Themes & Symbols Flashcards
What are the most prominent themes in ADH?
- the sacrificial role of women
- parental and familial obligations
- the unreliability of appearances
Where is the theme of the sacrificial role of women present in the play?
- in order to support her mother and two brothers, Kristine found it necessary to abandon Krogstad and marry a richer man
- the nanny had to abandon her own child to support herself by working as Nora’s (and then as Nora’s children’s) caretaker
- Nora must hide her loan from Torvald because she knows he could never accept the idea that his wife, or any woman, has helped save his life
- Nora abandons her children because she loves them and doesn’t want to corrupt them
Where is the theme of parental and familial obligations present in the play?
- Nora, Torvald, and Dr Rank each express the belief that a parent is obligated to be honest and upstanding, because a parent’s immorality is passed on to their children like a disease
- Kristine abandoned her hopes of being with Krogstad and undertook years of labour in order to tend to her sick mother
What does Ibsen use the idea of a ‘child’s debt to their parent’ to illustrate?
Ibsen uses the idea of a child’s debt to their parent to demonstrate the complexity and reciprocal nature of familial obligations
Where is the theme of the unreliability of appearances present in the play, in terms of characters?
- Nora initially seems a silly, childish woman, but as the play progresses, we see that she is intelligent, motivated and a strong-willed, independent thinker
- Torvald, though he plays the part of the strong, benevolent husband, reveals himself to be cowardly, petty, and selfish when he fears that Krogstad may expose him to scandal
- Krogstad reveals himself to be a much more sympathetic and merciful character than he appears to be
- the play’s climax is largely a matter of resolving identity confusion, we see Krogstad as an earnest lover, Nora as an intelligent and brave woman, and Torvald as a simpering, sad man
Where is the theme of the unreliability of appearances present in the play, in terms of situations?
- seeming hatred between Kristine and Krogstad turns out to be love
- Nora’s creditor turns out to be Krogstad and not Dr Rank
- Dr Rank confesses that he is in love with Nora
- the seemingly villainous Krogstad repents and returns Nora’s contract to her
- the seemingly kindhearted Kristine ceases to help Nora and forced Torvald’s discovery of Nora’s secret
What is the instability of appearances within the Helmer household at the play’s end as a result of?
The instability of appearances within the Helmer household at the play’s end results from Torvald’s devotion to an image at the expense of the creation of true happiness. We see that Torvald’s obsession with controlling his home’s appearance and his repeated suppression and denial of reality have harmed his family and his happiness irreparably
What is the Christmas tree symbolic of in the play?
- a festive object meant to serve a decorative purpose
- symbolizes Nora’s position in her household as a plaything who is pleasing to look at and adds charm to the home
What parallels are drawn between Nora and the Christmas tree?
- Nora instructs the maid that the children cannot see the tree until it has been decorated
=> Nora tells Torvald that no one can see her in her dress until the evening of the dance - after Nora’s psychological condition has begun to erode, the stage directions indicate that the Christmas tree is correspondingly ‘dishevelled’
What is New Year’s Day symbolic of in the play?
At the beginning of the play:
- represents new, happier phase in their lives
- Torvald will start his new job and anticipates the extra money and admiration the job will bring
- Nora will be able to repay her secret debt to Krogstad
At the end of the play:
- Torvald and Nora must become new people and face radically changed ways of living
- new year comes to mark the beginning of a truly new and different period in both their lives and their personalities
