A+Doll's+House

**Title: A Doll's House**  **Author: Henrik Ibsen**  **Date of Publication: late 1879**  **Literary Period:Victorian**  **Genre:Modern Drama**


 * Describe the setting and then explain the relevance of the setting.**
 * Takes place in a Victorian Household that is typical for that time period. Women have no say. Husbands do all the work, and the wives cook, clean, and look pretty. There are rules a wife has to live up too. She is basically a doll.


 * Themes (These statements should be complete sentences and completely developed ideas)**
 * A women's appearance determines a lot of things for her in society. What she looks like indirectly plans out her entire life
 * Freedom for all is different. It depends on the time period and what the person has gone through in his/her life.
 * Equality. Every relationship needs to be based on equality because without it a relationship becomes focused on power, and a relationship is to work together not one person controlling it all.
 * Women sacrifice their all in a marriage.


 * Plot Summary (Please do not copy and paste. Simply list the high points of the novel) - Consider creating a visual flow chart or graph and posting it here.**


 * The play begins on Christmas Eve. A lot of talk about money occurs, and a clear gap of power is shown in the marriage. The way Nora is treated like a child by Torvald is clearly shown.
 * Nora's long lost friend randomly shows up for a visit. She talks about her miserable life and that is when Nora tells Christine her secret of how she saved her husband's life.
 * Mr. Krogstad, an employee of Torvald, shows up and tells Nora that if she does not manage to save his job then he will spill her secrets to Torvald. Nora tries but Torvald refuses to give in.
 * Dr. Rank comes to tell Nora his true feelings and he tells her about him dying soon. Nora flirts with him and acts seductive.
 * Krogstad refuses to listen to Nora and drops the letter in the letter box. Nora distracts Torvald for a day and asks Christine to help her ask Krogstad to take the letter back. Instead, Christine goes and professes her love to Krogstad and asks him to keep the letter there to help Nora and Torvald.
 * After the party, torvald reads the letter and becomes very angry, but then later but after recieving Krogstad's new letter he becomes all nice to her again.
 * This causes Nora to make a quick decision to leaver her house, husband, kids, and family. She tells him she does not love him and wants to explore the world and try to find who she really is. This is when Torvald refers to her as a women for the first and only time.


 * Memorable Quotes and their SIGNIFICANCE.**
 * "You have never loved me. You only thought it pleasant to be in love with me"
 * This is when nora realizes that torvald just likes the idea of having her. She is just an accesory. Her marriage has no real essence or meaning behind it. He loves her beauty but not her inner qualities. She is just part of the picture to make him look better.
 * "Everything you do is quite right, Torvald" (Nora)
 * This shows that in that time period a women was there to just agree. Her opinions did not ever matter. Everythign Torvald did was just perfect without any consideration.
 * "From now on, forget happiness. Now it’s just about saving the remains, the wreckage, the appearance."
 * HAHA, well this is ironic because then Torvald was the only one who was truly happy; Nora just appeared to be...oh the irony.


 * Describe the significance of the opening scene.**
 * The opening scene is very important for this play. It shows how Torvald feels about his wife. The way he refers to her by calling her "my little skylark" shows that he is inferior to her. the way she quickly hides the a macroons from her husband. the entire conversation is about money to show that is what really matters to him.


 * Describe the significance of the closing scene.**
 * Well, Nora decides to leave...umm yeah. So Torvald is seriously bipolar. First he is all playful with Nora, then as soon as he is informed about the loan he completely looses his tempor and goes in sane, but then when Krogstad has a change in heart and takes away all the negativity, Torvald begins to love her like 'old times"...and this all happens within a span of five minutes. When Nora sees her husband become all angry over her for basically saving his life she realizes that he does not love her and he never loved her. In reality he loved the idea of her. This is when she decides to leave. As soon as she changes into her day clothes she leaves. She explains calmly that she just needs to find herself. This scene describes the entire Victorian Era in a nutshell. A women does not have a place in soceity. She is always jut a doll.


 * List importance characters and their significance.**
 * Nora Helmer
 * Nora is a doll. She is the perfect example of a Victorian women. She obeys her husband like he is her god. She uses her beauty as her path to everything. Her sexuality is her way to all of her "success", but that is what society has taught her.
 * Torvald Helmer
 * Torvald likes power. A lot. He is a rude and ignorant man to his wife. He really likes the attention He thinks he has all the power over Nora even though that is not how it should be. He is the perfect example of a Victorian Man.
 * Dr. Rank
 * He loves Nora and that is so sweet but he is still like an annoying Victorian Man. But he does care for people's opinions.
 * Christine Linde
 * She is kind of sketch in my opinion, but she does take up a responsibiltiy on herself and doesnt let a man tell her that she cannot work and do whatever a man can.
 * Krogstad
 * I have mixed feelings about him. First I hate him for sending the letter but than I appreciate his random act of kindness to take his word back. Although in his defense he has had a pity life so I guess his acts justifiable.