The character of Mrs Linde

Mrs Linde:

The character of Mrs Linde is used by Isben as a foil character to highlight different aspects of the main protagonist, Nora. Through her discussion with Mrs Linde we understand the other side of Noras bi-polar character which cherishes the independence which she is thrust by borrowing money from the bank when Helmer fell ill, and who is kind and self-less as she tries to help an old college acquire work at the bank. This side of Nora is hidden from Torvald, as in their relationship he exercises his control over her, allowing Nora to seek to please him by doing “tricks” for him, emphasising their patriarchal relationship.Therefore Mrs Linde is used to convey the dramatic irony, as we understand the other side of Nora’s character and her deception, which Helmer appears to have knowledge of. Mrs Linde is also used to show underlying theme of women’s rights in the play, as she is a widower she follows different laws from the rest of society and is able to work and travel and support her family financially on her own, without the constraints of a marriage. This emphasises that although men were perceived as having higher status and controlling education in society, women were still able to receive important jobs. Represented through Mrs Linde acquiring the high standing job at the bank. This shows that although women’s rights were not established at this time period in Europe, women are still able to hold the same status and positions as men, highlighting Isbens personal views on women’s rights through his depiction of Mrs Linde as a strong confident individual.

The character of Mrs Linde is rather subdued and wise as she seems to 'know' and have experienced all of the hardships of life "subdued", "dear Nora, i do understand" she knows the complications and distractions of life due to her working to support her family and brothers without a husband to support her


Travels alone, is able to have the freedoms of a lifestyle unsubjected or controlled by a husband


The character of mrs linde is used by Ibsen to highlight the other personailty of Nora, of an understanding and caring individual, more sober and sensible, which is hidden from Helmer. We understand that she isnt selfish and that she wishes to hear about Mrs Linde life.


"Yes it must be pleasant to have everything you need" she doesnt know the luxary as she has been striving hard in order to support her family with no comforts for herself.


"It happens like that sometimes, Nora" she seems superior due to her experiences and treats Nora as a child, we learn that Nora has not been subjected to any of the hardships of working class, as her only experience of work has been " odds and ends of needle work" in order to repay her debt to the bank, "your a terrible spendrift", "wagging her finger at her" this condescending manner of adressing Nora is imitated in Mrs Linde as at first she percieves Nora as Helmer does, as an innocent and unknowing house wife who has no knowledge of greater troubles. "Your only a baby Nora!" She wants to prove herself and gain respect in the eyes of her college, trying to create her own individual identity. "You know your simply dying of curiosity" She cherishes this new found freedom as sje discovers a personality who isnt connected to the financial gains of her husband and she wishes to keep it hidden from Helmer, as she fears upsetting him. "Well one day, perhaps, but not for a long time"


Nora starts to realize her status of being a lower educated person, controlled as her husband through talking to Mrs Linde. "You're like all the others,- you none of you think i could do anything worth while" She is proud to announce that she has some independance from her husband and his finance as it was her decision to borrow the money to pay for the holiday, she begins to 'see clearly' and wants to become more like the character of Mrs Linde and create her own identity seperate from Helmer. She confesses to Mrs Linde how she has secretley borrowed the money from the bank and reveals a hidden aspect of her personality- of a women struggling to pay of debt but who is still proud, as it was completley her idea. She wants to be strong and independent like her friend, who comes seeking a high-rate job at the bank and who is free of all of the constraints of a marriage so that she is able to find herself and build her place in society.

Research Project on "A Doll's House" and the life of Henrik Ibsen

Research Project on "A Doll's House" and the life of Henrik Ibsen

By Elise and Alice

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1flP4kRCz2hOtr-qrWSJOP3VhDkO5Xjd1DkdyQtlwm_U/edit?hl=en&authkey=CNn1tc8H#

Messages conveyed in the stage directions Act One (p149-151)

What information do the stage directions give the audience?

Setting:

Object Correlative ( When the setting symbolizes character/s) The setting of the play is "a comfortable room, furnished inexpensively, but with taste" showing that the room is in a middle classes home which is nicely designed, for a number of functions and for everyday use and comfort, with things placed beautifully, although it is inexpensive, which shows that no money is wasted on decoration. This highlights the character of Helmer, as he doesn't wish to waste money, but wants to save it for other uses. Empathizing Helmers control over the family lifestyle as even the house is designed to his taste and ideals, rather than Nora who as the wife is supposed to decorate the house and appears to spend money on the household setting. This is used to symbolize Nora and Helmers conflicting personalities, as the room is inexpensive yet it has taste and design. 

Nora and Torvald's duties to the family are very separate. The space beyond the main setting is Helmers study, showing his education, professionalism and power advantage over the rest of the family. Represents a Private space for himself where he can do as he pleases, no one can interrupt as they have respect for his status in the family"goes to the door and listens" rather than knocking. 

"handsomely bound books" educated and sophisticated, the rest of the house is described as inexpensive showing an investment in knowledge and education/learning. Although he books appear as untouched and beautiful as Nora doesn't read them. Emphasizing the gender discourse, that man controls education, through Helmers thinking and learning status in the family. This is subtly hinted as 'handsome' is a male adjective. The class system is based on gender. "Nora! Just like a woman" helmet sees her as incomprehensive and unknowing about the important aspects of life, showing how men have more powerful status as they 'know' more than women, this highlights the time period at the time of the play, as women were not given rights in Europe, and were classed as lower then men. 

Ibsen is very detailed and precise in his writing, he mentions small, seemingly insignificant details systematically which are used to represent the different ideas and characteristics throughout the play. He is re owned for his modernist and realistic drama and attempts to convince the reader that the play is real, by giving very detailed descriptions which leave no room for the director to use artistic license. All of his plays are based on his life experiences and he tries to replicate them in the play. Allowing aspects of Isbens life to show through the storyline. This is also shown in the status of the family. Isben appears preoccupied with class in "A Dolls house", in his lifetime he experienced a drop in class from middle to poor which is shown in the first discussion between Nora and Helmer about their rise into class. 

Symbolism:

The Christmas tree represents life, as Jesus was born on Christmas while the winter setting symbolizes death and decay. These two conflicting themes of life and death occur throughout the play to show the death or Dr Rank and Nora's married life with Helmer to the last scene where she leaves to begin a new life and to find herself in the world. 

Nora seems to have a bipolar character; she spends unknowingly on presents for her children and the household. She seems to not care about the cost saying "we can loan" and no keep the change" verses her image of saving frantically in order to pay off the debt she owes to the bank, in order to pay for the trip to Italy which saved Helmer's life. "Locked up him her room every evening… staying up past midnight" trying to earn money. "Money!" she is excited by the prospect of money as a child is by toys. At first she appears as greedy as their relationship seems to be based on her impressing and "doing tricks" for Helmer for money. However we learn later on that it is just part of her attempt to save her family from the social embarrassment of being under debt. 

Themes:

The theme of money is introduced to us in the first scene through Nora and Hemlers discussion on the spending of money and their ideas on borrowing money. Already we see the conflicting opinions of their personalities which are highlighted and shown through aspect of money constantly throughout the play. Nora believes that borrowing is not a ad idea as it would mean more money straight away, while Helmer disagrees "no debts, no borrowing" which he enforces on Nora. 

Another theme which is established at the start of the play is deception. Helmer's controlling relationship with Nora leaves no room for her to express herself and her own opinions as an individual, and she therefore decides to hide information which will not impress him rather than consulting him. This theme is represented at the start "Slips the bag of macaroons and wipes her mouth". Nora hides the fact that she has been eating sweets from Helmer and when he asks she replies " I promise i haven't, i wouldn't do anything you didn't like". Showing straight away that there is a gap in their relationship, and sets the grounds for the secret of her owing debt to the bank even though she knows Torvald is against it. 

The depiction of Nora and Torvald's relationship through actions and diologue in Act One (p147-151)

The relationship between the two main characters of Nora and Helmer in "A Dolls House" are established through the diologue and stage directions which take place in Act One. The relationship between the characters is quite simplistic, derived from the 1870s time period in which it is set. Helmer, the husband is the head of the household and is the most important in the family status, he controls the families lifestyle according to his own views. This is depicted through Helmer's actions and diologue towards Nora.Nora has respect for her husband and "goes cautiously to her husbands door and listens" rather than disturb him to find out if he his home. She also listens to his advice and tries to include him in her everyday chores "Come see what vie bought".  Helmer treats her as  a child calling her "scatter brain" and "my lost squirrel" giving the impression of ownership, and that she is in 'his' household for his enjoyment. Throughout the scene Helmer continues to use  pet names such as "feather brain" and "sulking squirrel" which undermine Nora's authority in their relationship and emphasis his power over her. When Nora arrives home from shopping in town Helmer asks "has featherbrain been out wasting money again", making Nora appear as a foolish girl who has no knowledge of money and that she spends it unknowingly, which shows Hemler's perception of her. Helmer's controlling relationship is also shown through their discussion of money early on in Act 1. Although both have conflicting ideas on spending money at christmas time, Nora eventually gives in to his opinion "very well if you say so". This emphasizes how she adapts to suit his point of view even though she disagrees with the idea herself. She obeys and changes her own opinions to match Helmer's showing that she has no way to stand up to defend her own beliefs in the relationship, meaning that her own views are forgotten and ignored. Helmer believes he is superior and that he must "protect her" as she is so delicate and unexperienced that he must decide all of the aspects of her life without consulting her, he appears to dictate his opinions to her "no debts, no borrowing", his views soon become the reality and laws of the household as Nora  replies to him that she "would never do anything you didn't like" . Helmer's protective and controlling nature lead to his ideas being imposed on Nora through their relationship despite her beliefs, leaving no room for confliction. Which causes Noras' deception from Helmer, rather than telling him the truth which he will not accept, she decides to hide information from him. This means that although they are married, their relationship is not very deep and meaningful, since Helmer doesn't consult the details of their lifestyle with Nora, which means she cannot express her ideas and show her traits through their lifestyle and therefore she has no knowledge of law or the world around her. This is highlighted when Helmer asks Nora what she wants as a present, rather than giving her a surprise. Showing that he has no knowledge of her interests as their duties to the family are completely separate. However Helmer seems to be infatuated by her in the play as he "follows her" around the kitchen and talks to her, showing that he is in love with her. Helmer depicts her as a lover and yet he is unable to consult with her the issues of their married life, leaving her no concerns and no knowledge of law or the world around her. Which leads to the deterioration of their relationship as Nora discovers she needs to express herself and therefore seeks to escape the stifling confines of his opinions. 

'A Dolls House' by Henrik Ibsen First thoughts

The play 'A dolls house' by Henrik Ibsen, has the underlying theme of women's rights,

 as the main character, Nora, seeks to become herself at the end of the story by seeking 

freedom from the constraining lifestyle created by her husband. At the start of the novel Nora is depicted as an immature  self-centered house wife, who understands nothing of the toil and strife of working or the pains of poverty as she spends her days playing with her children and shopping " Especially from you who know so little about the troubles and hardships of life".  Nora also seems to be very greedy and decried as a "terrible spend drift", when her husband asks her what she wants for christmas she replies "money". Although as the play progresses we discover that Nora needs the money to repay a debt to the bank, as she borrowed money to save her fiancees life by taking him to Italy. She also shows that she can be kind and caring, as she tries to help her old friend find a job, even though they haven't seen each other in 10 years.  The setting is in a middle class home in Norway, which is decribed as "A comfortable room furnished inexpensivley". This shows that although the family has taste in designing a comfortable house for everyday comfort, no money is wasted on excess decoration. This reflects the character of Helmer, the husband, in the play, as he is constantly trying to save money as he doesn't want to become in-debt. Emphesizing that Helmer controls the family's lifestyle in the play and their spending.Helmer treats her as  a child calling her "scatter brain" and "my lost squirrel" and constantly telling her that "he will teach her" and that he is "always right in everything he does". He believes he is superior and that he must "protect her" as she is so delicate and unexperienced that he must decide all of the aspects of her life without consulting her. Helmer depicts her as a lover and yet he is unable to consult with her the issues of their married life, leaving her no concerns and no knowledge of law or the world around her. However at the end of the play, when Helmer receives the letter discussing Noras breaking of the law, she quickly discovers that he is not the man that she believed he was, and that they both had no knowledge of each other, he appears as a 'stranger' to her, as the miracle of him saving her doesn't infect come true and that all of their marriage has been based on his decisions. Nora realizes that she is just like a doll 'playing' in her husbands house and that her life revolves around performing 'tricks' for her husband, such as singing and dancing to please him, and that her role in their lifestyle has no importance as Helmer decides  what happens in their life and she simply follows. "i went straight from playing in my fathers house to playing in your house". She has never been able to speak her own mind and has adapted to the decisions and beliefs of both her father and her husband, so that she has no understanding of her own life. The play ends with her leaving his house as she tries to discover herself and the life taking place around her without the constraints of her marriage and stifling confines of being dictated to and adapting to her husbands views.

How can we start to understand 'A dolls house"?


What were his influences?
- Born in Skien, Norway in 1823
- his family was bankrupt when he was a child and therefore struggled with poverty for many years
-he abandoned his initial dream of medicine to work in the theatre
-A Scholarship enabled him to traveled to Rome in 1864 where he wrote 'Brand' (1866) and 'Peer Gynt" (1876) - which established his reputation as a writer/play write
-He lived manly in Germany and Italy until 1891
-In 1896 he renounced poetry and began writing prose drama
- Experience of repertory theatres
- He had become interested in women's Independence he commented on the theme of his work: "There are two kinds of spiritual law, one for men and quite a different one for women. [Men and women] do not understand each another; but women are always judged in practical matters by men's law, as though they were not women but men."
-Impressed by a book by his friend 'Camilla Collett' on the status of women
-Sponsored a proposal that the women members of the Scandinavian Club in Rome should be allowed to vote in club meetings
- Isben speaks of working on a play of 'modern life'
- Had a visit in Munich from an old friend who wrote the sequel to 'Brand' called 'Brand's daughters'- influenced the characters in 'A Doll's House'
-Drew heavily on continental European cultural resources in his work
- Devoted himself exclusively to his writing
- studied art, history, literature and architecture in Rome


What is he renowned for as a dramatic?


-Founder of modern theatre
- He supported many crucial causes of his day in his plays
- Always visualised his characters and their movements
-Tries to capture 'modern life' in his poetry
-Broke away from the romantic tradition of 19th century theater with realistic portrayals of individuals
- Doesn't draw the line between good and evil- but explores the complexities of of human behaviour and reality
- Focuses on psychological concerns
- Ibsen was interested in the possibilities of presenting a new kind of human being- possessing both pagan and christian beliefs
- His drama begins and ends with a formula
- His plays are derived from his time period
-His plays 'belong to yesterday' of an older time period and the issues regarding them
-Used his plays to try to discover the 'unknowable'
-Ibsen uses dialogue, events and symbolism to explore self knowledge and traditional morality
-Tried to build his life around art
- Investigates the role of the artist in society
- warned against the danger of renouncing love in the name of duty
- posed such questions as the search for truth in his plays
- Ibsen is a path breaking dramatist
- His work is generally divided into 3 categories: dramas written in verse ( modeled after romantic historical tragedy), concerning social realism, later on he continued working on modern realistic themes but increasing the use of metaphors and symbolism, in his final stage he dealt with the conflict between art and life- he shifted his focus from the individual in society to the individual alone and isolated
-He seems to pass judgment on himself as a writer
-His dramas were considered highly contraversal during his lifetime due to his treatment of social problems
- His work is classical and universal in implication and yet capable of endless transformation
-He explores the role of illusion and self-deception in everyday life
-Values the play itself above everything and permits the play to speak for itself
-His characters 'unload their souls' in his writing




Bibliography: " A dolls house and other plays" Henrik Ibsen, Clays Ltd. 1965


Dickinson, Thomas H. "The Drama of Intellectualism." The Drama: A Quarterly Review 7 (Aug. 1912): 148-162. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Joann Cerrito. Vol. 44. Detroit: Gale Research, 1994. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2011.


"Henrik Ibsen." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2011.


Sæther, Astrid. "Henrik Ibsen." Norwegian Writers, 1500 to 1900. Ed. Lanae H. Isaacson. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 354. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 Feb. 2011.