Doll's House, Lady from the Sea

by Henrik Ibsen

Book Overview

A collection of three plays by the famous playwright, Henrik Ibsen, including: A Doll's HouseThe Lady From The SeaThe Wild DuckIbsen's masterly handling of the highly-charged situations in A Doll's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0460872931
• ISBN13: 9780460872935
• Release Date: November 1993
• Publisher: Orion Publishing Group
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

An intriguing 3-act play!

Major playwright, Norwegian Henrik Ibsen, was born in 1828 and wrote Doll House in 1879. It was performed in London 1889 and Paris 1894, Ibsen died in 1906. The twisting and advancing plot revolves around several themes, illusion in marriage, conflict with society, feminism, wealth, betrayal, family, and intrigue. The dramatic play is rich in symbolism, but the most profound is the title, A Doll House, which exemplifies the nature of the relationship that Nora and her husband Torvald have long since demonstrated; she is his little doll. Torvald portrays the "man" in control of finances and the home; he conducts his life the way society dictates. Nora is the sweet submissive wife who plays along with her husband dominant role, just as was the relationship with her father. Torvald 's endearments of Nora are belittling, "little squirrel", little spendthrift, little lark." But their illusional marriage takes a turn, Through a past incident for the love of her husband, Nora's secret is about to be divulged. Through that experience she no longer functions in submissive role and makes a grand stand. During this, Torvald is driven to a wimpering soul. The story is in three acts and each act reveals different character attitudes and Nora's fight and progression. The interesting story culminates with a dramatic twist.....MzRizz

A brilliant play on Marrige, Supression and Feminisme.

Henrik Ibsen in one of the most famous Norwegian writers thoughout the world. And he is known for his plays where he gives a critical view upon the society.In this play, everything happens around the main character Nora. She is innocent, naiv and has no education at all, just like most women of her social rank had at that time. Her husband, Torvald, is well known in the city, and his wife is just a "doll". She isn't supposed to have opinions on anything, just smile and look pretty in this male dominated world.When Torvald Helmer finds out that his wife has "stole" money from her father to be able to pay for a health insitution for him, he's shocked. Nora, not understand what she might have done wrong, was only trying to help her husband, and yet protect her dying father. She wakes up, starting feel independant, wanting to discover herself...Ibsen was a master of showing different sides of the social levels, and giving a critic view on what he didn't like. He has done it yet again, focusing on the marriage of these two people. Supression and a male dominated world is central aspects, and also the growing feminisme.The book is worth reading for anyone how loves to read. It is truly one of Ibsen's best plays!

This book was way before it's time - Ibsen was a genius!

The Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen wrote an insightful play about marriage and the role of women in Ibsens time (19th century Europe). I am sure that "A dolls house" must have been a shock to the European society when Ibsen first published this book. He criticised the system that demoted women to mere property and this must have been an outrageous statement in a society where women didn't even have the right to vote! The author himself said that this play was about human rights, not women's rights. While I believe this to be true, I still have no problems understanding why the female rights groups says that "A dolls house" is about women's rights. Whilst this play was written over a hundred years ago, many of the issues about women discussed in "A dolls house" are still applicable today. I think Nora is a *great* role model for a woman of the new millennium! If you, like me, had to read this as a part of your college literature requirements, give it another try! It is a wonderful book.

The start of Realism

When Ibsen's "A Doll's House" came out, it would be a start of a new revolution in the theatre. Science and Society was changing so the theatre had to change too. Instead of seeing Kings and Historical figures on the stage, we would see the common person and their role in society and their environment. Everything(Dialouge, props, acting etc.) would be all Real and be as if the audience were looking through a keyhole in these peoples lives and the people unaware of the audience. Audiences now would see a "slice of life." Ibsen's "A Doll's House" along with Strindberg's "Miss Julie" would establish the Realism movement and inspire the future of playwrights such as Chekhov, Shaw, Wilde, O'Neill etc..."A Doll's House" is a play about the role of women in Ibsen's time. Nora who struggles to bring happiness to her family. When her husband Torvald is sick, Nora borrows money from a co-worker(Krogstad) at her husband's bank to pay for a trip to heal her husband. The play takes place after this trip and we see that Torvald is restored to full health. Torvald treats Nora just like a doll and nothing more. We find out that Nora secretly is saving up to pay back the money she borrowed by buying cheaper clothes or not eating. An old friend named Mrs.Linde comes to Helmer's house in search for a job and Nora persuades her husband to let Mrs.Linde have a job at his bank. Meanwhile Krogstad comes to visit and hears this. He is very afraid that his position is at risk and thinks Torvald will fire him. He tells Nora that if she doesn't convince her husband to keep his job, he'll tell her husband of her borrowing money. This sets up the conflict and the way Nora deals with it, is not the traditional way a character like hers might in previous plays. If you have not read the play and don't want the ending spoiled don't read on.After Torvald finds out, instead of Torvald being thankful for his wife for trying to save her husband for a dreadful illness, he is furious and says he will be humiliated and torn by Society when they find out what his wife did. We the audience/reader think that it is all over for Nora, that Torvald will leave her and she will be a cast out. Instead in Act 3, in a moment of epiphany Nora's whole life goes past her. She realizes that her whole life she has just been a doll in a doll house passed down from her father to Torvald. She tells Torvald how hard she has tried to be a good wife and build a family but it won't work. She decides to leave Torvald. This action went against all the traditional values at the time and sparked a revolution. Ibsen showed the world a reality, society didn't want to see. Nora leaving Torvald was unheard of at the time and that is why "A Doll's House" is so important. Ibsen's "A Doll's House" aside from starting Realism, is just a well written piece. Anyone who loves literature or theater must read it. Ibsen from "A Doll's House" would question the role of people in Society and question authority like no other pla

A Portrait of Marriage in Ibsen's A Doll's House

The Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen subjects his writing to the intricacies of marriage time and time again. He seems to have an omniscient power and ability to observe the sacrament itself, along with the fictional characters whom he creates to engage in these marital affairs. Such is the case with his classic drama, A Doll's House. The play raises questions about female self-sacrifice in a male-dominated world. Nora is a "wife and child" to Torvald Helmer, and nothing more. She is his doll, a plaything on display to the world, of little intellectual value and even less utility in his life. Thus it is logical for Helmer to act so shockingly upon his discovery that Nora has managed financial affairs (typically a family responsibility reserved for the patriarch) without so much as his consent or knowledge. What, then, is the play saying about women by allowing Nora to act alone and independently, all the while allowing her to achieve little success in doing so? Such an apparent doubt by the playwright of the abilities of women is quickly redeemed by Nora's sudden mental fruition, as though she, in the course of a day or so, accomplishes the amount of growing up to which most persons devote years and years. She has developed the intuition and motivation to leave behind everything she has lived for during she and Helmer's eight years of marriage in exchange for an independent life and the much-sought virtue of independent thought. Nora suddenly wishes to be alone in the world, responsible for only her own well-being and success or failure. She is breaking free of her crutches (Helmer, her deceased father, the ill-obtained finances from Krogstad) and is now appetent to walk tall and proud. Through the marital madness of Helmer and Nora, Ibsen is questioning the roles of both husband and wife, and what happens when one person dominates such a relationship in a manner that is demeaning to the other, regardless of whether such degradation is carried out in a conscious, intended frame of mind. Ibsen is truly a master playwright, and his play A Doll's House is truly a masterpiece.