ANALYSIS Of HOW THE DIALOGUE AND THE PLOT ARE

CONTRIBUTED IN NORA HELMER’S DECISION IN “ A

DOLL’S HOUSE” BY HENRIK IBSEN

Compiled by
UMI MARFATHONAH
J1A015036

MINISTRY OF RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY, AND HIGHER

EDUCATION
JENDERAL SOEDIRMAN UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
ENGLISH LITERATURE
PURWOKERTO
2017
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

A. Background of The Study

Nora plays an important role in the “A Doll’s House” play or drama by

Henrik Ibsen. “A Doll’s House” divided into three parts and has the characters
that contributed to it; Torvald Helmer, Nora Helmer, Dr. Rank, Mrs. Linde, Nils
Krogstad, Anne, Ellen, A Porter and the three children. The drama mostly takes
place in Helmer’s house and also where the title “A Doll’s House” referred to.
Nora’s decision of being separated with her husband, Helmer is the case
that will be analyzed in this paper through the analysis of the elements of drama
on her characters and the plot of the story.

B. Research Question

1. How the application of the two elements o drama (plot and characters)
affect Nora’s decision?

C. Purpose

The purposes that will be reached of the paper are:

1. To explore more about the characters’ of Nora through the dialogues.

2. To give the contribution to the development of literary study about Henrik

Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” and as a source to be studied by the needs.
 CHAPTER II

LITERARY REVIEW

Since the Romantic period, literature began to develop from the whole
body of valued writing in society: philosophy, history, essays, and letters, as well
as poems into virtually synonymous with the 'imaginative': to write about what
did not exist, was somehow more soul-stirring and valuable than to pen an
account of Birmingham or the circulation of the blood. The word 'imaginative'
contains an ambiguity suggestive of this attitude: it has a resonance of the
descriptive term 'imaginary', meaning 'literally untrue', but is, also, of course an
evaluative term, meaning 'visionary' or 'inventive'.1 Thus, bases on Aristoteles and
Plate, literary works are divided into lyric, epic, and drama. Barnet (1987:11;306;
411) also stated that literary works are the three genres of fiction, poetry, and
drama. For the next discussion about this term of literature will narrow into
drama.

A. THE DEFINITION OF DRAMA

Drama in etymology derived from the Greek word “drama”, meaning "to
do" or "to perform," the term drama may refer to a single play, a group of plays
("Jacobean drama"), or to all plays ("world drama"). Drama is designed for
performance in a theater; actors take on the roles of characters, perform indicated
actions, and speak the dialogue written in the script. The play is a general term for
a work of dramatic literature, and a playwright is a writer who makes plays. In
Webster’s New World Dictionary (14:1989) drama is defined as "a literary
composition that tells a story, usually of human conflict, by means of dialogue and
action, to be performed by actors". The next famous explanation is stated by
Abraham in A Glossary of Literary Terms, “Drama is the literary form designed

1
EAGLETON, Terry. Literary theory: An introduction. John Wiley & Sons,
2011, p 16.
for the theater, where actors take the roles of the characters, perform the
indicated actions, and utter the written dialogue.” Thus from those statements it
can be concluded that drama has one characteristic, it’s how the play of the
dialogue through the action by the actors. In “A Doll’s House”, the shape of the
drama is a script, so the discussion will analyze about the character in the script,
especially Nora Helmer.

B. THE ELEMENTS OF DRAMA

From the definition of the drama script, there are proper certain features to
be looked for in drama. They are:

1. Theme.
It’s about what the dramatist wants so say about through the story. Drama
being, in a sense, a narrative form of writing, the theme will be found by
examing the trend of the whole work—the conflict with which it deals,
and the nature of its outcome.2
2. Characters.
Characters are the individual who plays in the story. In a drama, the
characterization of the characters usually shown in dialogue, action, and
appearance (this differ drama with other literary works). Characters consist
of the protagonists, the antagonists, the supporting characters.
3. Plot.
The story of the drama consists of certain elements, they are exposition as
the introductory, the conflict on how the story goes, the climax and then
followed by the resolution.3

2
Litle, Graham. 1963. Approach to Literature. Sydney: Science Press.
3
Anderson, Robert, et, al.1993. Elements of Literature. Florida: Holt, Rinehart
and Winston, Inc.
4. Dialogue.
It’s the each speech that contributed to the theme, the characters, and the
plot. In this term of analysis, it can be inferred that the most important
thing to look for all the needs element is dialogue.
 CHAPTER III
DISCUSSION

A. The Information Details About “A Doll’s House”

“A Doll’s House” is the three-act drama by Henrik Ibsen that first

premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879
and also having been published earlier that month. The drama becomes
controversy about a woman that can’t be herself in modern society. The setting of
the drama is in the house of Helmer family in a certain Norwegian town in 1879.
As the year when it’s published, “A Doll’s House” takes the theme about
naturalism which portrays the problem or social life in late 19s. Graham (1963) in
Approach to Literature states that “A serious-minded influence was the
Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen, whose Hedda Gabler, Ghosts, and A Doll’s
House ushered in the era of the thesis or problem play, passing a current social
question in a thought-provoking way.”

The dramatist, Henrik Ibsen was born on March 20, 1828, in Skien,
Norway. In 1862, he was exiled to Italy, where he wrote the tragedy Brand. In
1868, Ibsen moved to Germany, where he wrote one of his most famous works:
the play A Doll's House.

B. The Summary of “A Doll’s House”

The play begins with Nora, Helmer’s wife who just bought Christmas tree
from the porter. Then, her husband come and they have a conversation about
money—what Nora wants for the Christmas but Helmer refused it because he
won’t any extravagance. Nora keeps her statement because she can buy what she
wants for the money, but Helmer said that they still have housekeeping to spend
the money. In the middle of the conversation, Mrs. Linde comes and tells about
how sorrowful her life is and ask for the occupation in Helmer’s family. Then
there’s Krogstad, a fired lawyer that ask Nora to get his job again or the bad
things will come to her. Currently, Mr. Helmer has a position as a manager in a
bank so that Krogstad that know the truth about Nora’s past loan to save her
family forces her to ask the favor with her husband.

The second act is filled most by Nora and Mrs. Linde about their life
marriage, and Nora tells about her secret related to the money that she loaned
when her husband was sick that can danger her marriage, however, her husband
doesn’t permit her to take any money from a loan because it will bring any
troubles or so. Thus, Nora gets the money from illegally borrowing by use her
father’s signature. Followed by the three-act when finally Krogstad meet his past
lover, Mrs. Linde and discuss their occupation, and in the end of the story, Mr.
Helmer found a letter from Mr. Krogstad but isn’t matter again when he received
the second letter for saved his family from any shameless. But, Nora decides to
leave both her husband and her children. Nora here wants to be set free after
waiting for about eight years.

C. Analysis of How The Dialogue and The Plot Are Contributed In Nora’s
Decision.

Jessie Bernard argues in her The Future of Marriage that, whilst both men
and women benefit from marriage, ‘[B]eing married is only half as good for wives
as for husbands’ (Bernard, 1976: 40). Marriage entails compromise for both
partners, but women lose more freedom and autonomy than men, mainly because
they become housewives.

With respect to perceived causes of divorce, women appear to be more

likely than men to refer to relational or emotional issues, such as basic
unhappiness and incompatibility (Cleek & Pearson, 1985), former spouse's
personalities (Kitson, 1992), and a general lack of love (Levinger, 1966). Former
wives also are more likely than former husbands to refer to a cluster of negative
partner behaviors, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, substance use,
going out with “the boys,” and neglect of home and children (Bloom, Niles, &
Tatcher, 1985; Cleek & Pearson, 1985; Kitson, 1992; Levinger, 1966).
 In Nora’s case, she’d rather go to find herself, left the children with the
father because she feels enough about disrespecting husband even it’s nearly late.
The evidence here through the elements of drama will reveal about her decision.

1. Theme.
Based on the summary and the information of the drama, it can be
seen that the theme is naturalism which portrays everyday life problems in
society based on real life in the late 19th and early 20s in Europian drama.
The problem in “A Doll’s House” is a wife or Nora can’t get any respect
from his husband even she saved her financial problem. The evidence is in
the dialogue, “No, only merry. And you have always been so kind to me.
But our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-
wife, just as at home I was papa's doll-child; and here the children have
been my dolls. I thought it great fun when you played with me, just as they
thought it great fun when I played with them. That is what our marriage
has been, Torvald.”

2. Characters.
Here, the characters and the characterization also support on how
Nora’s decision. The play has some characters, and they are:
I. Main characters.
a) Nora Helmer.
She has a childish character yet kind and
mature. At the very first beginning, it shows in Mrs.
Linde’s as the best friend of Nora for a long time,
“Listen to me, Nora. You are still very like a child in
many things, and I am older than you in many ways
and have a little more experience. Let me tell you this-
-you ought to make an end of it with Doctor Rank.”
Then, she also is a kind woman for about her effort to
save her husband by borrowing the money that shows
in, “But it was absolutely necessary that he should
not know! My goodness, can't you understand that? It
was necessary he should have no idea what a
dangerous condition he was in. It was to me that the
doctors came and said that his life was in danger and
that the only thing to save him was to live in the south.
Do you suppose I didn't try, first of all, to get what I
wanted as if it were for myself? I told him how much I
should love to travel abroad like other young wives; I
tried tears and entreaties with him; I told him that he
ought to remember the condition I was in and that he
ought to be kind and indulgent to me; I even hinted
that he might raise a loan. That nearly made him
angry, Christine. He said I was thoughtless, and that
it was his duty as my husband not to indulge me in my
whims and caprices--as I believe he called them. Very
well, I thought, you must be saved--and that was how
I came to devise a way out of the difficulty--”. She is
also such a good friend and humble, it shows when
Mrs. Linde come to her house and she says, “Yes, that
was Doctor Rank, but he doesn't come here
professionally. He is our greatest friend and comes in
at least once every day. No, Torvald has not had an
hour's illness since then, and our children are strong
and healthy and so am I. Christine! Christine! it's
good to be alive and happy!--But how horrid of me; I
am talking about nothing but my own affairs. You
mustn't be angry with me. Tell me, is it really true that
you did not love your husband? Why did you marry
him? ”
 Even she takes the illegal loan, she has the responsible
and modest being of it, it appears on, “Of course. Besides, I
was the one responsible for it. Whenever Torvald has given
me money for new dresses and such things, I have never
spent more than half of it; I have always bought the simplest
and cheapest things. Thank Heaven, any clothes look well on
me, and so Torvald has never noticed it. But it was often very
hard on me, Christine--because it is delightful to be really
well dressed, isn't it?”. Thus, it also shows that actually,
she’s a good wife.

b) Torvald Helmer.
A hard worker in, “I have got authority from the
retiring manager to undertake the necessary changes in the staff
and in the rearrangement of the work; and I must make use of
the Christmas week for that, so as to have everything in order
for the new year.” He’s also egoistic, yet sturdy and
disrespectful for his forbidding her wife to borrow money,
“That is like a woman! But seriously, Nora, you know what I
think about that. No debt, no borrowing. There can be no
freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing
and debt. We two have kept bravely on the straight road so far,
and we will go on the same way for the short time longer that
there need be any struggle.” This is what makes Nora hides her
loan for eight years, even though he infers himself as a good
husband, yet Nora feels no contribution in his life. He also
compares Nora with her father in, “You are an odd little soul.
Very like your father. You always find some new way of
wheedling money out of me, and, as soon as you have got it, it
seems to melt in your hands. You never know where it has gone.
Still, one must take you as you are. It is in the blood; for indeed
it is true that you can inherit these things, Nora.”
c) Nils Krogstad. He’s actually the protagonist that set Nora
free because at the beginning he treats Nora with the bond in,
“Your father died on the 29th of September. But, look here;
your father has dated his signature the 2nd of October. It is a
discrepancy, isn't it? Can you explain it to me? It is a
remarkable thing, too, that the words "2nd of October," as well
as the year, are not written in your father's handwriting but in
one that I think I know. Well, of course, it can be explained;
your father may have forgotten to date his signature, and
someone else may have dated it haphazard before they knew of
his death. There is no harm in that. It all depends on the
signature of the name, and that is genuine, I suppose, Mrs.
Helmer? It was your father himself who signed his name
here?”

d) Christine Linde, she’s also an independent hard worker

woman, it shows on hers, “I could not endure life without
work. All my life, as long as I can remember, I have worked,
and it has been my greatest and only pleasure. But now I am
quite alone in the world--my life is so dreadfully empty and I
feel so forsaken. There is not the least pleasure of working for
one's self. Nils, give me someone and something to work for.”
This also contributes on how Nora makes the decision because
actually Mrs. Linde was Krogstad’s past lover just before she
married with richman and her husband died and left nothing,
then they decide to live together and make Krogstad sets
Halmer’s family free from the secret, it shows on hers, “What
a difference! what a difference! Someone to work for and live
for--a home to bring comfort into. That I will do, indeed. I wish
they would be quick and come-- Ah, there they are now. I must
put on my things.”
 e) Dr. Rank, Helmer’s and so Nora’s best friend, he’s kind man
through the evidence, “Yes, that was Doctor Rank, but he
doesn't come here professionally. He is our greatest friend,
and comes in at least once every day.”

II. Supporting characters.

The next characters are the maid called Ellen, Nurse Anne,
A Porter and the three children of Helmer—Ivar, Bob, and Emmy.

3. Plot.
a) Exposition.
A happy Nora just bought the Christmas tree and the gifts and
then Mrs. Linde come for ask the job. Then followed by Krogstad that
ask Nora to help his position in the bank, he asks the favor because
Mr. Helmer already has a new position in the bank as the manager so
it will ease him to considers again about his position. Krogstad also
has the evidence of her secret about borrowed the money illegally in
the past which not permitted by her husband and will be sent to Mr.
Halmer if she doesn’t. Nora considers his request but his husband
refuses it because he has such a hypocrite and got in corruption. The
evidence in the dialogue, “I don't believe it. Is a daughter not to be
allowed to spare her dying father anxiety and care? Is a wife not to be
allowed to save her husband's life? I don't know much about law, but I
am certain that there must be laws permitting such things as that.
Have you no knowledge of such laws--you who are a lawyer? You
must be a very poor lawyer, Mr. Krogstad.”
b) Conflict.
Krogstad comes again to Nora to bold his request but he
gets a fired letter by Mr. Helmer. The evidence are;

Nora : “Torvald--what was that letter?”

Helmer: “Krogstad's dismissal.”

Nora: “Call her back, Torvald! There is still time. Oh

Torvald, call her back! Do it for my sake--for your
own sake--for the children's sake! Do you hear me,
Torvald? Call her back! You don't know what that
letter can bring upon us.”

And the time when Krogstad gives the letter of Nora’s note about
the fabrication of her dad’s signature:

Krogstad: “Have you forgotten that it is I who have the

keeping of your reputation? Well, now, I have
warned you. Do not do anything foolish. When
Helmer has had my letter, I shall expect a message
from him. And be sure you remember that it is your
husband himself who has forced me into such ways
as this again. I will never forgive him for that.
Goodbye, Mrs. Helmer.”

c) Climax.
The climax happens after the dance, Mr.Helmer finally
finds the letter from Krogstad and angrily behave to Nora. The
evidence is in his dialogue, “What a horrible awakening! All these
eight years--she who was my joy and pride--a hypocrite, a liar--
worse, worse--a criminal! The unutterable ugliness of it all!--For
shame! For shame! I ought to have suspected that something of the
sort would happen. I ought to have foreseen it. All your father's
 want of principle--be silent!--all your father's want of principle has
come out in you. No religion, no morality, no sense of duty--. How
I am punished for having winked at what he did! I did it for your
sake, and this is how you repay me,” and “Now you have destroyed
all my happiness. You have ruined all my future. It is horrible to
think of! I am in the power of an unscrupulous man; he can do
what he likes with me, ask anything he likes of me, give me any
orders he pleases--I dare not refuse. And I must sink to such
miserable depths because of a thoughtless woman!”

d) Resolution.
The second letter came and still from Krogstad for his
regrets and repents--that a happy change in his life, then Mr.
Helmer feels happy because both of them saved. Mr. Helmer
changed his gesture for saying sorry to Nora. But in the resolution,
Nora precisely calm and ask him for the serious talk. Nora wants to
leave him that in her dialogue, “Indeed, you were perfectly right. I
am not fit for the task. There is another task I must undertake first.
I must try and educate myself--you are not the man to help me in
that. I must do that for myself. And that is why I am going to leave
you now,” and “I have waited so patiently for eight years; for,
goodness knows, I knew very well that wonderful thing don't
happen every day. Then this horrible misfortune came upon me,
and then I felt quite certain that the wonderful thing was going to
happen at last. When Krogstad's letter was lying out there, never
for a moment did I imagine that you would consent to accept this
man's conditions. I was so absolutely certain that you would say to
him: Publish the thing to the whole world. And when that was
done--”. Nora decides to set free from his husband, for settled with
him for almost 8 years that she can’t find herself. She stated that
she feels like a doll in that house, so this way on how the title of
the drama means. The evidence that supported it is, “Maybe. But
 you neither think nor talk like the man I could bind myself to. As
soon as your fear was over--and it was not fear for what
threatened me, but for what might happen to you--when the whole
thing was passed, as far as you were concerned it was exactly as if
nothing at all had happened. Exactly as before, I was your little
skylark, your doll, which you would in the future treat with doubly
gentle care because it was so brittle and fragile. Torvald--it was
then it dawned upon me that for eight years I had been living here
with a strange man, and had borne him three children--. Oh, I
can't bear to think of it! I could tear myself into little bits!”

From the exposition, conflict, climax, and the resolution show about how
the story goes and the changing of Nora because of her terrible husband.

4. Dialogue.

As the mentioned dialogue can expose the important details about

characters, plot, and the theme and already explained before to support in Nora’s
decision. As Dempsey (2002) statement that one of the causes of divorce is
negative partner behaviors, in “A Doll’s House” on how disrespect Mr. Halmer’s
attitude to Nora expose her to leave the marriage. It also supported on how about
her character’s changing from the childish and chatty to serious one in, “We have
been married now eight years. Does it not occur to you that this is the first time
we two, you and I, husband and wife, have had a serious conversation?.” She also
clarifies her feeling through, “No, only merry. And you have always been so kind
to me. But our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife,
just as at home I was papa's doll-child; and here the children have been my dolls.
I thought it great fun when you played with me, just as they thought it great fun
when I played with them. That is what our marriage has been, Torvald.” She also
realizes that she’s just a doll in the house and she wants to be free in, “I must
stand quite alone if I am to understand myself and everything about me. It is for
that reason that I cannot remain with you any longer.” Another dialogue that
supports it also appears in;

Helmer: “Do I need to tell you that? Are they not your duties
to your husband and your children?

Nora: “I have other duties just as sacred.”

Helmer: “That you have not. What duties could those be?”

Nora: “Duties to myself.”

Helmer: “Before all else, you are a wife and a mother. “

Nora: “I don't believe that any longer. I believe that before

all else I am a reasonable human being, just as you
are--or, at all events, that I must try and become
one. I know quite well, Torvald, that most people
would think you right, and that views of that kind
are to be found in books; but I can no longer content
myself with what most people say, or with what is
found in books. I must think over things for myself
and get to understand them.”

For another evidence, in the act two also stated that sometimes Nora
imagining that one day she’s founded by richman that falls in love with her and
paid her loan. For the preceding conversation, Nora is done with all marital status
that handcuffed her.
 CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION

“A Doll’s House” is a drama by Henrik Ibsen that was first published at

the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879 and also
having been published earlier that month. The drama becomes controversy about a
woman that can’t be herself in modern society through Nora. Nora decides to
separate with his husband and end up the marriage for her husband disrespectful
being. The decision that Nora made isn’t in just a few years but she had already
considered it for eight years, besides of that, Nora feels that she’s just a doll in her
marriage. The dialogues take the role most to support about Nora’s decision
through the characters and the characterization, the plot with the exposition,
conflict, climax, resolution and then the theme itself.

This is the end of the analysis of this drama and has already answered the
questions on how the dialogue and the plot bring Nora’s characters into her
marriage decision. Thus, the paper is arranged to fulfill Drama subject and hope
that the analysis will be beneficial for everyone. The critics, corrections, and
suggestions for the incompleteness are accepted in order to make a better one.
Thank you.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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