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A DollsHouse Afewlitgennotes

Ibsen's play A Doll's House, written in 1879, helped usher in a new style of realist drama that challenged traditional forms. The play subverted expectations by having Nora leave her family at the end instead of the typical resolution, leaving audiences uncertain. It also broke conventions by featuring complex and flawed main characters like Nora and having a discussion instead of a traditional unraveling in the final act. The play's feminist message of Nora rejecting traditional gender roles for women was highly controversial and revolutionary for its time.

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109 views5 pages

A DollsHouse Afewlitgennotes

Ibsen's play A Doll's House, written in 1879, helped usher in a new style of realist drama that challenged traditional forms. The play subverted expectations by having Nora leave her family at the end instead of the typical resolution, leaving audiences uncertain. It also broke conventions by featuring complex and flawed main characters like Nora and having a discussion instead of a traditional unraveling in the final act. The play's feminist message of Nora rejecting traditional gender roles for women was highly controversial and revolutionary for its time.

Uploaded by

iffinichonchubhair
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Thiswasfoundonline.

Afewinterestinglinesthatcouldbeusedinrelation
toliterarygenreseehighlighted.(andculturalcontextnotfocusedon)

ADoll'sHouseStudyGuide
IbsensADollsHouse(1879),writtenwhileIbsenwasinRomeandAmalfi,
Italy,wasconceivedatatimeofrevolutioninEurope.Chargedwiththe
feverofthe1848Europeanrevolutions,
anewmodernperspective
was
emergingintheliteraryanddramaticworld,challengingtheromantic
tradition.ItisIbsenwhocanbecreditedformasteringandpopularizingthe
realistdramaderivedfromthis
newperspective
.Hisplayswerereadand
performedthroughoutEuropeinnumeroustranslationslikealmostno
dramatistbefore.ADollsHousewaspublishedinCopenhagen,Denmark,
whereitpremiered.

Unexpectedatthetime***

HissuccesswasparticularlyimportantforNorwayandtheNorwegian
language.HavingbeenfreedfromfourcenturiesofDanishrulein1814,
NorwaywasjustbeginningtoshakeoffthelegacyofDanishdomination.A
DollsHousewaswritteninaformofNorwegianthatstillboreheavytraces
ofDanish.Ibsendeliberatelychosea
colloquiallanguagestyle
to
emphasizelocalrealism,thoughT
orvald
Helmerdoesspeakinwhat
MichaelMeyerhasdescribedasstuffyVictorianisms.Ibsenquickly
becameNorwaysmostpopulardramaticfigure.Butitistheuniversalityof
Ibsenswritings,particularlyofADollsHouse,thathasmadethisplayan
oftperformedclassic(seeAStageHistoryfordetailsoftheplayin
performance).

(ItisbelievedthattheplotofADollsHousewasbasedonaneventinIbsensownlife.In1870LauraKieler
hadsentIbsenasequeltoBrand,calledBrandsDaughters,andIbsenhadtakenaninterestinthepretty,
vivaciousgirl,nicknamingherthelark.Heinvitedhertohishome,andfortwomonthsinthesummerof1872,
shevisitedhishomeconstantly.Whenshemarried,acoupleofyearslater,herhusbandfellillandwas
ora
advisedtotakeavacationinawarmclimateandLaura,likeN doesintheplay,secretlyborrowedmoney
tofinancethetrip(whichtookplacein1876).Laurafalsifiedanote,thebankrefusedpayment,andshetold
herhusbandthewholestory.Hedemandedaseparation,removedthechildrenfromhercare,andonlytook
herbackaftershehadspentamonthinapublicasylum.

LauraandNorahavesimilarsoundingnames,buttheirstoriesdiverge.InIbsensplay,Noraneverreturns
home,nordoessheeverbreakthenewstoherhusband.Moreoverherethedifferenceismoststrikingitis
Norawhodivorcesherhusband.ThefinalactoftheplayrevealsTorvaldasgenerousandevensympathetic.

ADollsHousewasthesecondinaseriesofrealistplaysbyIbsen.Thefirst,ThePillarsofSociety(1877),had
causedastirthroughoutEurope,quicklyspreadingtotheavantgardetheatersoftheislandandthecontinent.
Inadoptingtherealistform,Ibsenabandonedhisearlierstyleofsagaplays,historicalepics,andverse
allegories.Ibsenslettersrevealthatmuchofwhatiscontainedinhisrealistdramasisbasedoneventsfrom
hisownlife.Indeed,hewasparticularlyinterestedinthepossibilityoftruewedlockaswellasinwomenin
general.Helaterwouldwriteaseriesofpsychologicalstudiesfocusingonwomen)

OneofthemoststrikingandoftnotedcharacteristicsofADollsHouse
isthewayitchallengesthetechnicaltraditionofthesocalledwellmade
playinwhichthefirstactoffersanexposition,thesecondasituation,
Thiswasthestandardformfromtheearliest
andthethirdanunraveling.
fablesuntilthetimeofADollsHouse,whichhelpedusherinanew,
alternativestandard.Ibsensplaywasnotableforexchangingthelastacts
unravelingforadiscussion,
onewhichleavestheaudienceuncertainabout
howtheeventswillconclude
.Criticsagreethat,untilthelastmomentsof
theplay,ADollsHousecouldeasilybejustanothermoderndrama
broadcastinganothercomfortablemorallesson.Finally,however,when
NoratellsTorvaldthattheymustsitdownanddiscussallthisthathasbeen
happeningbetweenus,theplaydivergesfromthetraditionalform.Withthis
newtechnicalfeature,ADollsHousebecameaninternationalsensation
andfoundedanewschoolofdramaticart.

Additionally,ADollsHousesubvertedanotherdramatictradition.Ibsens
realistdrama
disregardedthetraditionoffeaturinganoldermalemoral
figure.
Dr.Rank
,thecharacterwhoshouldservethisrole,isfarfroma
positivemoralforce.Instead,heisnotonlysickly,rottingfromadisease
pickedupfromhisfathersearliersexualexploits,butalsolascivious,openly
covetingNora.ThechoicetoportraybothDr.Rankandthepotentially
matronly
Mrs.Linde
asimperfecthumansseemedlikeanovelapproachat
thetime.

Therealcomplexity(asopposedtoastylizeddramaticromanticism)of
Ibsenscharactersremainssomethingofachallengeforactors.Many
actressesfinditdifficulttoportraybothasilly,immatureNorainthefirstact
orsoandtheserious,openmindedNoraoftheendofthelastact.Similarly,
actorsarechallengedtoportraythefulldepthofTorvaldscharacter.Many
aretemptedtoplayhimasaslimy,patronizingbrute,disregardingthe
charactersgenuinerangeofemotionandconviction.Suchcomplexity
associatesADollsHousewiththebestofWesterndrama.Theprinted
versionofADollsHousesoldoutevenbeforeithitthestage.

AmoreobviousimportanceofADollsHouseisthefeministmessagethat
rockedthestagesofEuropewhentheplaypremiered.
Norasrejectionof
marriageandmotherhoodscandalizedcontemporaryaudiences
.Infact,the
firstGermanproductionsoftheplayinthe1880susedanalteredending,
writtenbyIbsenattherequestoftheproducers.Ibsenreferredtothis
versionasabarbaricoutragetobeusedonlyinemergencies.

TherevolutionaryspiritandtheemergenceofmodernisminfluencedIbsens
choicetofocusonanunlikelyhero,ahousewife,inhisattackon
middleclassvalues.
QuicklybecomingthetalkofparlorsacrossEurope,
theplaysucceededinitsattempttoprovokediscussion.Infact,itisthe
numerouswaysthattheplaycanbereadandinterpretedthatmaketheplay
sointeresting.Eachnewgenerationhashadadifferentwayofinterpreting
thebook,fromseeingitasfeministcritiquetotakingitasaHegelian
allegoryofthespiritshistoricalevolution.Thisrichnessisanothersignofits
greatness.

Yetpreciselywhatsortofplayisit?GeorgeSteinerclaimsthattheplayis
foundedonthebeliefthatwomencanandmustberaisedtothedignityof
man,butIbsenhimselfbelievedittobemoreabouttheimportanceof
selfliberationthantheimportanceofspecificallyfemaleliberationyethis
contemporaryStrindbergcertainlydisagreed,himselfcallingtheplaya
barbaricoutragebecauseofthefeminismheperceiveditaspromoting.
TherearemanycomicsectionsintheplayonemightarguethatNoras
songbirdandsquirrelacts,aswellasherearlyflirtatiousconversations
withherhusband,areespeciallyhumorous.Still,likemanymodern
productions,ADollsHouseseemstofittheclassicaldefinitionofneither
comedynortragedy.Unusuallyforatraditionalcomedy,attheendthereis
adivorce,notamarriage,andtheplayimpliesthatDr.Rankcouldbedead
asthefinalcurtainfalls.Butthisisnotatraditionaltragedyeither,forthe
endingofADollsHousehasnosolidconclusion.
Theendingnotablyisleft
wideopen:thereisnobrutalevent,nocatharsis,justambiguity.Thisisa
playthatdefiesboundaries.

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