Theme Of Symbolic Language In A Doll's House

Decent Essays
Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House is a realistic drama set in the late 1800s in Norway. It is a story of a young mother and wife that has an awakening that her whole life has been anything but her own. The protagonist is Nora, a seemingly naïve, childlike character that throughout the play develops clarity about her situation and eventually releases herself from the oppression she has been living with her whole life. Torvald is Nora’s husband and the antagonist who delights himself with the authority he has working at the bank and over Nora. Nora starts to realize that her and her husband’s relationship is unhealthy. Their relationship issues are due to the treatment by Torvald to Nora as being more like one of his children rather than his wife. Throughout Nora’s life, she was not allowed to have her own individuality. The theme Ibsen conveys in this play …show more content…
"The Use of Symbolic Language in Ibsen's A Doll's House: A Feministic Perspective." Language in India, no. 3, 2013, p. 622. Literary Reference Center, libproxy.ung.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsg lr&AN=edsgcl.323349841&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Boeninger, Stephanie Pocock. “Teacups and Butter: The Importance of Eating in Ibsen's A Doll's House and The Wild Duck.” Modern Drama, University of Toronto Press, 24 Dec. 2014, muse.jhu.edu/article/564354/pdf.
Hassan Balaky, Saman Salah and Nafser Abdul Mosawir Sulaiman. "A Feminist Analysis of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. (English)." ["Henrik Ibsen'in A Doll’s House Eserinin Feminist Analizi. (Turkish)"]. Beytulhikme: An International Journal of Philosophy, vol. 6, no. 1, June 2016, p. 31. Complementary Index, libproxy.ung.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb &AN=117704062&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, edited by

Michael Meyer. 10th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014,

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    "A Doll's House is the first full-blown example of Ibsen's modernism." While looking at the unreconciled ending of A Doll's House, which sets Nora's need to be first and foremost a human being against her roles as doll or as wife and mother, and offends society's need for faith in the idea of the divine and the beautiful to survive". The celebration and self-fulfillment of women was atypical for this time Promotion of equal rights and liberties I would like to look at this play from the perspective of Foucauldian notion of Panopticism.…

    • 1443 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the play A Doll House, by Henrik Ibsen, a few things are noticed: a husband’s quarrel with his wife over money and her need for self clarity, a man’s attempt to blackmail the wife, and love is found. The wife, Nora Helmer, who for the most part is the most intriguing of the characters is frequently referred to as “childlike” and saw as unsophisticated. Many readers of A Doll House point to Nora’s crucial moment of independence; however an essential aspect of the story that is often disregarded is how Nora’s socioeconomic status made her choice in leaving easier. In the beginning, Nora’s husband Torvald asks her the question, “Has the little spendthrift been out throwing money around again?”(851).…

    • 189 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Doll's House Metaphors

    • 1394 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Throughout history, women have been expected to fit into a cookie cutter mold designed by men. It should come as no surprise that in Ibsen's "A Doll's House" it is no different. While reading the story of Nora, Torvald's wife, it is obvious that she is expected to act, dress, and even dance a certain way. There are many examples of symbolism and metaphors throughout this play. The symbolism in the name of the play, the Christmas tree, her costume and dance, and even in the news of their dear friend who is dying.…

    • 1394 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen is a realistic prose play set in 1870s Norway. A Doll’s House revolves around Nora Helmer, wife to Torvald Helmer and mother to three children. Nora is described as a living doll. She does as she is told, and makes sure to please her husband. Nora has her secrets though.…

    • 1234 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Doll Breaks Free A Doll’s House is a play written by Henrik Ibsen, the first performance of the play was on December 21st, 1879 in the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ibsen is a Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. His other popular pieces include Brand, Peer Gynt, An Enemy of the People, Emperor and Galilean, Hedda Gabler, Ghosts, The Wild Duck, Rosmersholm, and The Master Builder just to name a few. During this time, women were still suppressed and lived their lives simply to raise children and serve their husbands.…

    • 1533 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Language Henrik Ibsen in “A Dolls House” describes the releationship between men and women in the victorian era. The man was all powerful, judged by their work success, and women were in the background, being socially oppressed and dependent on men in all areas of life. Women were not allowed to sign legal documents such as personal loan without man’s signature. Women of this era married mainly for security rather than love. Symbolism is a key aspect in “A Dolls House” by Henrik Ibsen, which can be dually interpreted as extended metaphor.…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is a perfect example of feminism and women’s ultimate goal of equality. It should serve as a great inspiration for women of all ages, detailing how they should view themselves, fight for equality, and shoot for their dreams. A Doll’s House is…

    • 1255 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Ibsen’s A Doll House stage directions reveal a significant change in the Helmer’s home, as the play progresses. Ibsen’s stage directions illustrate an obvious imbalance in the marriage of the main characters, Nora and Torvald Helmer. The stage directions show a shift in the Helmer’s home. Throughout the play, the household transitions from orderly to a disheveled.…

    • 1145 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Comparing and contrasting a film by Joseph Losey’s 1973 "A Doll's House" and the written version of a play by Henrik Ibsen from which it is based may provide a lot of food for thoughts, presuming that both encloses uniqueness and different ways of representing and visualizing characters life and the gender roles in 19th century. Nonetheless, given that writers have no limitations unlike movie directors, whenever a piece of writing, such as the play "A Doll's House" makes it available for the viewer there need for comparative analysis takes place. The idea is to analyze how the play compares to the film version, while trying to find similarities and differences. One of the most captivating theme to discuss is the gender roles which brought up by Ibsen. It is intriguing to follow how the director and the author conceived the plot and visualized the character’s life.…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Ibsen shows audiences the transformation of her attitude toward motherhood function in A Doll House. She was just as like society: believes that motherhood function is her priority job. After she knows she actually commits a crime, the first thing she considers it is not her own sake, but her family’s. She gets “pale with terror” and worries about Krogstad will “hurt [her] children—! Poison [her] home?”…

    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In Henrik Ibsen “A Doll’s House”, Nora Helmer, the beautiful wife of Torvald, is a representation of women’s freedom. She loves to spend money, dress elegantly, and cares for her children. However, Nora’s most important concern is charming her husband and being a perfect wife. She is a private individual and she covers her feelings from her husband even when there is no advantage in doing so. Even though Nora is deceptive and thoughtful, she is not aware of her true value until the last enactment of the play.…

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Henrik Ibsen shows the progression of the social injustice in "A Doll 's House" within the dynamics between men and women through the stage direction using devices such as demeaning and harsh diction to evolve the characters and demonstrate the addition of feminism and personal empowerment…

    • 1435 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    A Doll's House Norm

    • 1995 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Henrik Ibsen explores the roles that society places upon men and women when it comes to marriage. In the past, the man has held the power and the final say on decisions, while the women generally follow along without providing much input--primarily because their husbands discourage their input. This was perceived as the “norm” preceding 1879, the year Ibsen wrote the play, A Doll’s house. Ibsen introduces the play inside the well-furnished living room of the Helmer household. Nora, the wife of Torvald Helmer, was not raised by her father as an equal which explains why she acts the way she does.…

    • 1995 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Literary Devices in “A Doll’s House” “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen is a modern drama set in a house in the suburbs of Norway during the upper eighteen hundreds. The story centers around a housewife name Nora Helmer and the difficulties Nora experiences living a life acceptable in the eyes of society. People associated with Nora that have an impactful effect on the story include: Torvald Helmer, Nora’s husband and a banker; Mrs. Kristine Linde, Nora’s longtime friend who just moved into town; Dr. Rank, Torvald’s best friend who is an ill site to look upon; Krogstad, a lawyer who worked at the bank; and finally Nora’s three children. The story begins with Nora, who in order to help her family, especially Torvold, borrows money without telling…

    • 1368 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This extract of A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen is possibly the most important extract of Act 1. Through this section the audience is not only introduced to Mrs Christine Linde and Nora’s first discourse with a lady of her class, but the idea of Nora’s growing desire to rebel. During this conversation Ibsen displays the differing histories and the resulting personalities and ideals of two childhood friends. Plus, this section introduces the main conflict within the play and Ibsen’s reflections of the time. Firstly, the scene opens with a discussion regarding Christine’s status as a widower and how her husband left her…

    • 1538 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays