Plot Analysis of "A Doll House"
Plot Analysis of "A Doll House"
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House was a play that received a great deal of criticism for its central theme on the repression of women. Ibsen uses various techniques and tools in the construction of this play. A Doll House can be best analyzed by describing the techniques of the plot construction, the treatment of time, and the development of characters and by showing how each technique ties into the central theme of the work.
To understand Ibsen’s use of plot construction, we must first understand the difference between plot and story. The plot is considered to be the present action of a drama. The story however, is the entire resolution of the play, including anything that may have happened in the past or in another place. When relating these two terms to A Doll House, we must first determine where the story begins as well as where the plot begins.
The plot begins in Act I when Krogstad has his first conversations with Nora, in which he proceeds in his threats of blackmail. This story, on the other hand, begins when Torvald becomes sick and Nora must borrow money. The story also includes the background information about the other characters involved in the play. This explanation of plot and story ties into Ibsen’s plot construction.
Firstly, Ibsen uses the process of stasis and intrusion throughout the story and the plot itself. According to Ball, stasis is a condition of balance among various forces, whereas intrusion is a pushing or thrusting in of something that would compromise the stasis. Before the story even begins, there is stasis in the life of the Helmers. The intrusion that compromises that stasis is Torvald falling ill, causing Nora to go to Krogstad. Stasis is once again achieved when the play begins, but only lasts until the second intrusion, which is the conversation held between Nora and Krogstad in Act I.
Ibsen also uses a climactic plot construction, in which the plot begins close to the climax of the play, and there are subplots involved. In A Doll House, three subplots can be found in relation to the main plot. The subplots, which are described later in the paper, can be found between Nora and Krogstad, Nora and Dr. Rank, and Mrs. Linde and Krogstad.
A cause-and-effect structure can...