Names: Nate Faust, Brianna Calleros, Dylan Devlieger
Author:
Henrik Ibsen
Title:
A Doll’s House
When it was written:
1879
How it’s organized:
It is a play
Characters:
●Nora- Main Protagonist. Wife of Torvald. Initially seemed dumb and unaware of outside life but ultimately it’s understood that she does have knowledge of the outside world.
●Torvald- Nora’s husband. Doesn’t treat Nora as an equal. Has a nice position at the bank.
●Mrs. Linde- Nora’s childhood friend. The opposite of Nora in pretty much every single way.
●Krogstad- Friend of Torvald. Uses unethical tactics to achieve his goals. Let’s Nora suffer.
●Dr. Rank- Best friend to Torvald. Deathly ill but doesn’t share with Torvald the news. Does not care what others think of him which is a rarity in the play.
●Nora’s father- Although he is dead before the play starts he is mentioned on multiple occasions
●Anne-Marie- Nanny to the children.
●Bob, Emily, and Ivar- Nora and Torvald’s children.
Plot Summary: The marriage between Nora and Torvald can be described as a very strict relationship, for the reason that Torvald manipulates Nora in what she can and can’t do. The Helmer family recently had financial problems when Torvald got sick just until he got a new job at the bank. When Torvald got sick they left to Italy to cure his sickness and due to the financial problems at the time, they did not have the money to pay off the medical bill. Nora had borrowed from a friend but told Torvald that it was her father’s money, since then she’s been holding the secret from her husband. Mrs. Linde, an old friend of Nora’s, seeks Nora for a job at the bank Torvald works at and for her to get the job Krogstad must be fired and Krogstad is the mysterious person that lent Nora the money for the trip to Italy. Krogstad blackmails Nora about sending a letter to Torvald and telling him everything; she tries her best to keep Krogstad’s job but Torvald wouldn’t listen. All throughout the play,Torvald calls Nora names that aren’t human related to show the control he has over her and how he manipulates her. Towards the end when Krogstad loses his job, he sends the letter to Torvald and when Torvald reads it he begins to call Nora all kinds of names until Mrs. Linde comes in and changes his mind. He then begins to apologize but Nora had already gotten tired of how he treated her so she left him and chose what she wanted to do for once, and that was to figure out the world and herself.
Point of view:
Narration
2 Lit Devices:
Symbolism: The setting of the play is towards the end of the year around Christmas time and New Years, both symbolising times of renewal and change.The Christmas tree represents Nora's state of mind. At the beginning of the play the tree is healthy and decorated which corresponds to Nora's mind and how she is healthy.Towards the second and third act the tree starts to lose feature and whittle just like Nora's state of mind.
Foreshadowing: Foreshadowing is shown through many little things in this play like with Nora eating her macaroons which shows us her rebellious spirit which foreshadows her rebellion in the future. Also Nora's comments foreshadow her abandonment of her children.
Theme:
Sacrificial Role of Women: The two women in this play, Nora and Mrs. Linde, each have their way of showing the different ways they’ve dealt with financial problems. Nora had to go behind her husband’s back and get a loan to help his sickness, and it was illegal for women to take loans without their husband’s permission is a risk Nora took. Also, Nora’s abandonment of her children is a sacrifice as a mother that she chose to take. Mrs. Linde left the love of her life to marry a richer man to provide for her mother and two brothers and that shows that women during this time had to do things they did not want to do but did it anyway to get by.
The Unreliability of Appearances: From the beginning of the play it shows how the readers would expect the characters to be all throughout the play but turns it around they become the complete opposite. For example, Torvald appears to be the strong and loving husband, but as it continues it is showed that he cowardly and selfish. Nora first shows that she’s a silly and childish woman but later shows that she is smart, independent, and brave. Krogstad first shows that he is a scandal but at the end shows that he is sympathetic.
Quotes:
“Free. To be free, absolutely free. To spend time playing with the children. To have a clean, beautiful house, the way Torvald likes it.”
This Quote by Nora perfectly reflects the title of the play. A Doll’s house constricts life and that is exactly what Nora feels. It shows how everything is encircled and that there is no way to free herself from it until she can pay Krogstad back. Until then she will remain a simple puppet in life.
“I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald. That’s how I’ve survived. You wanted it like that. You and Papa have done me a great wrong. It’s because of you I’ve made nothing of my life.”
Nora tells this to Torvald and it represents her character amazingly well. Nora has spent her life being a puppet to Torvald and her father. Torvald disrespects her by treating her like a small child and clearly making a point that she is inferior to him. She has made a life of doing this but ultimately realized that she really hasn’t had much of a life at all. This ties into her character development since at the beginning of the story she was perfectly fine with being an inferior person to Torvald but as the play develops she realizes she isn’t inferior after all and that she is in fact an equal to Torvald.
“One day I might, yes. Many years from now, when I’ve lost my looks. Don't laugh. I mean, of course, a time will come when Torvald is not as devoted to me, not quite so happy when I dance for him, and dress for him, and play with him.”
In this quote is is clear we see that Nora is clear that she knows how looks play into a marriage and how age can affect it by if they do become less attractive or lose their attractive spark that they man and or the marriage will deteriorate.