Lauren Ball
English 2020
Dr. Hayley Haugen
November 30, 2016
A Monumental Work for Its Time Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll House has been around for one hundred years. It has been performed on stages around the world and still is to this day. I propose that this literary work be kept in the college English curriculum. College students should study plays such as A Doll House so that students can learn about sacrifice, the roles of men and women in the time period, and finding independence along with a person’s true self. In 1879, A Doll House was first performed in Copenhagen and a huge success. The final scene is described as being, “the door slam heard around the world”. The play is about a woman named Nora Helmer who is treated like a doll, …show more content…
Won’t it be lovely to have stacks of money and not a care in the world?” (Ibsen 191).
Kristine most likely does not want to hear this since she is a widow and has been through many rough patches in her life. She married for money not love and does not have any kids of her own. Kristine married a rich man in order to take care of her brothers. When her husband died there was not enough money left so she has had to work hard for everything. Kristine brings an air of realism to the play. It appears that deep down Nora may realize this and works harder to cover the pain in her home life. As Mrs. Linde and Nora’s conversation goes on, Nora reveals secrets to Mrs. Linde and to the readers. Nora discloses information about the time Torvald had to leave his job, because he was not getting a promotion. He had to earn money for his family and worked himself day and night. Torvald became ill so the family went to Italy to help him get well. Nora tells everyone that she was given the money to travel by her father, but she borrowed money to save Torvald’s life. However, in this time period, as Mrs. Linde states, “A wife cannot borrow money without her husband’s consent” (194). Nora borrowed the money …show more content…
I’m all confused about these things. I just know I see them so differently from you. I find out, for one thing, that the law is not at all what I’d thought – but I can’t get it through my head that the law is fair. A woman hasn’t a right to protect her dying father or save her husband’s life! I can’t believe that.” (Ibsen 250).
Nora goes on to say, “I’ll begin to learn for myself. I’ll try to discover who’s right, the world or I” (250). This shows Nora fighting against what society has taught her and shows that, just because she is a woman does not mean that she is not courageous enough to follow dreams that she has not found yet. A Doll House should be kept in the college English curriculum. This play shows that men and women may have different roles in society’s eyes, but we’re capable of accomplishing the same goals. College students, especially the ones who just graduated from high school, are entering new territory and searching for their independence. Nora’s slam of the door at the end of the play shows her beginning a new chapter in her life, as well. As people grow up and go into college, they may have decisions arise that will cause them to sacrifice something significant. College students are taught to challenge ideas, learn who they are and who they want to be, also. Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House causes the world to think intensely about trials, family, love, independence, sacrifice and society as a whole. The “door slam” truly is heard around
English 2020
Dr. Hayley Haugen
November 30, 2016
A Monumental Work for Its Time Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll House has been around for one hundred years. It has been performed on stages around the world and still is to this day. I propose that this literary work be kept in the college English curriculum. College students should study plays such as A Doll House so that students can learn about sacrifice, the roles of men and women in the time period, and finding independence along with a person’s true self. In 1879, A Doll House was first performed in Copenhagen and a huge success. The final scene is described as being, “the door slam heard around the world”. The play is about a woman named Nora Helmer who is treated like a doll, …show more content…
Won’t it be lovely to have stacks of money and not a care in the world?” (Ibsen 191).
Kristine most likely does not want to hear this since she is a widow and has been through many rough patches in her life. She married for money not love and does not have any kids of her own. Kristine married a rich man in order to take care of her brothers. When her husband died there was not enough money left so she has had to work hard for everything. Kristine brings an air of realism to the play. It appears that deep down Nora may realize this and works harder to cover the pain in her home life. As Mrs. Linde and Nora’s conversation goes on, Nora reveals secrets to Mrs. Linde and to the readers. Nora discloses information about the time Torvald had to leave his job, because he was not getting a promotion. He had to earn money for his family and worked himself day and night. Torvald became ill so the family went to Italy to help him get well. Nora tells everyone that she was given the money to travel by her father, but she borrowed money to save Torvald’s life. However, in this time period, as Mrs. Linde states, “A wife cannot borrow money without her husband’s consent” (194). Nora borrowed the money …show more content…
I’m all confused about these things. I just know I see them so differently from you. I find out, for one thing, that the law is not at all what I’d thought – but I can’t get it through my head that the law is fair. A woman hasn’t a right to protect her dying father or save her husband’s life! I can’t believe that.” (Ibsen 250).
Nora goes on to say, “I’ll begin to learn for myself. I’ll try to discover who’s right, the world or I” (250). This shows Nora fighting against what society has taught her and shows that, just because she is a woman does not mean that she is not courageous enough to follow dreams that she has not found yet. A Doll House should be kept in the college English curriculum. This play shows that men and women may have different roles in society’s eyes, but we’re capable of accomplishing the same goals. College students, especially the ones who just graduated from high school, are entering new territory and searching for their independence. Nora’s slam of the door at the end of the play shows her beginning a new chapter in her life, as well. As people grow up and go into college, they may have decisions arise that will cause them to sacrifice something significant. College students are taught to challenge ideas, learn who they are and who they want to be, also. Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House causes the world to think intensely about trials, family, love, independence, sacrifice and society as a whole. The “door slam” truly is heard around