Having read the first quarter of A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, I was able to just barely scratch the surface of what the rest of the story would be on. Henrik Ibsen generally writes plays that express the general stresses of modern day life by demonstrating the inner pressures and quarrels that hinder the individual. In other words, he illustrates man versus self conflicts in a modern day setting. In his popular piece, A Doll’s House, he follows this specific style very closely. Henrik Ibsen develops the plot of A Doll’s House through the setting he himself sets up. I noticed that the stage directions are very specific down to which side of the room an armchair or a window lay on. The way he sets the mood for this stage play is by putting everything just as he had envisioned it. Either Ibsen has a specific purpose for all of these props, or he just wants to use them to set the specific mood he had planned on.
Another way Henrik Ibsen develops the plot of A Doll’s House through all of the many diverse characters. One of the characters is named Nora Helmer. Nora is the type of person who is outgoing. She is the type of person who tends to be quite liberal with her, or her husband’s newly gained, money. I believe that Ibsen is satirizing women and how they spend money so freely, especially compared to men. Also, it satirizes how women see any sudden flow in of money is an excuse to go out and spend, as Nora did with her husband, Torvald’s, job promotion money(Ibsen 6-7). What Nora does not know was that all of these very qualities were what were going to cause her downfall (Ibsen 17-19). The next character that helps in the development of the plot of A Doll’s House is Torvald Helmer. He is excited about his new promotion at the banks he works at. Torvald is the kind of man who likes to be in charge of all aspects of his life, which unfortunately includes his home life. I noticed that Torvald tends to hold a somewhat father like role over his wife. Some of the ways he keeps her on such a tight leash is by giving her an allowance rather than sharing their money like an equal relationship would and giving her little pet names as you would a child (Ibsen 6-7). I believe this is because he sees her as a trophy wife because Isben makes constant references to her attractive physique (Ibsen 6-10, 16, 18, excreta).
Another character that helps develop A Doll’s House goes by Mrs. Linde. Mrs. Kristine Linde is an old childhood friend of Nora Helmer. In just a few words, Mrs. Lindle can be described as hardworking, levelheaded, and loyal, especially to her friend, Nora (Ibsen 11-20). When analyzing her character traits, many of the features that came to mind matched one specific character from another story. The character that resembles Mrs. Lindle, from the novel by Mark Twain A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, goes by “The Yankee” for most of the novel, but is actually named Hank Morgan.
I love the fact that we have completely different ideas. Like I said before, I feel that Mr. and Mrs. Helmer’s relationship is cute and loving. However, the fact that you said you had more of an eerie feeling about the two does make sense. I mean, it is true that Nora is keeping things from him. Who knows, like you said, that might be something to watch. Maybe it will have an effect on their marriage. Another thing you mentioned was the doll and the doll’s bedstead. I did not even think about that being a form of foreshadowing. I just completely overlooked that (Ibsen 7). You even went as far as to the fact that the characters in the play can be symbols of doll’s in a metaphoric doll house. I love it! Also, now that you mentioned it, I do see Torvald having the potential to be very controlling. He would not even let Nora have some chocolates.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I understand your point about Ibsen having set up the stage for a specific reason, but I do not completely agree with it. I might just be overlooking it again but I just think that that is so specific because that is just how he envisioned it; not because he is trying to set a specific mood.
Another point I like that I did not catch but agree with is the fact that Ibsen is using his characters as satirical figures. For example, you mentioned Nora Helmer as being a satire of a woman obsessed with spending money (Ibsen 6-7). I als o loved that you mentioned that it might also lead to her downfall because of the fact that she is using all this money (Ibsen 16-17). That might even me the author’s message!
When you mentioned Torvald, however, I had a few differences in understanding. I see how you can believe that Torvald “keeps Nora on a leash,” and not equally sharing the money. But I also think that had to do with the time period. After all, in the 1800’s women were treated like dirt. Men would rather die than have a woman control him. So, I still see where you can think that, and I agree that he is controlling! However, I also believe it had something to do with the time period the story is set in.
Karen,
ReplyDeleteI am truly impressed. This is fantastic work: you have great links, you have commented on the text well, and your pictures are both fitting and interesting. My only, small, bit of constructive criticism is that you state that Mrs. Linde is similar to Hank Morgan, but you do not really explain how. Also, your text changes color at that point, but I'm assuming that you just had a small technical error.
Keep up the great work.
20/20