ as Nora presents herself as inexperienced, while Kristine is more grounded in reality.

Nora, the protagonist and wife of Torvald Helmer is presented as naïve and oppressive person who doesn’t have a past experience of the outside world. Nora’s husband represents the position of authority treating his wife as no equal but rather as a child. The author was intended to incorporate the stereotype of the perfect family and their respective roles. The first act take place during Christmas Eve, as Nora Helmer enters the house to her well furnished and decorate living room, carrying some packages and a Christmas tree. Since the first act the author

A Doll’s House was written, published and first performed in 1879, to a societal backdrop dominated by men. Women, especially those married, were the victims of restrictive laws and expectations. Ibsen’s play revolutionised not just the superficial theatre of the time, but also criticised the social conventions of the patriarchal Norway and Europe. He condemns the economic dependency women have on their male counterpart whilst attacking the prejudices of bourgeois values. The characterisation of Nora provides the

NORA. No, Torvald, indeed, indeed!”(Ibsen 3). This quote displays how Nora was literally pleading to Torvald that she wasn’t eating the forbidden fruit (the macarons) because she feared getting into a sort of trouble with Torvald, further intensifying the parent and child aspect. Taking the play’s title into perspective: “A Doll’s House” literally, and perfectly describes Nora’s life which is basically a doll’s house. Nora is living under Torvald’s roof and everything she does is decided and controlled by him.

Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen was highly criticized for undeniably demonstrating woman’s issues in the 19th century. While the play doesn’t change setting much at all, Ibsen clearly focuses in on the characterization of three insightful characters: Mrs. Linde, Nora, and Helmer. Mrs. Linde is a minor character; however, that doesn’t alter her effect on the play. She provides the mold for the perfect, idealized wife. Nora, the main character, develops rapidly in the play, and her character is a stark contrast to Mrs. Linde.

Discuss the evolution of Nora’s character and explain why the denouement of the play is then inevitable? A doll’s house is a play that carries forward Ibsen’s theme of an individual struggle for identity when faced with tyrannical social convention, he allows us to follow Nora through her journey from a wife and a ‘skylark’ to her own individual. Ibsen acknowledges the fact that in the 19th century, women were expected to stay home, raise the children and attend to her husband revolving their lives and existence around their husband. Nora portrays this lifestyle playing the typical 19th century women conflicted between a sense of duty to herself and her responsibility to her family and social convention.

A Doll’s House written by the famous playwright Henrik Ibsen, tells the story of a failing marriage and a woman’s realisation to her role in society. Despite the play being written in a realistic fashion, Ibsen chose to incorporate both metaphors and symbolisms within the play, with symbolisms illustrating the inner conflicts of the main character Nora, and the less prominent metaphors depicting the state in which the characters are in. The use of both symbols and metaphors aide in developing the characters in the play, allowing the audience to further sympathize with the characters created by Henrik Ibsen. What perhaps is the most significant metaphor used throughout the play lies within the title of the play itself, ‘A Doll’s House’. The title introduces the idea that both Nora and Torvald were just in fact dolls in a dollhouse, being played not just by one another, but also by the society of that time.

During act III, Nora asked to speak to Torvald after her performance of the tarantella dance. The following conversation demonstrated her quest for autonomy and freedom, as well as Torvald’s inadequate responses to her arguments and demands; it also showed how deeply connected her unhappy situation is with society’s regulation of the relationship between the sexes. She asserts that she is “...first and foremost a human being”, and her strong conviction that her womanhood, and the expectations associated with it, are secondary, strengthens her resolve to make a radical choice: A break with both husband and, with necessity due to her legal position, her children (Ibsen, 184). During her conversation with Torvald, she proclaims, “I have other sacred duties... The duties to myself (Ibsen, 184).”

Nora takes pride in thinking of herself as the perfect housewife and mother. She, just as every other wife, plays often with her children and attends formal parties on her husband’s arm. She is told

Torvald and Nora’s relationship and home can be compared to as a “doll house” because of its perfect characteristics, however it is quite the opposite, with its foundation based on lies and pretend happiness. The stage directions read “A room furnished comfortably and tastefully, but not extravagantly. At the back, a door to the right leads to the entrance-hall, another to the left leads to Helmer’s study. Near the window is a round table, arm-chairs and a small sofa. Engravings on the walls; a cabinet with china and other small objects; a small bookcase with well-bound books” (Ibsen 4).

A masterpiece of creative act that instantly portrays the hypocrisy of the Victorian middle class, a Dolls House was written by Henrik Ibsen in 1879 a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of realism" and is one of the founders of Modernism in theatre. The story takes place on Christmas eve where Nora and Torvald the two main characters represent the importance of gender roles and social image throughout the Victorian era. The conflict of the story is driven by Nora’s forging of loan documents to raise money for an expensive trip to Italy; Krogstad, who had processed the loan, tries to blackmail Nora over the fact that she forged the documents. Nora who risked jeopardizing her husband’s image had set the tone throughout the play as the constant change in personality set the tone of the play which I have really enjoyed due to the unpredictable plot twists and a chance to be engaged with The Victorian culture at that time period.

In the end, Nora inevitably chooses to leave her family. In this decision to as stated “educate” herself, she leaves her children motherless, and runs from a substantial household. Some may say that she was unhappy, but Nora never brought it to Torvald’s attention that she was unhappy and chooses to leave him behind without ever giving