Analysis of Doll House Play
Mrs. Mary Rorke
English 102
1st Nov. 2005
"A Doll House"
A critical Analysis
When Nora slammed the door shut in her doll's house in 1879, her message sent shockwaves around the world that persist to this day. "I must stand quite alone", Nora declared after finding out that her ideal of life was just a imagination of her and that all her life had been build up by others people's, specifically her husband and her dad ideas, opinions and tastes.
Nora is the pampered wife of an aspiring bank manager Torvald Halmer. In a desperate attempt to saves her husband's life Nora once asked for a loan so she and her family could move somewhere where her husband could recover from his sickness. Giving the circumstances she, as a woman of that period, by herself and behind her husband forged her dad signature to receive the loan. Now, Nora's lender (Mr. Krogstad), despite her paying punctually, uses that fault as a fraud to pressure her so she could help him to keep his job in the Bank where her husband is going to be the manager. Nora finds out that Torvald would fire Mr. Krogstad at any cost. At learning this, Nora trembles for she knows Mr. Krogstad will tell everything to Torvald. She remains confident; however that Torvald will stand by her no matter what outcome. His reaction though is not what she expected and therefore here is when she realizes that she "must stand quite alone" and leaves her husband.
From the time A Doll's House was performed for first time (1879) till now, there have been all sorts of interpretation and critics about its message. According to Mr. Mayer's files critics considered that the A Doll's House message was that "a marriage was not sacrosanct, that a man's authority in his home should not go unchallenged". Another similar critics' interpretation is also stated in Mayer's file that profiles the play as a women's right play. Other critics support and agree with what Ibsen stressed as the main theme of the play stated
English 102
1st Nov. 2005
"A Doll House"
A critical Analysis
When Nora slammed the door shut in her doll's house in 1879, her message sent shockwaves around the world that persist to this day. "I must stand quite alone", Nora declared after finding out that her ideal of life was just a imagination of her and that all her life had been build up by others people's, specifically her husband and her dad ideas, opinions and tastes.
Nora is the pampered wife of an aspiring bank manager Torvald Halmer. In a desperate attempt to saves her husband's life Nora once asked for a loan so she and her family could move somewhere where her husband could recover from his sickness. Giving the circumstances she, as a woman of that period, by herself and behind her husband forged her dad signature to receive the loan. Now, Nora's lender (Mr. Krogstad), despite her paying punctually, uses that fault as a fraud to pressure her so she could help him to keep his job in the Bank where her husband is going to be the manager. Nora finds out that Torvald would fire Mr. Krogstad at any cost. At learning this, Nora trembles for she knows Mr. Krogstad will tell everything to Torvald. She remains confident; however that Torvald will stand by her no matter what outcome. His reaction though is not what she expected and therefore here is when she realizes that she "must stand quite alone" and leaves her husband.
From the time A Doll's House was performed for first time (1879) till now, there have been all sorts of interpretation and critics about its message. According to Mr. Mayer's files critics considered that the A Doll's House message was that "a marriage was not sacrosanct, that a man's authority in his home should not go unchallenged". Another similar critics' interpretation is also stated in Mayer's file that profiles the play as a women's right play. Other critics support and agree with what Ibsen stressed as the main theme of the play stated
Cited: 1. Johnston, Brian. Text and Supertext in Ibsen 's Drama. Pennsylvania : The Pennsylvania State University , 1932. 2. Templeton, Joan. Ibsen 's Women. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1997. 3. Tennant, P.F.D. Ibsen 's Dramatic Technique. New York : Hummanities Press Inc., 1948. 4. Meyer, Michael. Ibsen 's on file. London and New York : Methuen London Ltd., 1985. 5. Ford, Karen. "Social contrains and painful growth in A Doll 's House". Expanded Academic ASAP. Methodist College , Fayetteville , NC . 30 Octuber 2005 6. Hopkins, Anthony and Bloom Claire. A Doll 's House video recording. Southgate Entertainment." 1989. 7. Rekdal, Anne Marie. " The female Jouissance An Analysis of Ibsen 's Et dukkehjem. Expanded Academic ASAP. Methodist College , Fayetteville , NC . 30 Octuber 2005