Quick Facts about Norway in the 1800s.
Click HERE for sources
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To what extent is the picture of marriage similar or different to that of the United States? |
Victorian England
Norwegians in the 1800s would have been greatly influenced by the ideals and morals in England. The Victorian Era is generally thought to have lasted from 1831-1901. It was a time of great prosperity, change, and development in the political, social, and cultural sphere. The websites below will give you a snapshot of Victorian England and will hopefully shed some more light on the morals and values to which Ibsen would have been responding.
The Victorian Era
BBC: Victorians
Gender Roles in the 19th Century: Victorians
The Victorians: Gender and Sexuality
Norwegians in the 1800s would have been greatly influenced by the ideals and morals in England. The Victorian Era is generally thought to have lasted from 1831-1901. It was a time of great prosperity, change, and development in the political, social, and cultural sphere. The websites below will give you a snapshot of Victorian England and will hopefully shed some more light on the morals and values to which Ibsen would have been responding.
The Victorian Era
BBC: Victorians
Gender Roles in the 19th Century: Victorians
The Victorians: Gender and Sexuality
Pre-reading fun! Context
How did 19th century audiences receive the production of A Doll's House?
reception_of_a_dolls_house.pdf | |
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Task: With a partner, read and highlight aspects of the article that describe how audiences received Ibsen’s play. When you are done highlighting, collate your findings in a chart or a mind map.
Discussion: Why do you think audiences reacted in this way? How is it in keeping with the context?
Discussion: Why do you think audiences reacted in this way? How is it in keeping with the context?
Comic Strips: Let's get creative
Your task is to create a short comic strip that illustrates characteristics of 19th century marriage and women. Use the information you've gathered from discussion and the article. Label all parts of your comic strip so that it is clear what each item represents.
Your task is to create a short comic strip that illustrates characteristics of 19th century marriage and women. Use the information you've gathered from discussion and the article. Label all parts of your comic strip so that it is clear what each item represents.
PRE-READING FUN! Big Ideas
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” William Shakespeare
- Is human existence simply a matter of playing parts? Explain.
- The world’s a stage is Shakespeare’s metaphor. What other metaphors can you think of that would be appropriate for life today? Elaborate.
A Doll's House - Title analysis
- What is the function of a doll and a doll house?
- Who primarily plays with dolls and for what purpose?
- Who makes the rules for each doll?
- According to your understanding of 19th century Norway, why is this play called A Doll's House?
A Doll's House: Act 1
Setting: Nora and Torvald's living room
Using the stage directions on page 23, draw the stage on poster paper. Add as much detail as possible in order to bring the room to life. How do you imagine it? Be sure to research unfamiliar words in order to get the full effect.
As we study the play, we will continue to refer to these sketches and add notes about the symbolism of each item.
As we study the play, we will continue to refer to these sketches and add notes about the symbolism of each item.
Discussion Questions:
- Based on the items in the house, what assumptions can you make about this family? Explain.
- A bell rings in the hall outside. After a moment we hear the front door being opened. NORA enters the room, humming contentedly to herself. - Why does Nora ring the bell?
- The whole play takes place in a single room. What could this type of setting symbolize?
Essential Questions
- How does Ibsen present the character of Nora in Act 1?
- What sort of marriage do Helmer and Nora share and why?
Discussion Points and Activities [pages 24-27]
- Make a list of any of Nora's behaviors that you would consider child-like and/or in line with being a wife.
- How do Helmer and Nora speak to one another? Use specific examples from pages 24-27 to support your ideas.
- What do you make of their discussion of money on pages 24-26?
"The Yellow Wallpaper" and A Doll's House: Marriage
What similarities do you see between this marriage and the one in "The Yellow Wallpaper"? Be specific about the way the writers present the female characters and the dynamic between husband and wife. Use direct examples when possible.
What similarities do you see between this marriage and the one in "The Yellow Wallpaper"? Be specific about the way the writers present the female characters and the dynamic between husband and wife. Use direct examples when possible.
Essential Question:
- Why does Ibsen juxtapose Nora and Mrs. Linde?
- Structurally, what is Mrs. Linde's function in the play? Why did Ibsen need to bring her character on stage?
Close Reading Task: Act 1 - Nora and Mrs Linde
Task: Read the passage and do a close reading of the language, structure, and big ideas. Use the questions below to guide your analysis. We will use this speech as the basis for an open dialogue/socratic seminar on Thursday.
Task: Read the passage and do a close reading of the language, structure, and big ideas. Use the questions below to guide your analysis. We will use this speech as the basis for an open dialogue/socratic seminar on Thursday.
- Where do you see Nora’s internal struggle surface in her speeches? What is she fighting?
- To what extent are both characters playing their part in society?
act_1_close_reading_-_nora_and_mrs_linde.docx | |
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Types of characters
Essential Questions
Essential Questions
- What types of characters does Ibsen present in A Doll's House, and why are they important?
- Protagonist: The main character. He/she is faced with a conflict that must be resolved.
- Antagonist: The main character who conflicts with the protagonist. Can also be seen as the obstacle the main character must overcome.
- Dynamic: A character who changes over time. Change usually occurs due to resolving a conflict
- Static: A character who does not change over time.
- Round: Anyone who has a complex personality. Often portrayed as a conflicted or contradictory character.
- Flat: Possesses one kind of personality trait or characteristic. Often, little is known of these characters. The role of a flat character is to participate in incidents that move the action forward, or to act in a predictable way that moves a character to change.
- Stock: Stock characters are those types of characters who have become conventional or stereotypical through repeated use in particular types of stories. Stock characters are instantly recognizable to readers or audience members (e.g. the femme fatale, the cynical but moral private eye, the mad scientist, the geeky boy with glasses, and the faithful sidekick).
- Foil: Personal qualities contrast with another character (usually the protagonist). By providing this contrast, we get to know more about the other character.
Click HERE for source
character_types_-_ecopy.docx | |
File Size: | 54 kb |
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A Doll's House: Act 2
Essential Questions:
- How is the maternal aspect of Nora's life represented at the end of Act 1 and beginning of Act 2?
- How does Ibsen use literary features (irony, metaphor, symbolism) to characterize Nora and the house?
Task: Analyze the literary feature with your group. Use the questions to guide your analysis, but feel free to expand and go in a different direction. Use examples from the text to support your ideas. All groups will be teaching the class.
Group 1: Metaphor
"Didn't you say no one had been here? (Wags his finger). My little songbird must never do that again. A songbird must have a clean beak to sing with. Otherwise she'll start twittering out of tune. (Puts his arm round her waist.)..." (p. 50).
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Group 2: Symbolism
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Group 3: Irony
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End of Act 1:
Beginning of Act 2: Nora and the Nurse
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Essential Question
- To what extent is Nora changing?
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You will find the guiding questions on the Word doc or PDF on the left. Both files are the same, just diff formats.
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Essential Question
- What the presence of Dr Rank reveal about Nora?
- What do the lamp and the stove symbolize?
Dr Rank's Illness
NORA: No, last night it was very noticeable. But he's got a terrible disease -- he's got spinal tuberculosis, poor man. His father was a frightful creature who kept mistresses and so on. As a result Dr Rank has been sickly ever since he was a child - you understand - (p. 57).
RANK: With death on my hands? And all of this to atone for someone else's sin? Is there justice in that? And in every single family, in one way or another, the same merciless law of retribution is at work -- (p. 65). |
The origins of the sexually transmitted diseases gonorrhoea and syphilis were hazy in this period. In fact, a child would not inherit syphilis, but could be infected if the mother had been infected before conceiving.
Why might Ibsen have chosen to develop Dr Rank's disease in this manner? What parallels do you see between Rank and Nora? |
Nora and Rank's Conversation
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Nora and Rank's "Relationship"
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Symbols
The lamp and the stove NORA: Helen, bring the lamp (Goes over to the stove.) Oh, dear, Dr Rank, this was really horrid of you (p. 68). NORA: Aren't you ashamed of yourself, now that the lamp's been lit (p. 69). |
What does the stove symbolize? Locate at least three areas in the play where the stove is mentioned. What is happening at that moment? What purpose could the stove serve?
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What does the lamp symbolize?
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Essential Question
KROGSTAD: Most of us think of that at first. I did. But I hadn't the courage--
- What is the function of Krogstad's appearance at the end of Act 2?
KROGSTAD: Most of us think of that at first. I did. But I hadn't the courage--
- To what are Nora and Krogstad referring on page 71-72?
- Why does Ibsen create this dialogue between Krogstad and Nora? What purpose does it serve the audience?
- What is your opinion of Krogstad? Justify with examples from Act 2
A Doll's House - Act 3
"Now I'm a shipwrecked man, clinging to a spar."
- Who says this? To what is the character referring?
- What language feature is being utilized in this sentence?
- How does this line apply to other characters in the play?
Find evidence in Act 3 to support your answers to the following questions:
- How does Ibsen show the audience that Nora and Mrs. Linde are about to change roles? Why does he make this literary choice?
- Due to the previous dramatic structure of melodrama, where stock characters were mostly utilized, Ibsen gives Mrs Linde characteristics of "the confidante" and Krogstad "the villain." How and why do these characters deviate from these stock roles, particularly at the beginning of Act 3? Research the stock roles, if need be.
Essential Question:
- To what extent is Helmer the representative voice of society?
Refer to pages 87-88: Helmer advances upon Nora
Helmer's speech, "And then when we're about to go, and I wrap the shawl..."
- What is Nora's subtext throughout this scene, and how does it foreshadow the final scene?
- What role does the symbolic action of the tarantella play in this scene?
Helmer's speech, "And then when we're about to go, and I wrap the shawl..."
- Describe Helmer's tone in this passage. Why does Ibsen create this tone at this point in the play?
- Does Helmer love Nora? Explain.
The miracle
p. 27-28 p. 74 p. 79 p. 101-102 |
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Hashtag Activity
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Read pages 92-96.
Activity: Choose at least one page of text and add hashtags throughout the text. Your hashtags should highlight the subtext of each of the characters. You can use as many hashtags as you would like, especially for Helmer's longer sections of text. |
Discussion - pages 92-96
- What do you notice about the structure of Helmer and Nora's lines of speech? Why has Ibsen made this choice?
- How does Ibsen use this scene to show that Helmer has NOT evolved as a character?
- What would have had to happen in order to show his character development?
- Why does Nora take off her fancy dress clothes on page 96?
Essential Question
- Why would the final pages of the play have shocked Ibsen's audience?
Metaphor of the doll house
- How does Ibsen draw parallels between the life in the house on stage and the false life of a doll's?
- How is Nora criticizing society? How might the audience have responded to these criticisms? (98-103)
HELMER. Nora - can I never be anything but a stranger to you?
NORA (picks up her bag). Oh, Torvald! Then he miracle of miracles would have to happen. HELMER. The miracle of miracles! NORA. You and I would both have to change so much that - oh, Torvald, I don't believe in miracles any longer. HELMER. But I want to believe in them. Tell me. We should have to change so much that --! NORA. That life together between us two could become a marriage. Goodbye. She goes out through the hall. HELMER (sinks down on a chair by the door and buries his face in his hands). Nora! Nora! (Looks round and gets up.) Empty! She's gone! (A hope strikes him.) The miracle of miracles -? The street door is slammed shut downstairs. |
Discussion: Final scene
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