Critical Quotes Flashcards
Gail Finley
feminism in ADH
“Ibsen was widely credited with virtually inventing the emancipated woman”
Joan Templeton
Nora as an everywoman
“A Doll’s House is about Everywomans’ struggle against Everyman”
A M Rekdal
Nora as self-aware and manipulative
“She exploits the whole register of femininity”
Sally Hedger
Nora as a victim of both her father and Torvald
“Suppressed her own opinions and tastes to suit those of, firstly, her father, and, her husband”
Michael Meyers
Torvald as weak
“His security depends upon feeling superior”
“Helmer is shown to be weak”
Maurice Valency
pathologisation of female resistance
Valency dismissed Nora’s awakening as “an example of female hysteria”
Michael Meyers
Ibsen’s portrayal of love
“Ibsen shows romantic love to be an illusion, inhibiting the free development of the individual”
Nick Worrall
Nora exploiting her sexuality
“Throughout the play, Nora adopts a series of poses. With Helmer she is the child-wife who uses her sexuality to get her way and is pleased to be pampered and protected”
Nessar Uddin
Nora a symbol for female emancipation
Nora “act as Ibsen’s mouthpiece of the women emancipation… [representing] an individual’s liberation from the shackles and restraints of society”
Liam McNamara
Torvald as the weaker character
“It is made clear that Torvald’s apparent ‘strength’ is wholly dependent on Nora’s ‘weakness’”
Robert Dean
Christine represents…
Christine represents an “independent woman’s voluntary return to a patriarchal institution”
M V Brun
Nora’s decision to leave at the end
“There is not…. a single point which justifies her action, and the transformation of her character, which the playwright forces to happen, is so untruthful, unattractive and unmotivated”
1973 film adaptation (director: Patrick Garland)
Nora imitates the sounds and actions of animals in response to Torvald’s name calling, especially when he gives her money — this reinforces Nora’s deceptive fulfilment of her dehumanised role as Torvald’s property and doll-wife
both Nora’s dance routine and Torvald’s prideful reaction to her performance is shown
Torvald slaps Nora after reading Krogstad’s letter, this physical violence hyperbolises his lack of love or genuine respect for Nora
2007 stage adaptation (director: Lee Breuer)
male characters played by dwarves while the female characters were played by women over 6 foot tall
plays on the absurdity of the social order, makes Torvald’s patronising and condescending tone all the more comedic and ironic, seeing as Nora towers above him
women having to squeeze themselves into a cramped set that takes no account of their proportions — represents how society caters to men and ignores the capabilities of women, preventing them from being comfortable and truly free
symbolises societal restrictions and suggests that the true potential of women goes far beyond these restrictions and can barely be contained
Olive Schreiner
ADH reveals a hidden side of women
“Sides of women’s nature that are not often spoken of and some people do not believe exist”
Sally Ledger
significance of Christine’s character for Nora
“Christine Linde acts as a catalyst for Nora’s rebellion”
David Thomas
everyone being a victim
“Torvald…. is as much a victim as Nora”
Lesley Ferris
women’s punishment for defying societal expectations
Ferris studied female performance across history
the chapter titled ‘The Wilful Woman’ in her book ‘Acting Women: Images of Women in Theatre’ (1990) is particularly relevant to this play
she argues that plays in which women make decisions that men disagree with almost always end with the woman’s punishment
rewriting of the ending in some productions
the ending was so far from being happy that in some countries, the being of the play was rewritten so that all is resolved and Nora stays
for instance, in Germany, Torvald finds Nora in Mrs Linde’s house, she asks if he has forgiven her and he pulls out a bag of macaroons as a symbol of forgiveness and redemption
in another German production, Nora is confronted with her children and chooses to stay
Michael Meyer (Ibsen’s biographer)
ADH is not about women’s rights
“A Doll’s House is no more about women’s rights than Shakespeare’s Richard II is about the divine right of kings”
first production of the play
immense pressures placed on women
in the first production of the play, one of the engravings on the Helmers’ wall was the Sistine Madonna (a painting of the Virgin Mary)
a Madonna is an idealised, virtuous and beautiful woman
the fact that this was featured in the first production reflects the burdens placed upon women like Nora to be perfect wives and mothers — she is simultaneously expected to be virtuous and pure but also beautiful and sexually attractive
arguably, this is a near impossible identity to adopt and severely restricts what women are able to become
Henrik Ibsen
rejected the feminist label
ADH is often hailed as a work of feminist literature despite Ibsen himself denying that he worked “consciously for the cause of women” and that he is “not even quite clear what the cause of women really is”
Elizabeth Hardwick
main emotions underlying the play
Hardwick argues that the main emotions driving the action of Ibsen’s plays are “resentment and grievance”
this is certainly evident in ADH — happiness is certainly not a major emotion underlying the play
George Bernard Shaw
the significance of the final scene
argued that the moment when Nora stops indulging in her emotions, sits down and demands a serious talk with her husband “conquered Europe and founded a new dramatic art”
2012 Young Vic production
Nora and money
in the 2012 Young Vic production of A Doll’s House, Hattie Morahan’s Nora displayed visible excitement every time the word ‘money’ was mentioned which lead the audience to view Nora as greedy and selfish
however, the scene with Krogstad demonstrated that she was excited at the prospect of not having to see him ever again rather than at the material nature of the money itself
the Methuen Student edition of the play
Nora as naive and foolish rather than deceitful
in the Methuen Student edition of the play, it is suggested that Nora did not attempt to copy her father’s handwriting and actually signed his name on his behalf – she did not intend to deceive anyone
this interpretation presents Nora as foolish and naïve, a young girl who did not know any better and did not see anything wrong with her actions
whereas if she had intended to forge her fathers signature she’d resemble Krogstad as a criminal
William Archer
the end of Act 1
“the point at which the drama, hitherto latent, plainly declares itself”
Ibsen gives enough information about their marriage and Nora’s financial situation to make it clear that her life is about to change irrevocably
the first production of the play
the Sistine Madonna engraving
in the first production of the play, one of the engravings on the wall of the Helmer’s flat was the Sistine Madonna, a painting of the Virgin Mary
a Madonna is an idealised virtuous and beautiful woman
this reflects the immense pressures placed on women like Nora to be perfect women and perfect mothers, she is expected to be beautiful, virtuous and take on numerous, contradictory roles – this is nearly impossible and not a very realistic expectation
Aton Chekhov
naturalism
Russian playwright Aton Chekhov wrote that “It is necessary that on the stage everything should be as complex and simple as in life. People are having dinner, and while they’re having it, their future happiness may be decided or their lives may be about to be shattered”
Eva Le Gallienne
the silk stockings
the scene with the stockings has been interpreted in various different ways
some believe that it highlights Nora’s ability to manipulate and influence the men around her
however, some translators and performers such as the pioneer of women’s theatre, Eva Le Gallienne consider the whole scene demeaning to Nora and actually left it out of the play
Jerome K Jerome
stage villains
Jerome K Jerome says that the villain “does villainy.. merely from the love of the thing as an art… villainy is its own reward, he revels in it”
therefore, according to this definition, neither Krogstad or Torvald are villains
Krogstad is a desperate man eager to cling onto his job and Torvald seems to be ignorant to his controlling ways
neither of them appear to be malicious or evil in any way, they may simply be flawed due to society rather than inherently villainous
Toril Moi
Nora being objectified by Rank and Torvald
he argues that the two men treat Nora like an object
“their gaze de-souls her and turns her into a mechanical doll”
she becomes a spectacle for sexual enjoyment as they just look on and take turns on the piano, not understanding the intensity of her feelings that she expresses through dancing
Alisa Solomon
Nora’s tarantella
“not a concession to the old effect hunting, Nora’s tarantella is an appropriation of it” – suggests that Nora uses theatricality to express her own feelings
Eleanora Duse
her interpretation of Nora’s tarantella
Eleanora Duse, who played Nora, thought the tarantella was undignified and chose instead to express Nora’s exhaustion
a review of her performance said “she dons the crown of roses, seizes the tambourine, makes one sweep around the stage, then drops powerless with emotion and fear”
this interpretation reinforces Nora’s feelings of being overwhelmed and never being able to escape her troubles, she is so tired by this point in the play she can no longer dance
Joseph Losey’s 1973 film adaptation
Nora’s tarantella
in Joseph Losey’s 1973 film adaptation, Nora seems to be attempting to seduce her husband by dancing
in this film, we also see her perform in a costume at the party upstairs
many feminist critics, including Frode Helland, have accused the director of inviting the audience to be as voyeuristic as the men in the play
David Edgar
power of the tarantella scene
points out that part of the power of the tarantella scene comes from the fact that it is a ‘social ceremony’ in which Nora’s emotion has taken over
performing to guests was very common and the Helmers’ piano suggests that they host regularly and give musical performances
but in this instance, Nora takes over and expresses herself freely
Patrick Garland’s 1973 film production
Torvald’s violence in Act 3
there is a strong undercurrent of rage and anger in Torvald’s lines but Ibsen’s stage directions never call for physical violence
however, in Patrick Garland’s 1973 film production Torvald actually strikes Nora after he reads the letter and the bruise can be seen for the rest of the film
Michael Mangan
Torvald’s speech in Act 3 about forgiveness
sees Torvald’s speech as having two sides, he says that “there is something deeply chilling about Torvald’s joyful reassurances”
Nora may leave Torvald because he fails to live up to the masculine ideals he professes or maybe because if he were to live up to these ideals her life would become even more terrible
Janet McTeer
(Nora is tired of keeping up appearances, she is exhausted and disillusioned by the end of the play, ready to strip away the facade)
“She is an actress that has become tired of acting”
M V Brun
the ending of the play, shocking to early audiences, disliked by many
“all the enjoyment offered in the first acts evaporates in the third and we are left there in the most embarrassing ambience, almost revoltingly affected by a catastrophe”
A S Byatt
audiences are moved by the choices Nora makes
points out that we do not necessarily like or admire Nora, but can still be moved by the choice she makes
“great tragedy asks us to care for flawed or even stupid people… the glory of A Doll’s House is that it asks us to care for a small minded person, in the moment of her realisation of her own small-mindedness”
Anne Louise Sarks
ADH forces the audience to think about their own lives
the play “asks us who we are and who we want to be… it demands we ask that of our most personal selves”
Thomas Ostermeier’s 2003 production
the ending
at the end of this production, Nora does not merely slam the door but actually shoots Torvald
