by Henrick IbsenHenrick Ibsen
A Doll's House is a three-act play in prose by Henrik Ibsen. The play is significant for its critical attitude toward 19th century marriage norms. It aroused great controversy at the time, as it concludes with the protagonist, Nora, leaving her husband and children because she wants to discover herself. Ibsen was inspired by the belief that "a woman cannot be herself in modern society," since it is "an exclusively male society, with laws made by men and with prosecutors and judges who assess feminine conduct from a masculine standpoint." Its ideas can also be seen as having a wider application: Michael Meyer argued that the play's theme is not women's rights, but rather "the need of every individual to find out the kind of person he or she really is and to strive to become that person." In a speech given to the Norwegian Association for Women's Rights in 1898, Ibsen insisted that he "must disclaim the honor of having consciously worked for the women's rights movement," since he wrote "without any conscious thought of making propaganda," his task having been "the description of humanity." In 2006, the centennial of Ibsen's death, A Doll's House held the distinction of being the world's most performed play.
Bookwire
Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) was a Norwegian playwright and poet whose realistic, symbolic and often controversial plays revolutionised European theatre. He is widely regarded as the father of modern drama. His acclaimed plays include A Doll's House, Ghosts, Hedda Gabler, An Enemy of the People and The Pillars of the Community.
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New, raw, gut-twisting and gripping. Easily the hottest drama this season.
A Doll's House 3.9 out of 5 based on 0 ratings. 38 reviews.
crazyjster on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
The good thing was...it was VERY quick to read, other than that...who cares about the story. It was lame. I can't believe people paid money to sit through that on Broadway. There was no excitement what so ever. It was like watching what goes on in many households on stage. Evidently the big deal was that it happened in an earlier time period when it was less socially exceptable...big deal.
pocketmermaid on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
Read for school in my World Lit class. But I remember loving it from my high school drama class. I loved Ibsen even then. Coming back to to this play years later was wonderful, because I got to examine it from an adult perspective. I will always defend Nora and her decision. She is a victim of her time period, yet she is not to be pitied.
cmbohn on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
When I was a student at BYU in my last semester I took an American Lit class. Looking back, I should have taken almost any other class available. I was a newlywed when the semester started, and by the end I was expecting my first baby. So what did we study that would go along with my life's lessons I was learning at the time? Kate Chopin's The Awakening. Charlotte Perkins Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper. Edith Wharton. Sarah Orne Jewett. Just about any depressing story written by American women, we read it. That class was not a lot of laughs.The play, A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, would have fit right in with those writers if only he had been American. It's got all the right elements. Restricted setting - check. Slice of middle class family life - check. Deceptively innocuous beginning - check. Desperate woman struggling with her own identity against a tightly ordered society and family life - double check. The difference is that for me, 18 years after the first class, is that now instead of making me depressed, it made me angry to read this. Angry with Nora, and the way it took her so long to protest the way she was treated. Angry with Helmet, for treating his wife as an inferior creature he had to humor. Angry with Christine, for putting up with years of unhappiness just so she could devote her entire self to taking care of someone. And then going after what she really wanted only because she was helping her friend, and further, because she set up the expectation that she would again be 'taking care' of someone. Most of all, angry with society, that this was accepted as normal. I read that when this play was first performed, the audience was shocked. But not because of any of the reasons I mentioned. No, because women were generally supposed to be perfectly content to be treated in such a way.Looking back at that class, I am not a bit surprised that I found it so troubling. There I was, just barely started on this marriage thing and shortly about to take on motherhood. And what did I get to read about? Any healthy models of what family life could be like? No. Literally, everything we read that dealt with marriage or motherhood was telling me how restrictive it was, how demanding, how degrading to my personhood, how I would have to sacrifice my very self to be successful in my new roles. No wonder I had a hard time!So a little perspective is valuable now that I read this play. I know from my own experience that marriage does not have to be like that, and that motherhood is a source of great joy and fulfillment, as well as a challenge. Yes, I know that society was different 100 years ago, but I have to believe that even then, not every marriage was one of dominant/submissive. There must, even then, have been relationships that were based on a more equal footing. There must have been women who ENJOYED being a wife and a mother, and didn't just do it because they needed security.And maybe I'm just a little spoiled, because I am living in the 21st century, when women are busy in so many different things. Maybe. But to say that I can't judge people from that era means that I'm supposed to accept that they are not as capable as I am of fixing things that don't work, and that they are not as bright at seeing what makes them unhappy. I don't believe that. Yes, it must have been more difficult for women of that time to express their true selves, but that doesn't mean that I shouldn't get angry when I read about a woman who is a doormat, and ask myself why she put up with that.What did I think of this play? I can't say I loved it. But it sure brought out a strong reaction in me. On that basis alone, I have to give it 5 stars. I think that every couple ought to read this play, or even better, see it together. And so should every therapist or clergyman. Single people too should read this and learn from it to set up some solid boundaries before they form a partnership.I think that so far this year, this is the book that got me the most em
ashdwyer on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
The only redeeming quality about this book is that it is short. I really didnt enjoy the writing style, the characters, or the plot. It was one of those books that you are forced to read, and simply suffer through it while never feeling like you could connect with it. I cant stand it when people assume that just because something is popular or old, it has to be good. This book just wasnt good.
LTW on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
One of the best-known, most frequently performed of modern plays, displaying Ibsen¿s genius for realistic prose drama. A classic expression of women¿s rights, the play builds to a climax in which the central character, Nora, rejects a smothering marriage and life in "a doll¿s house."
ThatsFresh on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
short, deals with inner questioning vs. outward conformity. understandable how hugely controversial this was when it was released. still enjoyable today.
ithilwyn on LibraryThing More than 1 year ago
This is a very interesting drama about the needs of the individual versus the needs of society or family.
Anonymous More than 1 year ago
It was great.
RJGM More than 1 year ago
OK, I think maybe I need to read this one again. I rated it four stars because I thought it was interesting, the plot and characters are deep and complicated, and the writing is good. But I don't think I really "got" it. Despite the length (or lack thereof, I guess) of this book, I kind of regret how quickly I read it. All my comments still stand re: interesting, deep, etc., but maybe it's better to watch the play than to read it...?
For the first part you feel like nothing is happening (mainly because nothing IS happening), but the ending was good enough to earn in another star.
amin119 More than 1 year ago
Awesome......!!!!!!
manurcu36 More than 1 year ago
Fantastic book
WaltimusWL More than 1 year ago
I was in the Doll House when i was a wee lad, this nook book brought me back.
Guest More than 1 year ago
As a bound women of stereotypes and a family that she doesn't know, Nora's self liberation isn't so surprising after all. Her burst for freedom was iminent, but only occured when she realised that it would never change. Ibsen creates a doll's house, or even a bird's cage, where the vulnerable creature can only have a say when they realise that they have a voice to express their views. Through an intricate storyline, one can learn valuable lessons concerning what one does for love and what one does for the sake of their own future. Not only does Nora free herself from her cage, but she destroys all future possiblities of new cages.
I believe that this is one of them most wonderful books about independence I have ever read. Nora Helmer, who seems as an innocent child, displays an amazing metamorphisis throughout this book. At first she seems to enjoy being indulged in her childlike ways. As the story progresses, we come to discover that she is not as innocent as she looks. Nora has a secret about her father's affairs after he died, she forged his signature, and has kept it from Torvald, her husband , all these years. She has only kept it from him because she did not think she could make it on her own (because she knew if he knew about it, she would surely be casted away.) In the end, all is told and although furious, Torvald plans to keep it from everyone and continue on with everything. Nora, at this point, decides that she can make it on her own and leaves Torvald. Very good story, especially for the time period it is set in. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
I think that this play is very realistic and that it applies to people today. If everyone read this play, I am sure the world would be much better.
just went through the script and i found it interesting...close to reality...i was given the character of Mrs Linde..a widow..expressed well as a young widows character.. Nora Helmer..is an amazing character...innocent yet very strong...she goes along well with the flow..and becomes strong with her decision when its time to leave...
Ibsen introduced new, daring ideas that were practically unheard of in his day. Nora, the main character, acts and is treated like a doll by her domineering husband Torvald. He controls everything, even what she eats. He strives for perfection, and convinces both himself and Nora that their marriage is faultless. However, as the play progresses, you can see that underneath that feeble, doll image, Nora is a real person with real feelings. She realizes that the ¿perfect¿ life she is living is all an illusion that they had both created so they wouldn't have to face each other with any horrible facts of their life. When Nora walks out, the illusion is shattered. Their society sees that they were not ¿perfect¿, and that they had problems. It also showed that Nora was stronger, even though she was a woman. This play is very realistic in the sense that it correctly portrays the reality of what occurs in life. People still put up artificial appearances in front of others just to fit in with the society they live in. Ibsen was widely criticized for this play because he had made public what everyone had been trying so hard to hide for so long.
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A Doll's House: A play by Henrik Ibsen
ACT I(SCENE.--A room furnished comfortably and tastefully, but notextravagantly. At the back, a door to ...
ACT I(SCENE.--A room furnished comfortably and tastefully, but notextravagantly. At the back, a door to the right leads to theentrance-hall, another to the left leads to Helmer's study. Betweenthedoors stands a piano. In the middle of the left-hand wall is ...
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen (Book Analysis):
Unlock the more straightforward side of A Doll's House with this concise and insightful summary ...
Unlock the more straightforward side of A Doll's House with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!This engaging summary presents an analysis of A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, which centres on the repercussions of a lie told by its ...
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Written in 1879 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, A Doll's House is a three act ...
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A Doll's House (Norwegian/English Bilingual Text)
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Henrik Johan Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is ...
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