misunderstanding Flashcards
Torvald and Nora
misunderstood rights and worths;
- established with disagreement of use of money - ‘We can’t afford to be extravagant!’ but this permeates throughout the whole play
- At end - this small conflict is extrapolated into fundamental incompatibility - Torvald ‘But I want to believe in (miracles)’ but Nora ‘don’t believe in miracles any longer’
this conflict reflects wider conflict of ideology in 19th century Norwegian culture as ‘Angel in the House’ ideals coincided with the emergence of the first wave of feminism - Intense societal conflict
Also reflects the societal misunderstanding of female worth (‘There are thousands of such doll-homes’ - Social Demokraten) - Women weren’t allowed access to education past high school and had no control over money and possessions - highlighted by Ibsen in T: ‘scientific experiment! Those are big words for my little Nora to use!’ VS N: ‘I must educate myself’
Critic - Ibsen - ‘a woman cannot be herself in contemporary society’
Nora and Krogstad
- Begins as melodramatic conflict of hero vs villain
- Transforms into mutual understanding - frees Nora