Arko Dewri

Mr. Murguia

AP Literature, Period 4

29 March 2013

Ace Review

Play: "A Doll's House"

General Reactions:

1. The play begins in the household of the Helmer family. The audience can see Nora, the

wife and mother of the family, being treated in a demeaning manner by Torvald, the

husband and father of the family; Nora behaves in sort of a child-like manner being

disciplined by Torvald. A friend of Nora's comes to visit her to whom she confesses

about her secret debt. Nora communicates to both her friend and to the audience that she

had committed forgery to acquire money to fund for a trip to Italy in order to cure

Torvald from his malady a couple of years prior, and she is very concerned about it; later,

it is found that Nora took the money from a man named Krogstad. In the meantime,

Krogstad is fired from his job by Torvald because Nora's friend was going to get that job.

As a result, Krogstad blackmails Nora to pursue Torvald to put Krogstad back to his job,

otherwise he would produce a scandal against Nora and Torvald revealing the truth of

Nora's actions. So, frightened Nora tries her best to convince Torvald, but fails at last.

Subsequently, Krogstad leaves a letter to Torvald revealing the truth of the fact. When in

the end Torvald reads the letter, he is outraged and treats Nora very badly. However,

consequently, Krogstad reveals his change of mind about disclosing the scandal to others

and vows to never harass the Helmers again. Following that Torvald expresses his joy

and happiness to Nora, but Nora had already seen the true characteristic of Torvald. So,
 she decides to leave Torvald and the family to pursue her own destiny of independence as

a self-relied individual.

2. The phrase in the play that allured the most focus is the statement by Nora, "I have been

performing tricks for you, Torvald," that alludes to the idea of gender role and the

sacrificial nature of women. This phrase as well as this ideology produces the image of

Nora being a doll that serves the purpose of entertaining her husband, Torvald. Nora had

been seen in the play to act as a delicate plaything that functions merely as a decorative

model. She takes her actions under the dominance of Torvald and his constantly

disciplined by him in a demeaning manner, like a child being disciplined by a parent. The

intentional focus diverts the gender role concept, portraying how the role of women in the

society was to take care of her family while the role of men was to exert control over the

women; in addition, the women were treated far more unfairly, despite their outmost

dedication to their families. Hence, the phrase stated above resonates the image and

philosophy of feminism through the account of Nora's life.

3. The most important word of the play is probably the term "doll-wife," and the most

important phrase of the play is possibly the quotation by Nora, "Our home has been

nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife." This word and this phrase create the

most important image that describes Nora's existence as Torvald's plaything. The image

is important as it reflects the central philosophy of the play, the undignified role of

women and the male censorship upon them. Through her life history, Nora commutes

that she had been treated as a toy all throughout her life, first by her father and later by

her husband. Such details illustrate the fundamental theme of the play regarding the

sacrificial nature of women, which allude to feminist sentiment.

 6. Two pieces of literary work come to mind when pondered about this play: "Death of a

Salesman" by Arthur Miller and "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry. These two

pieces are connected to this play by their similar genre. All of the pieces can be

considered as family drama. All these pieces inhabit upon the lifestyle of middle-class

families. There are also tragedies involved within all three literary works. The theme of

all three literary works are similar as well; all three pieces fringe upon the theme of

gender role and filial obligations. Additionally, the female characters are very similar as

they conform to the feminine role, while the male characters conform to the dominant

role of the society, leading to their assimilation within all three plays.

7. In writing about the piece, it would be ideal to focus on the character of Nora and to

describe the sacrificial nature of women in the society. Perhaps, it would be ideal to write

about the personality and actions of Nora, as well as Torvald's treatment of her. Such

focus projects the central message of the play regarding the suppressed nature of Nora's

existence. Writing about how Nora is comparable to a doll being played with for

entertainment purpose within a futile house would be ideal, in addition to talking about

how Torvald's selfish nature had resulted in Nora's awakening into a thoughtful

individual who decided to take upon the path of independence and individualism, rather

than embracing the petty role as a mannequin.

Setting:

8. The setting of the play is Norway, presumably around late 1870s. The clues for the

apparent setting are the facts that the original language of the play is Norwegian and the

play was published in 1879; also the nationality of the playwright Henrik Ibsen is

Norwegian. Yet the characters of the play do not spend a lot of time talking about articles
 that are specifically Norwegian; in fact the Helmers's living room is typical of any

respectable middle-class room of the late 19th century, both of Europe and of the

America. Additionally, the atmosphere and environment of the play can possibly be

assimilated to both the situation of the United States society and most of the other major

societies of the world, aside from the European society, during the late 1800s. The choice

of making the setting a bit more generic, which allows audiences from any society or

nation to superimpose their own lives onto the lives of the Helmers; hence the setting

reflects the image of the majority of middle-class families and the societal treatment of

women during the period. It can be considered that the setting is universal and can be

applied to the majority of the families from any society of the world.

9. Even though the play focuses on the society of the late 19th century and early 20th

century, the play is variable from time to time and place to place. The play can fit within

any time frame, thus, making this play a timeless piece. The central ideology of the play,

the ill-treatment of the females of the society, has been prevalent since the early age and

is ubiquitous to this day. Therefore, the play can be prolonged to fit any place of the

world and any time period of humanity.

10. The setting recalls the introduction scenes of the plays "Death of a Salesman" and "A

Raisin in the Sun." Both of these plays open in a household setting of a middle-class

family. The time period of both these plays are close to that of the play of "A Doll's

House." Additionally, both the plays "Death of a Salesman" and "A Raisin in the Sun"

illustrate the timelessness of the setting, communicating that the setting can be

assimilated to almost any of the cultures or societies of the world. So, the settings of all
 three plays, therefore, are as appropriate to the assimilation of European middle-class

families as to the American middle-class families.

Character/Conflict:

18. Both the major characters of the play, Nora and Torvald, experience changes or

alterations by the end of the play. By the end of the play, Nora experiences an awakening

that helps her to understand the injustice that infringed upon her entire life. She had been

treated like a vacant doll, who conforms to the will of the men; she had been manipulated

by the men for her entire life. So, after her awakening, she realizes her lack of

independence and freedom, causing her to muse upon the desire to leave the typical role

of women behind and to pursue the destiny of a true individual. On the other hand,

Torvald experiences an awakening that causes him to understand his mistakes and causes

him to conform to humility. Torvald had always demeaned Nora and treated her more

like a child than a wife. However, in the end of the play he understands that his actions

were not in any manner benevolent to his precious wife. He now realizes his egotism and

misleading deeds. Hence, the major characters changes by the end of the play.

20. Nora Helmer from this play is comparable to the character of Linda Loman from "Death

of a Salesman." Linda Loman is a doting wife, who refuses to see through her husband's

lies. Her personality is manifested with innocence and conforms to her husband's

commands. She accepts the American ideal of gender role and clings to the household

chores most of the time. Similarly, Nora portrays herself as a doting wife in the beginning

of the novel. Although Torvald does not explicitly lie, like Linda Loman's husband, his

actions are not fully justifiable. Nora fails to see through the egotistic actions of Torvald,

similar to Linda's failure. In addition, Nora also grasps the ideal gender role of women in
 the society of that period, like Linda Loman. However, the major difference between

Nora and Linda is that Nora experiences an awakening by the end of the play, causing her

to realize the mistakes of her husband. But Linda is incapable of distinguishing her

husband's misdeeds or perhaps decides to embrace the good natures of her husband.

22. First impression of any reader towards Nils Krogstad is manifested with revulsion and

annoyance, since throughout the beginning portion of the play he establishes himself as a

corrupt individual. He harasses Nora regarding her forgery and threatens to disclose a

scandal regarding Torvald. He consistently blackmails Nora in order to get Torvald to

institute him back into his previous job, from which he was fired. However, by the end of

the play, Krogstad is able to establish himself as both a sympathetic and an empathetic

individual. He takes mercy on both Nora and Torvald, promising them not to conform to

harassment anymore. He also takes in account of the difficulties that Nora and Torvald

were going through regarding his blackmail, and so he empathizes with the situation

realizing the hardships that the Helmers were going through.

26. Two characters who portray similar and different ideals are Dr. Rank and Christine

Linde. Dr. Rank is the character who poses the fact of moral disease and his own physical

malady. He has tuberculosis on his spine, which could possibly represent the diseased

backbone of unenlightened society. His relationship with Torvald reveals his

superficiality. Rank's relationship with Nora gives clue about the dwelling jealousy. Dr.

Rank establishes opposition regarding parental and filial obligations, since he did not

cling to his obligations while his father was sick, causing the malady to take over the only

family he had. Christine Linde is a tough, world-wise woman, who embraced her

obligations and took care of her mother while she was sick. Although she is currently free
 from all filial responsibilities, she communicates her restlessness until she reunites with

Krogstad. Christine's past relationship creates a tinge of jealousy within Krogstad as he

have had feelings for Christine even after she had left him. Thus, Dr. Rank and Christine

Linde portray similarities and differences in their character attributes.

27. The main problems that the protagonist of the play faces is the tribulation with gender

role and the difficulties regarding a secret forgery that she committed. About a couple of

years prior to the beginning of the play, Nora, the protagonist, forged her father's

signature in order to acquire money to fund a trip to Italy in order to relieve her husband

from the malady he was experiencing. Such crime haunted her for throughout the play as

the person from whom she took the money keeps on harassing her in order to obtain his

own personal gain. In addition to such tribulation, Nora also faces the issue regarding her

role in her family. She have had functioned merely as a doll to her husband. Although she

always thought about her family and attempted to care for her husband, she only acquired

demeaning behavior and humility from Torvald. All these problems had caused Nora, in

the end, to decide to leave Torvald and her family in search of an independent life where

she could rely to only her own self, outside the domain of the control of any man. Her

decision had been undoubtedly a good one because she has no reason to cling with a man

who does not give her proper respect for her actions. Also, Nora needs to experience the

freedom of life and conform to individualism in order to better exist as a true person, not

just a mere doll.

Plot & Situation:

30. The major crisis of the rising action of the play is the letter regarding Nora forgery of her

father's signature and the secret debt that she owes. Prior to the setting of the play, Nora

had taken money from Krogstad in order to fund the trip to Italy beneficial to Torvald's

treatment. Now, when Krogstad was fired from job by Torvald, he utilized the prior

incident to blackmail Nora to convince Torvald to place him back to his job. When Nora

tried and failed to do so, Krogstad sent a letter to Torvald revealing the facts and grasping

the intention to disclose the scandal. So, the rising action of the play dwells around the

letter as Nora delays the time so that Torvald cannot reach the letter in the mail.

31. The climax of the play takes place after Torvald opens the letter, but consequently finds

out that Krogstad decided to disregard the disclosure of the scandal, conforming to the

decision to not reveal the scandal. Subsequently, the climax is exacerbated afterwards as

Nora experiences her awakening and decides to leave Torvald. She realizes Torvald's true

characteristic and nature, and decides not to conform under his domain anymore. Rather

she decides to live along in independence. The play's climax revolves around the

revealing of all the secrets to Torvald and Nora's experience of her awakening.

33. The plot of the play relate to the setting as it enhances the societal issue of the place and

the period. The play communicates as to how the setting is universal and can be

conformed to fit almost any society. The plot of the play also relate to the character as the

issue regarding gender role is apparent within the plot. The characters augment the

emphasis upon the societal issues and indirectly provides commentary through their

actions as to the thematic messages of the tribulations.

 34. The setting and the characters of the play seem realistic and effective as the perform like

commoners of the society. In addition, the portion of the poem regarding Nora's

awakening also provides realistic emphasis upon the message. While Nora becomes

enraged and blatantly expresses her feelings to Torvald, the occurrence present the truth

of the feminine sentiment and demonstrates how a typical person would act during such a

situation. However, previously the contrasting actions of Nora as a decorative toy of

Torvald providing unrealistic tinge to the plot. So, the consequent action of Nora to

deliberately proclaim her emotion to Torvald exemplifies realism within the artificial

atmosphere.

36. The structure of the plot is typical of the plot of a play with consistent dialogues and

organized acts. However, unlike typical literary works, the structure of the plot consists

of elongated rising action, trite climax, and an abrupt resolution. The purpose of the

elongated rising action is to increase the tension within the storyline to reach the climax.

The climax is trite to provide a quick jolt of excitement to the audience. Subsequently,

the resolution is abrupt to quickly tie in the loose end and provide a quick termination to

the storyline.

Theme:

37. The author, Henrik Ibsen, communicates the fact about the universal human nature that

people normally tend to veil their true appearances behind an artificial physiognomy. In

the beginning of the play, the characters of Nora, Torvald, and Krogstad appear to be

different than their true attributes. Nora appears to be a futile and insignificant women

being meddled with constantly by her husband, however, by the end of the play she

establishes herself as a thinker and an independent lady. Torvald appeared to be a strong

 man with great morality and compassion within his heart, but by the end of the play he

establishes himself as a selfish smug. Furthermore, Krogstad appeared to be a licentious

man in the beginning of the play, however, by the end he was able to establish himself as

a kind-hearted person who empathized with the difficulties of others.

40. The play inhabits upon the moral or lesson of parental and filial obligations. In the play,

the characters of Torvald, and Dr. Rank each express the belief that parents are obligated

to portray only the good qualities in front of the children because these qualities are

passed on to the them. Dr. Rank implies that his father's immorality, the numerous affairs

with women, led him to contract a venereal disease which was passed on to Dr. Rank,

leading to his suffering for his father's misdeeds. Torvald voices the ideology that one's

parent determines one's moral character when he tells Nora that young criminals have

mothers who always lied; in fact he also refuses to allow Nora to interact with their

children once he learned about Nora's deceit and forgery, thinking that she would corrupt

the children. Additionally, the play suggests how children have obligations for their

parents. Mrs. Linde was portrayed as a character who supports this theme as she

abandons her hopes of being with Krogstad and undertook years of labor in order to tend

to her sick mother. While, Nora opposes such theme by ignoring her obligation and

clinging to her husband instead of disposing herself to her sick father. In the play's

entirety, Ibsen uses the idea of child's debt to the parent in order to demonstrate the

complexity and reciprocal nature of familial obligations.

41. The work can be considered as realist drama. In realist drama, the characters talk in close

approximation of everyday speech, as prevalent in this play. Realism, however, can have

some unrealism just like some fractions of this play; the plot of this play is undoubtedly
 contrived: there are melodramatic devices like secret revealing letters, the doorbell rings

at inconvenient times bringing trouble to Nora, people enter and exit just when Ibsen

needs to move on to the next scene and bring on new ideas. All these panoramas,

although subtly unrealistic, provide principles apparent in the realistic society. The

feminist attribute, specific gender role of women, corruption, blackmail, and the

dominant nature of the males all contribute to the realistic characteristics of any society

of the time period. Thus, the work is chiefly a product of realism.

44. The ultimate passage of the play is one of the most important passages as it provides an

emotive resolution that portrays the sentiment of feminism. An important quotation from

the last passage, "I have been performing tricks for you, Torvald. That’s how I’ve

survived. You wanted it like that. You and Papa have done me a great wrong. It’s

because of you I’ve made nothing of my life," stated by Nora, herself, projects the

philosophy of the entire passage. Nora expresses the truth that she has gleaned about her

marriage, Torvald's character, and her life in general to Torvald. She presents that her life

had been merely a performance. She acted the part of the happy, child-like wife of

Torvald, and before that, she acted the part of the happy, child-like daughter for her

father. However, she now sees that both her father and Torvald compelled her to behave

in a certain manner and understands it to be a mistake, which stunted her development as

an adult and as a human being. She had made nothing of her life because she has only

exited to please men. Following such realization, Nora leaves Torvald in order to make

good use of the rest of her life, to exist as a person independent of others' control.

45. One of the themes of the inhabits upon the unreliability of appearances or that outward

appearances can be deceiving. In the play, the appearances of Nora, Torvald, and
 Krogstad prove to be misleading veneers that mask their real characteristics. Nora

initially seems to be a silly, childish woman, but as the play progresses it is revealed that

she has some intelligence and motivation entrapped within her; by the end of the play,

Nora establishes herself as a strong-willed woman and an independent thinker. Torvald,

though plays the part of the strong, benevolent husband, reveals himself to be

pusillanimous character, who is both petty and selfish in nature, expressed by his fear that

Krogstad may expose him to scandal. Krogstad too reveals himself to be much more

sympathetic and merciful that he appears to be in the beginning of the play. Complete

opposition in identity is revealed during the climax of the play, as Krogstad presents

himself as an earnest lover, Nora presents herself as a brave individual, while Torvald

presents himself has a simpering and sad entity.

Style:

50. Henrik Ibsen's writing style is comparable to that of William Shakespeare's writing style.

Both Ibsen and Shakespeare took a look at modern society and pointed out its flaws.

However, while Shakespeare focused the settings of his play on a specific time frame and

used satire to characterize his work, Ibsen utilized more of an outright commentary on

controversial subjects, such as sexuality and sexism to distinguish his literary pieces.

Shakespeare usually utilized the formal vernacular into his style of writing and

incorporated particular humors of the period. Although he attempted to assimilate his

works to the average society, the diction of his works was a hindrance to such principle.

On the contrary, Ibsen's pieces are normally enticed with diction that resembles the

common language of daily modern society. Not only is the language of Ibsen's pieces

easy to understand, the philosophies of the pieces are effortlessly exhibited as the reader
 stumbles upon the mundane scenes in Ibsen's plays. Hence, the writing styles of Ibsen

and Shakespeare, although similar in their ideology, poses differences in their figurative

attributes.

55. In the play, imagery had been used to describe Nora's character traits. Nora has been

referred to as a "song bird" multiple times throughout the play. The reference holds the

connotation of a bird being trapped in a cage, suggesting how Torvald is a hunter who

incarcerated Nora, stifling her creativity and independence that she was seen to be

striving for, through the representation of fancy dress and wild dancing towards the end

of the play. The actions of Nora entertaining the guests on Christmas Eve with her dance

narrates the imagery of a doll entertaining players in a game. Her lack of self-reliance is

vividly portrayed by her child-like nature under the domain of her Torvald, her husband,

acting like a parent disciplining his child. Also, in the play, Torvald calls Nora as a

"squirrel," suggesting his annoyance towards her personality and expressing Torvald's

lack of respect towards Nora; an imagery of Nora's inanity is portrayed by such reference,

along with Torvald's egocentricity. The imageries of the play centrally serve as

characterization of Nora's vacant willpower and Torvald's demeaning nature.

56. Though all works of literature present the author's point of view, they do not all have a

narrator or narrative voice that ties together and presents the story. This particular literary

piece does not have such narrative voice from which the story is perceived. Rather, this

play provides the reader with a first-hand experience of the events occurring in the play.

The point of view of this play is a version of third person omniscient point of view. The

reader is not particularly provided with the blatant thoughts of the characters, however,

through the actions and speeches of the characters, the reader can acquire a sense of the
 characters' sentiments and thoughts regarding particular substances. The play's point of

view, although limited to just an outward view of the characters, take the reader inside

these characters at the end of the play as the characters slowly reveal their inner selves,

identifying their true nature from their usual appearances. Such point of view is

incredibly effective in plays as it maintains the atmosphere of the play, while associates

the reader with to the consciousness of the characters.

57. In the beginning of the play, the author creates a sympathetic tone to allure the reader's

compassion towards the character of Nora. Torvald's case about Nora eating macaroons

portrays him as an overbearing male even for the Victorian era; his demeaning little pet

names are also vital in the stimulation of the reader's sympathy towards Nora. The tone is

appropriate in the beginning of the play as it sets the atmosphere to demonstrate Nora's

helplessness and lack of self-restraint. However, as the play proceeds, the tone takes a

shifts to being serious and intimate, revealing the inner truths of the characters. The

subsequent tone distinguishes a spiritual awakening on the part of Nora from her

frivolity, while Torvald is disclosed of being ironically a prisoner of society. The

inconsistency in tone is appropriate as it poses a significant controversial issue of the

society and a major conflict of humanity regarding gender role.

58. Christmas Day and New Year's Day in the play symbolize rebirth and renewal. Both

Nora and Torvald go through spiritual awakening by the end of the play, which could be

interpreted as characteristic rebirth. Nora's trials and tribulations wake her up to the

pitiful state of her marriage. When her hope is shattered by the action of Torvald, she

realizes that she will never be a fully realized person until she severs herself from her

husband; in fact, when she slams the door behind her, she is on her way to rebirth.
 Similarly, Torvald realizes the complete inadequacy of his existence and in a way

experiences a renewed identification of himself. Another symbolism of the play is the

Christmas Tree. The tree seems to mimic Nora's psychological state, first of all. Nora

being a mess reflects on the messy nature of the disheveled tree. The pretty decorations of

the tree assimilates with the pretty decorations of Nora that she uses to cover up her

deceit. Likewise, the tree reflects Nora's function in the household; she is merely a

decorative model in the eyes of Torvald and all the guests who come to the party.

General Response:

64. The title of the play is possibly derived from Nora's famous statement to his husband,

Torvald, "Our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife." The

leading fact of the play is that Torvald has never treated Nora as anything more than a

child's plaything. He admires only her beauty, gets her to entertain him through dances,

dresses her up in costumes, and, in effect, treats her simply like a doll. The home they

live in seems to be a perfect picturesque, however, in reality it is just a show; every house

that Nora lived in, from his father to his husband, had been artificial in nature. Hence, the

possessive title exclaims how Nora is a delicate mannequin of a synthetic house, none of

which resemble reality of existence as a human being.

65. The genre of the play can be considered as realistic drama, more specifically family

drama. It is a drama because it is a play, a piece of literature that is never fully realized

until it is put on stage in front of an audience. There are hints of tragedy within the play

as a result of the conflicts between individuals and corrupt society. The characters being

entrapped in a society with strict gender roles emphasizes both the tragic and the dramatic

effects of the play. Also, the overly emotive nature of the actions of the characters cause
 the play to be considered as a drama. Other works of similar genre may include "Death of

a Salesman" by Arthur Miller and "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry. "Death

of a Salesman" also consists of family drama where characters portray their emotive

actions, ending the play with the tragic death of the protagonist. "A Raisin in the Sun"

illustrates family drama as well, with the characters eloquently interacting with one

another, however, the play ends with hope and optimism, instead of ending with a

tragedy.

66. The contents of the passage reflects the historical context of the gender role, especially of

the women. The play's contents assimilate to the typical nature of all women in history

and how they normally acted. Usually women were historically seen to be undermined

beneath the control of men. Such context is apparent amidst of the plot of the play.

67. In the study of the work, the feeling that is apparent is the sentiment of feminism. The

hardships of a woman is evident in this play, in addition to her conformity under the

control of her husband. The feminist emotion is further exacerbated by alluring the

audience to sympathize with the nature of Nora, and later with the stern sensation created

by her awakening into an independent woman.

70. This play is recommendable for others to read as it provides one of the most controversial

issues that can be assimilated to any period of time or any society of the world. The play

is mainly appropriate to any young adult or older person, regardless of the gender. This

piece of literary work is suggested to provide details of the mistakes that individual make

in the society, no giving enough credit to females and their works. In order to better

educate the society about equality and proper respect towards every gender, this play is

ideal for the timeless lesson.