A Doll’s House : Henrik Ibsen-Characters,The Play Summary,Plot,Major Symbols,Major Themes

1. A Doll’s House : Henrik Ibsen
Preema Paul
Assistant Professor
Department of English
St. Mary’s College Thrissur

2. A Doll’sHouse,PreemaPaul,St.Mary’s College
A DOLL’S HOUSE
Author: Henrik Ibsen
Year: 1879
 Nature: Realistic Drama
Major focuses:
•Middle class life and morality
•Psychological conflicts
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Theatre/ADollsHouse
Background: an exclusively masculine society with laws written by
men and with prosecutors and judges who regard feminine conduct from
a masculine point of view

3. A Doll’sHouse,PreemaPaul,St.Mary’s College
HENRIK IBSEN (1828-1906)
A Norwegian playwright and the harbinger of Realistic Drama
Theatre poet and stage manager at the National Theatre in Bergen in
1851
 The Director of the Noewegian Theatre at
Christiana university, during1857-62
First Play: Catillina in 1850
Significant works:
•The Wild Duck (1884)
•Ghosts(1881)
•Little Eyolf (1894)
•When We Dead Awaken (1899)
https://interestingfactsforkids.wordpress.com/2015/03/23/ibsen-henrik/

4. A Doll’sHouse,PreemaPaul,St.Mary’s College
CHARACTERS
Major Characters:
•Torvald Helmer – A Lawyer
•Nora – Torvarld’s Wife
•Dr. Rank – Torvald’s close friend
•Mrs. Linde – Nora’s childhood friend
•Nils Krogstad – A bank Clerk
Minor Characters:
•Ivar, Emmy and Bob – Helmers’ children
•Anne mary – Kids’ nurse
•Helene- Maid

5. A Doll’sHouse,PreemaPaul,St.Mary’s College
THE PLAY SUMMARY
Torvald supposes himself the ethical member of the family, while his
wife assumes the role of the pretty and irresponsible little woman to
flatter him
 Krogstad threatens to expose a fraud that Nora had once committed
without her husband’s knowledge in order to obtain a loan needed to save
his life
 When Nora’s act is revealed, Torvald repudiate her out of concern for
his own social reputation
 Utterly disillusioned about her husband, whom she now sees as a
hollow fraud, Nora declares her independence of him and leaves,
slamming the door of the house behind her

6. A Doll’sHouse,PreemaPaul,St.Mary’s College
PLOT
Major conflict :
Nora’s struggle with Krogstad, who threatens to tell her
husband about her past crime incites Nora’s journey of self-
discovery and provides much of the play’s dramatic suspense
Nora’s primary struggle, however, is against the selfish, stifling,
and oppressive attitudes of her husband, Torvald, and of the
society that he represents

7. A Doll’sHouse,PreemaPaul,St.Mary’s College
PLOT
Rising action: Nora’s first conversation with mrs. Linde; Krogstad’s
visit and blackmailing of Nora; Krogstad’s delivery of the letter that
later exposes Nora
Climax: Torvald reads Krogstad’s letter and erupts angrily
Falling action: Nora’s realization that Torvald is devoted not to her
but to the idea of her as someone who depends on him; her decision to
abandon him to find independence

8. A Doll’sHouse,PreemaPaul,St.Mary’s College
A REALISTIC DRAMA
Realism: Literary technique that attempts to create the appearance of
life as it is actually experienced
Common Language, no Highly poetic language formal declarations,
asides, or soliloquies
Everyday people and events, no heroes or the saving a kingdom.
Opening of the eyes and the minds of an audience, not melodrama
with happy endings

9. A Doll’sHouse,PreemaPaul,St.Mary’s College
MAJOR SYMBOLS
Black hat and black cross
Fisher-girl costume
The Tarantella
Doll house
Macaroons
Bird imagery
The Christmas Tree
Letters and the letter box
Italy and Norway

10. A Doll’sHouse,PreemaPaul,St.Mary’s College
MAJOR THEMES
 Parental and filial obligations
The unreliability of appearances
The sacrificial role of women

11. A Doll’sHouse,PreemaPaul,St.Mary’s College
FORESHADOWING
Foreshadows of rebellion against Torvald
Nora’s eating of macaroons against Torvald’s wishes
Nora’s preparations for the Tarentelle and her performance
Foreshadows of Nora’s Cravings for independence
Nora’s struggles to earn money out of part time jobs in secret
Nora saving her husband’s life from the mouth of death

12. A Doll’sHouse,PreemaPaul,St.Mary’s College
REFERNCE
Sreerekha, N., ed. Reading Drama. Delhi: Oxford University
Press, 2015.
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Theatre/ADollsHouse
https://www.britannica.com/topic/A-Dolls-House