Play Analysis of "A Doll's House" by Ibsen
Play Analysis of "A Doll's House" by Ibsen
Today a reader might find it hard to imagine how daring Nora Helmer was a hundred years ago. The theme of women’s liberation makes this story seem almost contemporary. This was considered a controversial play featuring a woman seeking individuality. “A Doll’s House” was the play that made Ibsen world famous. It was written well ahead of its time. In Ibsen’s time it was considered an outrage for a woman such as Nora to display a mind of her own. It was unthinkable that a woman would leave her husband to obtain freedom. This play presents problems and that still appear in today’s society. This play, one of Ibsen’s most popular works, was a simple classic story of women’s liberation. Animal imagery in the play is a critical part of the character development of Nora. It is used to develop Nora’s character. Throughout the play Torvald calls his wife, “his little lark”, “sulky squirrel”, or other animal names. A lark is a happy, carefree, songbird. It can also be used as a verb meaning to engage in spirited, fun, or merry pranks.
Torvald thinks Nora is always happy, never sad, and energetic (all the characteristics of a songbird.) A squirrel is quite the opposite. It is a small fury rodent. Nora “squirreled” away her bag of macaroons, and also scrounges money to pay off her debt. Torvald would ask if, “that is my squirrel rummaging around?” This shows that Nora was burying something, maybe the macaroons or the money she secretly borrowed. Torvald uses names that show how he feels about Nora at the time. The animals chosen Stevens 2 are related to how Nora is acting. In act two, Nora tells Torvald she will be a wood nymph and dance for him. A wood nymph is a hummingbird that is graceful in flight, just like Nora wants to be for Torvald when she dances. When Nora begs Torvald to let Krogstad to keep his job at the bank she gets very worked up. Torvald notices her “frightened dove eyes” and tries to comfort her. A dove is well known as a symbol of peace. Nora only wants Krogstad to keep his job to maintain peace and order in her life. Most of the animal imagery used refers to happy peaceful animals. This is because Torvald sees Nora as a happy, carefree housewife....