Inquiry on "The Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen

International Baccalaureate World Literature

My Good Question

What role does the Tarantella as a dance and as a spider play in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House?

My Analysis

The Tarantella is an Italian folk dance that originated from the end result of being bitten by a Tarantella spider. Painful and, in most cases, deadly, someone bitten by the Tarantella usually moves around widely in agony, and in the process of such wide and haphazard movements, ends up sweating the poison out of their system.

In Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, the Tarantella dance expresses one of the play’s central themes: the idea that an uncomfortable truth, though it may cause authentic pain misinterpreted as a deadly poison, may be in fact the only medicine that could heal Nora and Mrs. Linde’s marriage.

Relating the dance to its origins, some characters display spider-like characteristics. Nora sees Krogstad himself as a deadly spider, threatening to destroy the happiness of her marriage by injecting his venom – the letter revealing the Nora’s forgery of Mrs. Linde’s name – into her life. Krogstad’s intimidation to expose Nora’s forgery results in a desperate attempt on Nora’s behalf to hide her distress and find a way out of her dilemma – that is, a way to get the poison out of her system. Her mental and physical pains are manifested in her rapid and, often, undirected movements.

The action of Krogstad depositing the letter in the mailbox, it takes on the semblance of a spider. This point reflects the image of a tarantella is introduced. For stopping Mrs. Linde from getting the letter, Nora insists that Mrs. Linde help her rehearse her dance for the next night. While rehearsing Nora starts dancing faster and faster until everyone starts to call for her... but she is so caught up that she does not even hear their cries, until she collapse in exhaustion onto the floor.

After she finished dancing Mrs. Linde comments, "you dance as if your ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

After she finished dancing Mrs. Linde comments, "you dance as if your life were at stake." Similarly, after she actually dances at the party, Mrs. Linde tells Nora that it went well but that "the performance was a trifle too realistic." Of course, as far as Nora is concerned, her life is a stake. She is not performing at all, but "dancing" to save everything that matters to her. The letter that is in the mailbox is to Nora the deadly poison of the tarantella, and that will destroy her marriage and her life.

Just like a powerful medicine, the truth contained in that letter delivers a shock to the marriage that it ‘dies’ instantaneously. Once the truth has been administered, Nora and Mrs. Linde discuss their marital situation seriously like a patient whose illness has been treated by a doctor through drastic means.

Word Count: 423

My Good Question

How does Nora’s metamorphosis from a dependent wife into an independent woman symbolize that of a caged bird being set free in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House?

My Analysis

The play’s opening reveals Torvald as the stereotypically strong, dignified husband while Nora is "little skylark twittering" (148). Torvald’s continual reference to Nora using bird names parallels Nora’s image of herself. Torvald continually refers to Nora as his "little featherbrain," his "little scatterbrain," his "squirrel sulking", and most importantly his "song bird." These images of weak birds characterize Nora as a weak person. The simple twittering, little birds we see every day are very susceptible to cold weather and to dying, as is Nora. The image of a "little featherbrain" and a "little scatterbrain" indicate stupidity. When Nora eats macaroons, Nora eats them in fear of getting caught and instead of sharing with him her love for macaroons she hides it. Instead of standing up for her rights as a human being to eat what she likes, she acts as a little bird afraid of her master’s wrath.

Nora’s struggle for independence is foreshadowed by the ‘fancy dress party’. Before the party takes place, Nora has never stepped foot outside of her house. All the places where she seems to be are places with walls. We never see her step outside alone. The only time she does leave the house is to go to another place with walls. Nora’s seclusion and her constant indoor state symbolizes her imprisonment. She is caged as a bird would be caged. She cannot fly away until she retains her independence; however, her going to the party signifies the fact that she is attempting to break free.

The play’s ending reveals the truth of Torvald’s character, where Nora finally breaks free as a lark from his grasp and his imprisonment. Her long expected "miracle" never took place for Torvald showed his selfish character. Torvald has stopped referring to Nora using bird imagery. He has finally noticed that she has a character strength that far exceeds his own. Instead of her relying on him, he is dependent upon her, "but to lose you—to lose you, Nora! No, no, I can’t even imagine it…" (230). Nora, on the other hand, has set herself free. Instead of her using his "great wings" (223) to protect her, she breaks free of their "warm and cozy home" (223) and says "I set you free from [your obligations]. You’re not to feel yourself bound in anyway, nor shall I" (231). In setting her husband free, Nora has set herself free to fly like a young bird seeking independence from its mother.

Nora’s struggle to break free of her caged prison at the beginning of the play is weak and child-like. She finally, after realizing Torvald's true character, breaks free of her cage and does what birds do best—fly.

Word Count: 449