Textual Exploration: Drama In A Doll's House

Textual Exploration: A Doll’s House Name Course Instructor Date Textual Exploration: A Doll’s House A Doll’s House is a play by Henrik Ibsen depicting the plights of women in Norway in the late 19th century where they were prohibited by the law from any financial transactions. All women who engaged in business activities or earned money from employment remained celibate and were considered outcasts by the society. The play highlights the struggles of a married woman in the male dominated society who went against the laws that prohibit them from engaging in financial activities despite her doing so for genuine reasons. The essay seeks to examine prominent elements of fiction, drama techniques and layers of understanding used by the author in the play. ACT 1 The play is set in Helmer’s living room in Norway in what is assumed to be a suburb Europe region during the Victorian Era. Despite the setting in Ibsen’s native Norway the actors in the play do not talk much about the Norwegian aspects that can make the play appear Norwegian. Helmer’s living room is a middle class living room and its setting is in such a manner that anybody can impose themselves into the lives of the Helmer’s without limit. The living room is too open to anyone who wants to come in even when they are in the middle of private discussions. The setting is in a society that is hyper-repressed whereby the women do not have a say about their lives. They are entirely under the command of their husband and their main role is set as child care while the men were expected to provide for the family. The women were expected to entirely be submissive to their husbands as the husbands dominated over them. Those who did not adhere to these unwritten social rules, there were consequences. One of the most notable themes in Act one is the theme of work and money. The characters are more interested in the money and work as a main source of money which to them is their source of power. In the beginning, it’s revealed that Torvald was recently promoted and his income is expected to rise. However, Torvald is conscious about the money and warns Nora to be cautious with her spending habits. Linde needs a job to earn a living after the death of her husband. Their sentiments about money can be depicted when Helmer says “Nora! Just like a woman. Seriously though, Nora, you know what I think about these things. No debts! Never borrow! There’s always something inhibited, something unpleasant, a...