Act III Analysis

In Act III where everything comes to a close I see the biggest part of the play where Nora discovers the true nature of her relationship. This is a catalyst to her development as a character in the conclusion of the play. During Torvald's reaction to Nora's treachery of the forged signature and the letter he received, Nora stood by unperturbed and at this point I think she had an epiphany. Before this she was always with Torvald's opinions.



When put in comparison to the character Curly's Wife from the novel Of Mice and Men, Nora is the complete inverse of her since Curley's Wife never changed from being a doll for Curly(before getting her neck snapped). Nora's transformation at the end of the play make her more of a resemblance to the character Beneatha, a strong independent female from A Raisin in the Sun. Just like Beneatha Nora decides that she doesn't need a man to help her get by in life.

When Torvald discovers the letter from Krogstad he lashed out upset at Nora's capricious behavior that he thinks came from her father. But when he receives the second letter all is fine and he wants to take care of his doll, Nora all over again. "..I will serve as will and conscience both to you." Torvald plainly declared to Nora that she is incompetent and that she needs him for everything.
We also learn what Torvald is really like. "But no man would sacrifice his hounour for the one he loves." Torvald is self absorbed, he only cares about his image, reputation, and pride. This part of Torvald is immediatly seen when he discovers Krogstad no longer wants to blackmail them. "Yes, it is true! I am saved! Nora, I am saved!"

Act II Analysis

Nora and the doll theme

In Act II I begin to notice there is more to Nora then some housewife who is simply a doll to her husband. "Your squirrel would run about and do all her tricks if you would be nice, and do what she wants. " Again the doll theme is recurring but in this instance Nora uses it to her advantage. Nora knows how much Torvald loves Nora as a "skylark" so she tries to butter him up so that he would keep Krogstad's job. Another time she uses this to her advantage by playing "doll" for Torvald is when she purposely did the tarantella badly to keep him away from the mail. This shows how Nora is a cunning character in the play.

Later on in the act Dr. Rank a friend of Nora and Torvald comes in and Nora immediately flirts with him. This part of the act reminded me of Curly's wife from Of Mice and Men in how she openly presented herself to a man that wasn't her husband. Although it appears that she reciprocates feelings for him, "Oh, you know very well I always have time for you." and she teased him by showing her stockings to him. Nora was about to ask him for a favor that would help her with her current conflict with Krogstad but he confesses his feelings to Nora which alarmed her. This surprised me because I predicted that she would take advantage of the fact that Dr. Rank has feelings for her.

Dr. Rank

Dr. Rank is a very pessimistic character and he is very welcoming to his coming death from an excruciating disease. "I am the most wretched of all my patients, Mrs. Helmer. Lately I have been taking stock of my limited economy. Bankrupt! Probably within a month I shall lie rotting in the churchyard." He also shows his pessimism by telling Nora to not let Torvald know about his coming death.

Krogstad
More and more Krogstad is seen as villain in the play and his actions are what cause us to see who Nora really is. Krogstad thought it would be good retribution for Torvald to discover what she did. By leaving the letter revealing Nora's forgery in the Helmers' mailbox this has made her try to do whatever it takes to keep Torvald away from it, which showed us whats she is really like.

Analaysis of Act I

Short Overview

The play A Doll’s House opens with the Helmer family on Christmas Eve. Immediately in the beginning of the play I can observe that money and debt is a big theme within the play. In the beginning the lady of the house, Nora Helmer is seen paying off a porter. With a carefree holiday spirit she squanders money by paying him double the money the porter asked for. From here I can identify how Nora is a carefree and childish character. Nora’s husband, Torvald Helmer, is a banker and he doesn’t see his wife as an equal because of how she presents herself in a frivolous way. He is against her squandering and dislikes debt as he says in the play, “There’s something constrained, something ugly, even, about a home that’s founded on borrowing and debt.” Not only does this shows his dislike of debt but that he has pride. This pride is very comparable to the character Walter in the play A Raisin in the Sun. Sometimes Nora tries to act independently but regardless Torvald will always seem incredulous of his "scatterbrain" doing anything without him. In Act I it is seen that Torvald hardly takes Nora seriously and simply plays with her, like a doll. Using others for fun like a "doll" appears to be a theme in the play. As the plot develops I presume that conflicts between them will happen frequently.

Theme - Doll/Being used

"No, leave them, Nanny, I'll take their things off. Yes, let me do it, it's such fun."
This is another instance where one character simply views another as a play things and has fun with them like a doll. In this case it is Nora where she seizes her children from the Nanny wanting to take off their jackets for the fun of it.

Another scenario where one character is using another is Krogstad blackmailing Nora. Nora needed someone to receive a loan for a family trip to Italy they needed for the health of Torvald who was bedridden at the time. Although Nora had good intentions she forged a signature and Krogstad discovered this. This situation has some irony because forgery is the same reason Krogstad ends up appearing as a villain in the play. Since Krogstad was about to lose his job from Torvald as a subordinate at the bank, he took advantage of Nora by blackmail, forcing her to influence Torvald to allow Krogstad to stay.

I would not be surprised to see more character using others as "dolls" in the future of the play, possibly leading to more conflicts that provide just as much tension as Nora and her forgery.

Theme - Money

Just like Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun money is a recurring theme in the play. Although both of them share the theme of money they are expressed in different ways. A Raisin in the Sun's conflicts with money was about it solving the Younger family's problem of living in poverty. Instead of using money to solve problems in A Doll's House the money itself cause problems from debts. Nora's conflict with Krogstad is a good example of this.

Henry Ibson - Research

A Doll’s House was a play written by Henrik Ibsen. He was an author who was very devoted to theater. He was born March 20, 1828 in Norway. He took an interest in the stage at age eight since he was not athletic. In 1857 he became the director of the Norwegian Theater in Christiania. There he directed Love's Comedy, which became a very well known play in his country. Some of his known plays are The Pillars of Society, Ghost, and The Master Builder.
Since the title has “Doll’s House” in it this might mean the play will have the main setting inside of a house. Since play dolls young girls use involve simulating a family, with a mother, father son, and daughter dolls it might be about a family’s life at home.

Source: http://www.theatredatabase.com/19th_century/henrik_ibsen_001.html