Doll House Extravaganza
Since we already went to town on discussing the foils in “A Doll’s House” I kind of want to just focus on hidden meanings and such. The most prevalent, in my opinion, would be Nora’s character development.
For Nora, I see the entire play as her stages of growing up. For example, she starts in the beginning as a “little sulking squirrel” (Ibsen 556) who begs for money while making sounds like an animal. In the film, she’s portrayed as what looks like the most pathetic housewife in the world who literally degrades herself to get something she wants. Also, Torvald is seen restricting Nora from eating her macaroons, and to make matters worse, her does it in front of company. Not only is the restriction of cookie consumption a very condescending act, but when Torvald does so in front of their guests, it further proves how much he truly owns her. Her animal imitations, her complete dedication to Torvald and her economic and social dependence on Torvald show just how immature she really is. She has the exact same qualities as a child. However, by the end of the play, she is seen leaving Torvald and the children and making Torvald beg for her compassion. Some of the things she says in the final scene like “Oh Torvald, I’ve stopped believing in miracles” (Ibsen 589), make her seem like a completely new, matured person. Pretty much, the transition from Act I to Act III seemed to me as a perfect replica of how a child transitions into an adult, and Nora’s was the perfect example of showing this in effect.
Works Cited:
Ibsen, Henrik. “A Doll’s House.” Literature: A World of Writing. Ed. Joseph Terry. New York: Pearson Education, 2011. 555-589. Print.
For Nora, I see the entire play as her stages of growing up. For example, she starts in the beginning as a “little sulking squirrel” (Ibsen 556) who begs for money while making sounds like an animal. In the film, she’s portrayed as what looks like the most pathetic housewife in the world who literally degrades herself to get something she wants. Also, Torvald is seen restricting Nora from eating her macaroons, and to make matters worse, her does it in front of company. Not only is the restriction of cookie consumption a very condescending act, but when Torvald does so in front of their guests, it further proves how much he truly owns her. Her animal imitations, her complete dedication to Torvald and her economic and social dependence on Torvald show just how immature she really is. She has the exact same qualities as a child. However, by the end of the play, she is seen leaving Torvald and the children and making Torvald beg for her compassion. Some of the things she says in the final scene like “Oh Torvald, I’ve stopped believing in miracles” (Ibsen 589), make her seem like a completely new, matured person. Pretty much, the transition from Act I to Act III seemed to me as a perfect replica of how a child transitions into an adult, and Nora’s was the perfect example of showing this in effect.
Works Cited:
Ibsen, Henrik. “A Doll’s House.” Literature: A World of Writing. Ed. Joseph Terry. New York: Pearson Education, 2011. 555-589. Print.