Form and Structure - A Dolls House
By breaking away from the theatrical conventions of his day, Ibsen created "A Dolls House". The playwright experimented with theatrical structures by: deviating from the "well made play" and by using his play as a medium to promote change in the world which in turn shocked audiences. Ibsen wanted the audience to be more involved with the play and used numerous devices to achieve this. His play is laced with symbolism and unusual themes which make the form and structure quite different from the typical play of that era. Naturalism was the hallmark of Ibsen but naturalism contradicted elements of the "well made play". The "well made play" was performed in one act and included an introduction followed by a complication. These complications arose from letters being read by the wrong person which lead to a climax near the end of the play and concluded with a happy ending. However, Ibsen did not believe that all stories had a happy ending. He therefore adapted the "well made play" to include naturalism. Ibsen kept the frame work of the "well made play" but changed the ending to an unhappy one. He also split his play into three acts, following each other chronologically, which meant that there were three times more complications, climaxes and unhappy endings. This took the audience on a rollercoaster of emotions which saw them relating to the characters of the play. The characters
Henrik Ibsen's 'A Doll's House' - review
A play serves as the author's tool for critiquing society. It is rare that a person encounters the ability to rise above accepted social beliefs. Some plays help to reflect controversial issues that the audience can relate to because they interact in the same situations every day. Henrik Ibsen was a Norwegian writer who was known for his critical view upon society. 'A Doll's House' was written in the late 19th Century, this era and its traits are echoed in his play in many ways. Ibsen provides unique analysis and reflection on issues his culture never thought as wrong. In the play he tackles women's rights as a matter of importance being neglected, acknowledging the fact that in 19th Century European life the role of the women to stay home, raise the children, and attend to her husband was unfair. Ibsen shows us this in 'A Doll's House' constantly when Nora is being dominated and controlled by Helmer. Nora is called a number of names by Helmer throughout the play. These include "little songbird", "squirrel", "lark", "little featherhead", "little skylark", "little person", and "little woman". Helmer seems to be particularly consistent about using the modifier "little" before the names he calls Nora. These are all usually followed by the possessive "my", signalling Helmer's belief that Nora belongs only to him. Analysing this type of language you could say that not only is it
Consider the relationship between the use of theatrical space and thematic development in Ibsen's A Doll's House.
Consider the relationship between the use of theatrical space and thematic development in Ibsen's A Doll's House The prominent theme in A Doll's House is that of male supremacy and the subsequent suppression of women's participation in society, particular to the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. In conveying the prevalence of Nora's constraints and the restrictions placed upon her, Ibsen uses subtle visual nuances of space within the setting to compliment and emphasise the idea of imprisonment and limitation. One of the most evident of these being the idea of the set on stage acting as a realist representation of a house, symbolic of the doll's house that Nora, the metaphorical doll, inhabits. This structural division of space into the interior and the exterior of the house carries with it social and cultural implications. Gender roles are spatially defined in relation to the inside and the outside of the house. Traditionally it is the woman who makes the house into a home, her home, while the world of commerce, war, travel, the world outside, is a man's world. Seeing the within and the without in terms of the outdoors and the indoors immediately transforms the theatrical space into a gender-charged environment, naturally fitted for acting out the drama of man and woman, Nora and Torvald. Similarly, in developing the plot of the play Ibsen crafts certain
With close reference to language, analyse Nora's character throughout the play
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen With close reference to language, analyse Nora's character throughout the play. (800 words) In 'A Doll's House' Ibsen's use of language reflects on the dramatic change we see in Nora's character. Ibsen uses issues that arose during the 19th century to construct themes and most importantly build up characters, all with their own distinctive language. Nora's character changes from the beginning of the play to the end and Ibsen does this with the use of her change in language. At the beginning of the play, Nora is still a child in many ways, listening at doors and guiltily eating forbidden sweets behind her husband's back. She has gone straight from her father's house to her husband's, bringing along her nursemaid to emphasize the fact that she's never grown up. She's also never developed a sense of self. She's always accepted her father's and her husband's opinions. And she's aware that Torvald would have no use for a wife who was his equal. But like many children, Nora knows how to manipulate Torvald by pouting or by performing for him. In the end, it is the truth about her marriage that awakens Nora. Although she may suspect that Torvald is a weak, petty man, she clings to the illusion that he's strong, that he'll protect her from the consequences of her act. But at the moment of truth, he abandons her completely. She is shocked into
A Dolls House and Maria
Cand. No: 0220 076 Bryan Vaz January 14, 2005 IB English HL World Literature 1 Word Count: 1,133 In A Doll's House and Medea, both Ibsen and Euripides employ a female protagonist, who is married to an important man in society. In their respective societies, the husbands are considered to have the most amount of power in the relationship. This influences the situations that the protagonist is placed in, and the outcome of the situations affects the audience's attitude toward the protagonist. The power and the position in society that the husband has in society is related to audience's perception of the protagonist. At the beginning of the play, Torvald was just promoted to the manager of the bank. The job places him at a position of power in society as the overseer of a financial body. Torvald illustrates his power to Nora by saying, "I have got the authority from the retiring manager to undertake the necessary changes in the staff and in the rearrangement of work" (Ibsen 26). Through Torvald's description, the audience can see that Torvald has the power to change the fortunes of those under him, including Krogstad. In this respect Torvald holds power over Krogstad, thus placing Krogstad in less powerful bracket. However, this relationship of power is augmented when Krogstad has proof that Nora committed a crime. This affects Nora negatively because she is not only
A Doll 's House Vs. Three Sisters
Katie Moran Miss Mandeville College Composition 1st hr 23 November 2004 A Doll 's House Vs. Three Sisters When reading A Doll's House and Three Sisters there was a lot of comparisons that I noticed. The comparisons were not just between characters, but also the setting and the everyday life situation. Three Sisters was a very good book, and very interesting. When comparing A Doll's House and Three Sisters these are the major comparisons that I found, both Nora and the sisters want to go back to their home town, Irena lives to get up early and work while Nora had no choice, Nora learned everything from her father, and the sisters did not learn hardly anything fro their fathers. In the play A Doll's House it takes place where the husbands are basically in charge of the women. They make all the decisions for them, the way they want it to be done. If women were to speak up to her husband she would be looked down upon. So you can see that it is very important that the wife stay in line with what is expected of her. In the play Three Sisters, they seem to have options. They can choose to work or anything else that they want to do. It is not as if they are free to do as they please, but they have more of a control over themselves; especially when making decisions. In both the plays, Nora and all of the sisters want to go back to their hometown. In A Doll's house, Nora
Plot Summary - A Dolls House
Act 1 It is the Christmas Season: Nora is unwrapping parcels and eating forbidden sweets - macaroons. Her husband, Torvald, enters from his study prompting Nora to hide her sweets. In a patronising tone, he reminds his wife that their wealth is finite upon seeing all the parcels she has bought. His wife responds by saying they can simply borrow money if such is the case but Torvald opposes the idea of debt. Nora, like a child, submits to Torvald. It appears that Torvald and Nora's relationship is more akin to that of a father and daughter. Visitors arrive. Dr Rank, a friend of Torvald, goes to the study whilst Mrs Linde stays with Nora. Mrs Linde has not seen Nora for nine years. She tells Nora of the ordeal she went through when her partner died penniless. Nora informs her friend that she too has had a difficult time with her partner's health which required her borrow money, something that Torvald detests. Nora tells how she borrowed £250 so that she could travel to Italy with her husband in order to cure an illness he was suffering from. Nora says that she borrowed the money from her father. Whilst talking about Torvald, Mrs Linde asks if there is a possibility of employment at the bank. Nora agrees and Mrs. Linde becomes grateful: "especially since you [NORA] know so little of the worries and hardships of life". This annoys Nora, as loaning the money has been worrying,
Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House.
Over time in countries like Canada women have fought for their own rights to gain an equal position in a traditional male-dominating society. As a result, the role of males and females has gradually become more equal. Female characters from older pieces of literature such as Medea in Euripides' play, The Medea, and Nora and Mrs. Linde of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, can be said not only to define the traditional role of women but to show modern readers how much freedom women have gained in some societies since the plays were written as well. The Greeks and the Norwegians were traditional thinking at the time these plays were written - women simply did not have the choice to decide how their lives should be led. The people in these societies thought women could not act as independently as men could. In truth, women are very much capable of doing the same tasks just as well as men if they are given the encouragement. Unfortunately, Medea, Nora, and Mrs. Linde are made to behave like helpless beings. They do not even realise what they are really capable of doing until some dramatic events force them to act independently. Through these characters one can see that what were often thought of as male characteristics, such as the ability to defend, common sense, and pride, are traits that women already possess. The dramatic events that they experience only help them to develop
In A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen focuses on the lack of control women had over their own lives in the 19th century.
In A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen focuses on the lack of control women had over their own lives in the 19th century. Nora has more money than Mrs. Linde but her life is still difficult because she is dominated by her husband. In Act I, there are many hints at the kind of marriage Nora and Torvald have. Nora is like a doll controlled by Torvald, she relies on him for everything. Her job in life is limited to doing housework, taking care of the children, and pleasing her husband. Torvald doesn't trust Nora with money, just as you wouldn't trust a young child. When Torvald does give Nora money, he's worried that she'll waste it on candy, an example of how he tries to control not only her mind but her body as well . The biggest problem with Nora's life is that she is in a position of no power, like a slave. Torvald believes that the duty of a woman is to be a good wife and mother. Torvald controls the way Nora thinks about herself through his treatment of her. He sees women as helpless creatures and tells Nora that women are responsible for the morality of their children. This is not just Torvald's fault, but indicative of the entire Victorian society. Women were repressed with rules, clothes, marriage, and family. The fact that it was illegal for a woman to borrow money without a man signing for her shows society's belief that a woman was to be treated like a child.
Form and structure The skeleton of form and structure of A Dolls House comes from a french piece bien faite which means a well made play.
A Dolls House Form and structure The skeleton of form and structure of A Dolls House comes from a french piece bien faite which means a well made play. Ibsen was introduced to this kind of drama in Bergen, Norway and Oslo. When he was there France was at the frontier of modern drama. Serious play writers in France did not like the bien faite concept and looked down on it as low class entertainment. This type of play always had the same type of plot and characters: The innocent distressed wife , the domineering jealous husband, the cruel villain, guilty secrets. The story line always following the same pattern intrigue and tension, secrets and obstacles until the final pistol shot or embrace. There is also always a moral to the plays Ibsen took this idea and expanded it, instead of having stereotypical 2 dimensional characters Ibsen depict complicated characters that the audience could relate to and identify with. Also the audience can learn something about there world and life through what's on stage for example learn from the characters mistakes like mrs linde and krogstad who loved each other but didn't stay together and so were un happy until they were reunited. Dolls house takes place in a Norwegian town. Interestingly all the scenes take place in one location. The sitting room of the Helmers house, which serves as a room were they receive guests and a family