Social Historical Bacground - A Dolls House
Social and Historical - "A Dolls House" "A Dolls House" was first published in Copenhagen, Denmark in December 1879. The first edition of the play flew of the shelves with 8000 copies sold within the first month. The play was then staged at Copenhagen's Royal Theatre on the 21st of December of the same year. This allowed people who had read the manuscript (men), as well as those people who could not read (women), the chance to see Ibsen's visual representation of his play. Women were less likely to read as they were less likely to attend school. Therefore, when men and women attended theatres a difference of opinion arose. Women were for the independence of Nora whilst men found it scandalous. However, both genders found elements of the play scandalous such as the lack of a happy ending, a sign of naturalistic drama of which Ibsen was a master. Most other playwrights of the time were still writing plays which adhered to the conventions laid out by Ancient Greek tragedy: the play must be in verse and about people of high social status. "A Dolls House" featured simple prose and was about people of different statutory. The Royal Theatre was frequented by both people of high status and low status. This only scandalised audiences even more as the higher status audiences were disgusted whilst lower status audience members applauded Ibsen. "A Dolls House" was the centre of
How does the character of Nora Helmer develop during Act Two?
How does the character of Nora Helmer develop during Act Two? At the beginning of Act Two, Ibsen interestingly uses the "stripped and dishevelled" Christmas tree to reflect Nora's restless, precarious state of mind. From this point onwards, she knows that she must build a façade over the next few days, which is dramatic irony considering that the audience is already aware that the whole marriage is a façade, and that it is Krogstad's actions which are pulling away the illusions surrounding Nora and Torvald's relationship. Nora's first passage, coupled with the stage directions that break up the dialogue, accentuate her troubled mindset very clearly. Ibsen uses short, broken sentences, such as "Nor tomorrow." and "Quite empty." to represent Nora's flow-of-consciousness in contrast to her usually polished dialogue, such as that with Mrs Linde in Act One. The playwright also hints at a slide into madness with the line "Silly, silly." which shows Nora berating herself as if she were scolding a child, also signifying the fact that she is powerless in the face of dominant men, such as Krogstad and Torvald. When Nora says, "Why, I've got three small children", the audience is reminded of Torvald's opinions on criminal mothers and Nora's fearful reaction at the end of Act One, giving Ibsen the perfect opportunity to show how this has developed. When Nora calmly tells Anne-Marie