Henrik Ibsen’s Ironic Presentation of A Doll’s House In writing A Doll 's House, Ibsen crafts an ironic connection between the characters to instill conflict within the play. While at first glance, the drama builds tension throughout without much conflict until final explosion of emotions, Ibsen employs these tactics of creating connections to reveal conflict piece by piece. As such, the reader mistakes this conflict for tension as the impending disaster approaches near the end of the play. The uncertainty that comes watching the play comes from the inability to determine the true ending at which the story attempts to arrive due to the many forms of irony. Ibsen manipulates the flow of information in order to allow conflicts to escalate
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Information in A Doll 's House travels quickly, allowing drama to build within very little time. Many conversations between acquaintances start peacefully, but end in a dispute. Nora becomes impetuous during a conversation with Krogstad as she says, “My husband will see for himself what a blackguard you are, and you certainly won’t keep your post then” (35). By describing Nora as impetuous, Ibsen shows Nora as beginning to lose her temper. When the conversation begins, Nora and Krogstad act as close acquaintances, but she begins to make threats towards Torvald which hold negative repercussions towards herself as well. She forces Krogstad into a corner where he must then make direct threats towards Nora. They should be able to easily settle disputes due to the speed at which conversation takes place. However, this rapid exchange of information intensifies the conflict rather than settling it. The irony results in the inability to understand the situations between …show more content…
The characters become increasingly frustrated at each other due to the frequency at which they meet. Dr. Rank in particular visits the Helmer house “at least once everyday” (15). This creates tension between Dr. Rank and Torvald. One time, Torvald mentions “in a fretful whisper,” “Oh, what does he want now?” (91). Dr. Rank’s repeated appearances serves to irritate Torvald to the point that he cannot accept the news of Nora’s forgery without experiencing a burst of emotions. When Nora’s forgery comes to light shortly after Dr. Rank leaves for the final time, all of the stress building in Torvald through the play unleashes, with Nora receiving the full impact. Dr. Ranks constant visit ironically creates annoyance rather than comfort in the mind of
Information in A Doll 's House travels quickly, allowing drama to build within very little time. Many conversations between acquaintances start peacefully, but end in a dispute. Nora becomes impetuous during a conversation with Krogstad as she says, “My husband will see for himself what a blackguard you are, and you certainly won’t keep your post then” (35). By describing Nora as impetuous, Ibsen shows Nora as beginning to lose her temper. When the conversation begins, Nora and Krogstad act as close acquaintances, but she begins to make threats towards Torvald which hold negative repercussions towards herself as well. She forces Krogstad into a corner where he must then make direct threats towards Nora. They should be able to easily settle disputes due to the speed at which conversation takes place. However, this rapid exchange of information intensifies the conflict rather than settling it. The irony results in the inability to understand the situations between …show more content…
The characters become increasingly frustrated at each other due to the frequency at which they meet. Dr. Rank in particular visits the Helmer house “at least once everyday” (15). This creates tension between Dr. Rank and Torvald. One time, Torvald mentions “in a fretful whisper,” “Oh, what does he want now?” (91). Dr. Rank’s repeated appearances serves to irritate Torvald to the point that he cannot accept the news of Nora’s forgery without experiencing a burst of emotions. When Nora’s forgery comes to light shortly after Dr. Rank leaves for the final time, all of the stress building in Torvald through the play unleashes, with Nora receiving the full impact. Dr. Ranks constant visit ironically creates annoyance rather than comfort in the mind of