1. Using specific examples, discuss how Ibsen’s “progress from one work to the other” is due to a “perpetual scrutiny of the same general questions regarded from different points of view.” 2. Do you feel that Ibsen’s drama is “dated”? To defend your view, cite dramatic themes in these plays […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsCritical Essays Theme of A Doll’s House
The interwoven themes of A Doll’s House recur throughout most of Ibsen’s works. The specific problem of this drama deals with the difficulty of maintaining an individual personality — in this case a feminine personality — within the confines of a stereotyped social role. The problem is personified as Nora, […]
Read more Critical Essays Theme of A Doll’s HouseCritical Essays Dramatic Structure of A Doll’s House
Notable for their lack of action, Ibsen’s dramas are classical in their staticism. Before the curtain rises, all the significant events have already occurred in the lives of Ibsen’s characters, and it is the business of the play to reap the consequences of these past circumstances. The tight logical construction […]
Read more Critical Essays Dramatic Structure of A Doll’s HouseHenrik Ibsen Biography
Henrik Ibsen’s ancestors were sea captains and businessmen, while his father was a well-to-do merchant, dealing chiefly in lumber. Ibsen was born in 1828 in Skien, a town in the south of Norway. Three brothers and a sister were born after him, but Henrik was the only member of his […]
Read more Henrik Ibsen BiographyCharacter Analysis Dr. Rank
Dr. Rank’s function in the play also refers to a past occasion in Nora’s life. Just as she used to seek the conversation of the maids as a refreshing change from the moralizing of her father, Nora finds amusement in Rank’s companionship as a change from the tiresome cant of […]
Read more Character Analysis Dr. RankCharacter Analysis Christine Linde
Christine Linde, Nora Helmer’s contemporary, serves as a direct comparison with Ibsen’s heroine. By recounting how she denied her rights to love and self-determination by marrying for financial security, Christine foreshadows how Nora will confront a bitter future after learning that her marriage is based on deception. Nora, according to […]
Read more Character Analysis Christine LindeCharacter Analysis Torvald Helmer
Torvald is shallow enough to be a mere foil for the character of Nora. Unfortunately, he is depicted with enough detail to appear a very plausible type of man, typical of many contemporary heads-of-the-family. He is a well-constructed social product, a proud specimen of a middle-class husband. Because Nora has […]
Read more Character Analysis Torvald HelmerCharacter Analysis Nora Helmer
Nora is by far the most interesting character in the play. Many critics have pointed out that such an immature, ignorant creature could never have attained the understanding and revolutionary qualities that Nora has at the time she leaves her home. Ibsen, however, has carefully constructed Nora so that her […]
Read more Character Analysis Nora HelmerSummary and Analysis Act III
Summary Krogstad and Christine are alone onstage, for the Helmers and Dr. Rank are upstairs at the masquerade party. Bitterly Krogstad reproaches Christine for renouncing their betrothal, years ago, sacrificing him in order to marry a man better able to support her and her family. After wrecking his hopes the […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act IIISummary and Analysis Act II
Summary It is later in the same day. Nora has avoided her children, fearing to pollute them. In a conversation with her old nurse, she tells the servant that the children will have to get used to seeing less of their mother from now on. This is Nora’s first suggestion […]
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