A Doll's House Questions 3i4i2u

English homework. 01/03/13 1. Write 2 paragraphs explaining why “A Doll’s House” is described a “Well –made play”. 2. The last sound the audience hears is the door slamming shut after Nora’s departure. Examine the significance (dramatically and literary) of this stage device.

1: A doll's house as a well-made play. A well-made play is a form of French theatre that started in and was introduced by Eugene Scribe. It talks about one subject; its plot is structural and continues in a normal arrangement of incidents. A doll's house contains most of the characteristics or features of the well-made play. The play is going forward in logical order; there are no flashbacks, no metaphysical concerns. Second feature is the presence of a secret, which is known to the audience but not known to the hero of the play, and this secret in the play was the forgery that Nora did to save her husband’s life. It was known to the audience but not to Helmer. Also there is always a threat to the security and safety of the hero and there is a state of suspense when Krogstad was threatening Nora to tell her husband Helmer about the forgery. There also were timely arrivals of

characters coming from outside country or returning back from a long journey like Mrs. Linde.

Another aspect is the settings of the play as it was very realistic. Ibsen described very carefully the furniture the living room, also describing the real settings, lots of exits and entrance as in the real life. The lowest point of the hero's fortune occurs just before what happened with Nora at the end of the play, that is when she wanted to commit suicide. However after this she started to realize herself as just playing the role of the doll from her father's hand then to her husband’s hand, and decided to talk about it with her husband for the first time. Finally for the conclusion it was logical and clear, and it was not supposed to have any remainder or unsolved quotient to puzzle the audience.

2. Nora’s departure Nora’s dramatic departure from the scene shows that she is definitely leaving the household, therefore abandoning her husband and her children. This shows that she wishes to end all sorts of relationship with her family and start a “new life”.

Ibsen cleverly chooses to end the play on that surprising note to point out that Nora’s decision was made, and that she wouldn’t change her mind.