A Doll House Discussion

Erin Rezich

Per. 7

Perrine’s Question #3
What are the symbolic meanings of the title? Why is it more appropriate than A Doll’s House? Is Nora the only “doll” in the play?

The title implies that the house (i.e. the way it is run) is very fake and stereotypical, like the way a child would reenact a family with dolls
The audience of the play is omniscient just as a child is when playing with a doll house

o Doll houses typically lack an entire side so that every room is accessible

Adding the possessive “s” in the title is not appropriate because it implies that the house belongs to Nora which couldn’t be further from the truth

o She doesn’t know her own children or husband

o She and Torvald do NOT share household responsibilities

o She takes no pride in her household

o “Torvald – that moment I realized that I had been living here for eight years with a stranger and had borne him three children – Oh, I can’t stand thinking about it! I feel like tearing myself to pieces!” (page 1140)

Torvald could also be considered a “doll” as he is so stereotypical and does many of the things he does simply because he’s the “man of the house.”

o The characters in this play seem to be playing roles of the household

Background Question
How did reading some reviews of A Doll House, as it was performed by various companies, help you to better understand who the characters really are?

Without reading the reviews, I would have viewed this play almost as a farce or parody as the characters seems quite ridiculous
The reviews helped me better understand that Nora is truly a complex character that requires a great deal of skill to play

o I would have written her off as a ditsy young woman who always has been and always will be taken care of

o In reality, she knows that this is the way she comes off, but she plays along because she thinks it is her only option

o Nora has many levels that I would not have recognized without reading professional reviews

As stated in one of the reviews, it is easy for Nora to be played as a fool, but it takes artist to REALLY capture her essence

o “You need an actress who can play the Nora Torvald wants her to be, his accoutrement, but who all this time is dealing with her mounting anxiety.”

I also gathered from the reviews that Torvald is quite difficult to play as well. His actions should be performed with a sense of duty; he does the things he does because they are what the man of the house is to do.

o “While Nora’s last-minute decision to reject the web of illusions that has sustained her married life with Torvald has often been viewed as a “clarion call” for women’s rights in defiance of patriarchy, he points out, the issue isn’t nearly so straightforward. “Ibsen actually denied that he intended a feminist polemic.”

o “As Torvald, Michael Patten contributes “an emotional availability that intensifies his collapse at the end. I’ve never seen a Torvald go that deep.”

Many characters in plays and movies are “stock” characters that provide a specific function and their actions are completely predictable, this is not the case with Nora

Open-Ended Question
Does Torvald love Nora?

I do not believe that Torvald loves Nora as a wife
Just as he did in everything else, he got married and had kids because that is what the man of the house is to do

o Helmer (by the open door) “ Good, good. Try to calm down and…” (page 1135)

He calls her a child multiple times and the love for a child is very different than that of a marriage

o Nora (imperturbably) “I mean that I passed from Daddy’s hands into yours…” (page 1136)

Torvald loves his status of being a married man with kids and a solid job
It’s not that he doesn’t care about Nora, it’s that he doesn’t love her as a husband should love his wife