A+Doll's+House

=**Title of the Work**= //A Doll's House// =Author= Henrik Ibsen =Nationality/Ethnic Background= Nationality: Norwegian Race: Caucasian =Genre and Sub-genres= Realism Naturalism Modern Drama =Pertinent Biographical Information= Born in Skien, Norway on March 20, 1828, Henrik Ibsen was the second of six children. Ibsen was born into one of the most distinguished families in Norway. His father unfortunately went bankrupt when he was 8, so Ibsen was forced to grow up in complete poverty. The drastic switch in the family's lifestyle caused Ibsen's mother to turn to religion for comfort, while Ibsen's father simply became depressed. Many characters in Ibsen's later works are symbolic of his parents, and their tragic downfall. Because of the family's aforementioned poverty, Ibsen was forced to interrupt his education and abandon school at the age of fifteen. At 18, Ibsen fathered an illegitimate child whom he had to financially support without ever getting to see the child. While living in Italy, Ibsen published //A Doll's House// in 1879. Henrik Ibsen is frequently referred to as the "father" of modern theater and a founder of Modernism. In his time, European theater was expected to demonstrate strict family morals and societal values, but Ibsen surpassed the stereotypical views of theater and portrayed society more realistically, as it really was. =Literary Historical Period/Movement and Pertinent Background= Realist Movement/Naturalism-A European movement that surrounded the theater in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement depicted a perfect illusion of reality while eliminating any fantasy based icons. =Major Characters, Their Relationships, Their Conflicts= =Brief Plot Summary= The play opens on Christmas Eve as Nora Helmer's husband, Torvald, enters and scolds her for spending too much money on gifts. The maid, Helene, announces the arrival of an old friend, Dr. Rank, as a second visitor arrives as well. The second friend,Kristine Linde, is discovered to be Nora's old friend from school. The two women discuss their lives, and it is mentioned that Mrs. Linde's husband had passed away and left her with no money. Mrs. Linde then explains she hopes Torvald will be able to help her find employment. Nora mentions to Kristine that Torvald had become sick once and they took an emergency trip to Italy for medicine. She also reveals she illegally took money to pay for the trip and is now saving up money to pay back what was stolen. A man named Krogstad, who works under Torvald, arrives at the house as well, and he talks to Mrs. Helmer about the possibility of him being fired by her husband. Krogstad blackmails her into talking to Torvald out of firing him reminding her of the paper he has that contains a signature she had forged. When Krogstad had left, Nora talked to Torvald to prevent Krogstad's unemployment and her forgery being discovered. However, Torvald insists Krogstad is an immoral man and should be fired. The next day, Christmas day, Mrs. Linde talks with Nora and Nora tells her about Dr. Rank's mortal illness. Mrs. Helmer continues to talk to Torvald about not firing Krogstad. The two argue until Torvald mails out Krogstad's notification of dismissal. Dr. Rank arrives and reveals he feels he is close to death. He then tells Nora he is in love with her. As Dr. Rank leaves, Krogstad arrives questioning Nora about his letter of dismissal. He continues the blackmail by insisting he is to be re-hired to a higher position than earlier. Krogstad then places a letter containing information about Nora's forgery and debt in the locked mailbox only Torvald has a key to. The next night, at a costume party, it is discovered Mrs. Linde and Krogstad were and are still in love. Because the two of them decide to get back together, in good spirits, Krogstad tries to take the blackmail letter back. The letter, however, is unable to be returned. Later that night, Torvald finds the letter in the box. At first, he is outraged and says horrible things to Nora. As a second letter, containing Nora's returned contract from Krogstad, is revealed, Torvald tries to take back his words. However, Nora claims the two of them do not understand each other, and he treats her like a "doll" to be played around with. Nora leaves Torvald saying she is going to find herself. =Motifs (Recurring Images, Ideas, Figures of Speech, Symbols, Colors) & Their Thematic Significance= =Other Significant Thematic Elements (Significant Character's Names, Significant Quotations, Significant Actions/Events)= In the play A Doll's House, there is an interesting correlation of character names to some of the themes within. For example, the name Nora means light, or one who is bright. Also, the name Torvald means the ruler. Because the author chose to use these particular names he is drawing attention to the ideas of possession, and how such feelings towards humans should be broken. In an effort to break away from the suggested themes of the novel Nora says to Torvald “When I look back on it, it seems to me that I was living here like a pauper-from hand to mouth. The whole reason for my existence was to perform tricks for you, Torvald. But that’s what you wanted. You and Papa have committed a great sin against me. It is your fault that I have made nothing of my life.” (Ibsen P.111) Through this significant dismissal of her previous life, Nora brings light, like her name, to the dark blindness which is society. Thus the reader recognizes how people are equal cannot be possessed or belittled, like Torvald and society has done to Nora. -"From now on, forget happiness. Now it's just about saving the remains, the wreckage, the appearance" This quote, spoken by Torvald, shows how important image and appearance is to him. He would rather hide the forgery than take responsibility for Nora's actions and Earlier in the play, Torvald tells Nora that he wants to be with her primarily for her good looks. With this fact and quote, Torvald reveals that he is shallow and cares more about the appearance of happiness than actually being happy with his life. =Major Themes= In the play __A Doll's House__, the following themes are presented throughout the work:
 * Nora- The protagonist of the story. Married the stereotypical image of a husband, Torvald Helmer. Nora initially seems childlike and sheltered. Nora seems to be blinded to anything extending the reach of her home, but as the play progresses signs of rebellion appear to hint at her new found understanding and freedom from her oppressive husband.
 * Torvald- The oppressive husband to Nora. Torvald treats Nora in a childish manner because he views her as a trophy wife. Torvald plays along with the current societal belief that there is no equality in the marriage. Torvald within the length of the play receives a promotion to an authoritative possition at the bank. Torvald has a character flaw in terms of how he seemingly requires the acceptance and respect of society.
 * Krogstad- A lawyer who went to school with Torvald and currently holds a lower position at the bank. Although his evil actions seem to grow from a desire to protect his children from misfortune, he is perfectly willing to use ill-advised tactics to achieve his goals. His willingness to allow Nora to suffer is suprising, but he claims to feel sympathy for her and the hard circumstances of his own life compel us to feel bad for him.
 * Mrs. Linde- Nora's childhood friend, appears to be the sensible one in the play. She acts as a foil to Nora because Linde has a down to earth view and has experienced poverty, unlike Nora. Mrs. Linde also took care of her sick parents while Nora left her father to die on his own.
 * Dr. Rank- Torvald's best friend. He is unconcerned with what other people think about him unlike essentially every one else in the play. He accepts his sickness both literally and figuratively speaking, unlike Nora and Torvald. His impending death is what drives him to admit his ways to Nora, but he hides his illness from Torvald.
 * Bob, Emmy and Ivar- Nora and Torvald's three children. Nora loves her children but refuses to take care of them later in the novel because she believes she is corrupting them.
 * Anne-Marie- The caretaker of Bob, Emmy, and Ivar. Anne-Marie had to give up her own daughter for the job, symbolizing those in society who have had to sacrifice their own hapiness out of economic necessity.
 * Nora's father- Nora blames her father for her submissive lifestyle.
 * Nora's Idea of Freedom- Nora's definition of freedom changes throughout the play. First she thinks of freedom as being free from her debt with Krogstad. Later she begins to realize that she isn't truly happy in her submissive relationship with Torvald, and at the end of the play she decides to leave him to pursue her own lifestyle and chase after her own dreams.
 * Letters- The letters written by Krogstad appear to dictate Nora's actions throughout the play. The first, telling of Nora's crime, drives the plot along in Nora's attempt to prevent Torvald from reading it. The second, returning Nora's forgery, represents freedom, not only from blackmail but from Torvald, who revealed his selfish nature.
 * The Christmas Tree- The tree, meant only as a decoration, represents Nora's lack of authority in her home. It emphasizes that she is a "doll" to be dressed up and presented. The tree is disarranged in the second act, corresponding with the change in Nora.
 * New Year's Day- The start of the new year signals the start of a new chapter in Torvald and Nora's lives. The life they had before ends and Nora begins her new life as an independent woman.
 * The expected servitude of women-In the play men refuse to sacrifice their integrity while all women, in every societal aspect, are demanded to. Mrs. Linde had to abandon her true love (Krogstad) because he was too poor to support her. Society forced her to marry a richer man that she harbored no love for. The nanny reveals that she had to sacrifice her children in order to maintain the opportunity to be Nora's caretaker. Nora is financially more secured than the previously mentioned female characters, but still falls victim to how Torvald is expected to dominste the marriage. Nora must work in secret to pay off ht eloan she secretly took behind Torvald's back because it was seen as illegal for a woman to take out a loan without her husband's permission. These acts of secrecy leave Nora vulnerable to Krogstad's pending blackmail. Nora must sacrifice her children, even though she has a deep love for them. Nora leaves them with the nanny seeing her as a better mother than she could be.
 * The role of the parent to protect and guard their children-Parent's are obligated to be pure, honest and caring for thier children. It is believed that the corruption of the parent is passed down to the children so the parents must uphold a high societal standard. Dr. Rank suggests that his fathers misfortunes were passed to him which led to the action of Dr. Rank corrupting his own son. Torvald believes the same idea in how he scolds Nora for potentially corrupting his children so forbids her from coming in contact with them.
 * The misleading gap between appearance and reality can dramatically impact events and outcomes in people's lives- Each character in a Doll's House is initially portrayed in one stereotypical way, but as the play progresses, each character develops in such a manner that proves these assumptions as false. Nora initially is childish, shallow and simple minded, but through the sacrifice of her children and actions frowned upon by society we see a strong willed woman with independent thought. Torvald is portrayed as the picture perfect husband, strong, passionate and caring, but the actions that unfold in the play prove Torvald as a coward and selfish man.