So I recently read Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House for school, and I really liked it very much. I'm usually not one for Realism in general; I kind of love absurdist theatre like Beckett and Stoppard more than realist stuff. But I did like A Doll's House very much.
Apparently, this play was radical for its time, and I can certainly imagine that. It is set in late 19th century Norway, and follows Nora, a woman stuck in a suffocating marriage to a terribly condescending man named Torvald Helmer. She is secretly in debt as a result of forging her father's signature to pay for a trip to Italy that she hoped would help her husband recover from an illness. As Torvald moves closer and closer to discovering this scandalous secret as the play progresses, Nora must decide how she's going to face the consequences of her actions and figure out her role as a woman.
It's interesting to look at Nora's transformation after she reunites with an old friend, Christine, who is now a widow and has become quite self-sufficient. It's clear that Christine makes quite an impact on Nora, because by the end of the play Nora has resolved to set out independently, leaving her husband and children behind.
A Doll's House is a quick read, it's beautifully written, and it's quite interesting. Give it a read. Or better yet, go see it. I'd like to see it if there's ever a performance of it in my area.
Hey, this does look good. I was expecting her to be an adulterer or something, but forgery for her husband isn't that bad. Ha.
ReplyDeleteYeah, she's a pretty sympathetic character. Sure, there are some things about her that I'm not too crazy about, but for the most part I feel for her.
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