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What are some of the themes found in a doll's house
Ibsen literary analysis
What are some of the themes found in a doll's house
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Animal Imagery in A Doll's House
Animal imagery in Henrick Ibsen's play, A Doll's House is a critical part of the character development of Nora, the protagonist.
Ibsen uses creative, but effective, animal imagery to develop Nora's character throughout the play. He has Torvald call his wife "his little lark"(Isben) or "sulky squirrel"(Isben) or other animal names throughout the play. He uses a lot of 'bird' imagery-calling her many different bird names. The name Torvald uses directly relates to how he feels about her at the time. The animals Ibsen chooses to use are related to how Nora is acting, or how she needs to be portrayed.
For instance: Not even a dozen lines into Act I, Torvald asks (referring to Nora), "Is that my little lark twittering out there"(Isben) and "Is that my squirrel rummaging around?"(Isben) A lark is a songbird; a happy, carefree bird. It is can also be used as a verb that means to engage in spirited fun or merry pranks. A squirrel is quite the opposite: it is a small, furry rodent. If you are to squirrel away something, you were hiding or storing it, kind of like what Nora was doing with her bag of macaroons. Torvald calls her these names to fit the situation.
Nora was definitely a care free woman, just like a lark, and Torvald refers to her as such: "my little lark"(Isben). When he says that, Nora is moving around the room and humming with a carefree spirit that would characterize a lark. Whenever she has this spirit, Torvald refers to her as his "little lark."(Isben)
On the other hand, Nora must be some sort of scrounge, because Torvald also refers to her as his "little squirrel."(Isben) He asks if "that is my squirrel rummaging around"(Isben). It seems that maybe Ibsen was usi...
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...al in the character development for both characters, showing really how both sides perceive the other.
Works Cited and Consulted:
Baruch, Elaine Hoffman. "Ibsen's Doll House: A Myth for Our Time." The Yale Review 69 (1980): 374-387.
Durbach, Errol. A Doll's House: Ibsen's Myth of Transformation. Boston: Twayne, 1991.
Ibsen, Henrick. A Doll House. The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, Writing. 5th ed. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1999. 1564-1612.
Northram, John. "Ibsen's Search for the Hero." Ibsen: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Rolf Fjelde. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1965. 107-113.
Salomé, Lou. Ibsen's Heroines. Ed. and trans. Siegfried Mandel. Redding Ridge: Black Swan, 1985.
Templeton, Joan. "The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen. PMLA 104.1(1989): 28-40.
Nora clearly represents the doll of the house and Torvald's dehumanization of her is flagrant throughout the story. He relentlessly refers to his wife through the use of pet names such as "my little skylark" and "my helpless little squirrel." In addition Torvald uses the possessive "my" often to reflect the notion that she belongs solely to him. She is his plaything, his toy, and his possession. Torvald even states to Nora that it was "quite expensive for him to keep such a pet." Once Torvald becomes aware of his wife's transgressions he reduces even her further calling her a miserable creature and a heedless child.
She also hides her own strength. She plays the part that she has come accustomed to, being the doll. The first time in the play that Torvald refers to Nora, he calls her a "little lark"(Ibsen 493). Throughout the play, he refers to her as a cute little animal, never with any word that might imply a situation of his peer.
The mark of a mature person is the ability to make rational decisions for oneself. Complicated choices are what make maturity so hard. Sometimes, even good intentions can lead to a bad decision. In Henrik Ibsen's A Doll House, decision-making is clouded by the manipulation caused by certain characters. Blackmail, trickery, and tyranny, each a form of manipulation are all used to make seemingly positive decisions by the characters. These decisions lead to complicated situations for these characters where nothing is gained. Manipulation is a form of control over another person without either their consent or knowledge. Examining Torvald, Krogstad, and Nora, one can see that manipulation of others leads to irrational decisions for them.
If the fetus weighs less than 18oz or is less than 20 weeks into the pregnancy, it is usually considered an abortion. These usually occur during the first three months of pregnancy. It is estimated that 25% of all pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion (Epner 725). The very early stage of the pregnancy, up to 49 days after conception, the woman has two choices. The first is to take a combination of drugs. The embryo is then passed out. The other method is to use a syringe, and gently suck the embryo out. The next type can be preformed six to fourteen weeks after conception. The method the doctor’s use is to insert a tube in the vagina, and then hook it up to a suction machine. The fetus is then removed. This procedure takes about ten minutes. The second trimester abortions are called D&E, which stands for dilation and evacuation. These are preformed up to the twenty-fifth week of pregnancy, and usually take ten to twenty minutes. The way they are preformed is the woman is given absorbent dilators, which open up the cervix and absorb the fluids. After this is left in overnight the woman then is ready for the evacuation stage. The fetus is easily removed with instruments and suction. In the last trimester of the pregnancy abortions are preformed mainly if the woman’s life is in danger or the fetus is severely deformed. Only one out of every ten thousand abortions are preformed this way. The main way that is used is by injecting a salt solution into the vagina, causing contractions. The baby is then born stillbirth (Epner 724).
These usually occur during the first three months of pregnancy. It is estimated that 25% of all pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion.The second form of abortion is induced abortion. This is the deliberate termination of the fetus. There are four main types of induced abortions. The first takes place up to 12 weeks. It is called vacuum aspiration.
Simonds, W. E. "Henrik Ibsen." Dial 10.119 (Mar. 1890): 301-303. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Mar. 2011.
Abortion is one of the most controversial topics for centuries. In medical terms abortion means terminating the human pregnancy buy expulsion from the uterus before birth. Abortion is just another name of killing an unborn child who still has a life ahead. For several years a mother has to take the decision of killing her own unborn baby for many said and unsaid reasons. The unborn child is not even safe in the safest place of the world its mother’s womb. Although today in many countries abortion is legalized but according to me it should be illegalized.
Abortion, in my opinion, has been one of the largest debataable issues in American Society. There are so many aspects and views to examine before one can even begin to form their own opinion. In order to discuss an important issue such as abortion, we must first understand what it means. Abortion is the ending of a pregnancy before the fetus has developed and grown enough to live outside the mother. When abortion happens naturally before the 20th week it is called a spontaneous abortion, or miscarriage. If it happens naturally after the 20th week it is termed a late fetal death or a still birth. An abortion caused by a medical procedure is called an induced abortion. Most induced abortion are performed in the first trimester or first 12 weeks after conception.
Northam, John. 1965. "Ibsen's Search for the Hero." Ibsen. A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
In A Doll's House, Torvald Helmer's attitude toward his wife Nora can be seen in the ways in which he refers to her. In line 11 of the first act, we come across the first instance of Torvald's bird references to Nora with "Is that my little lark twittering out there?" This reference is the first of many in which Torvald refers to Nora as a lark. Often this referencing is preceded by diminutive terms such as "little" and "sweet, little." Torvald also refers to Nora as a squirrel, a spendthrift, a songbird, and a goose, these terms also preceded with a diminutive. The significance of this nicknaming is to show Torvald's attitude toward Nora. Torvald sees Nora as small, sweet, unobtrusive and therefore easily controlled. This position is one he would like Nora to continue to occupy. In line 257, Torvald refers to Nora as "my richest treasure" denoting his attitude toward her as his possession.
Nora and Torvald's relationship, on the outside appears to be a happy. Nora is treated like a child in this relationship, but as the play progresses she begins to realize how phony her marriage is. Torvald sees Nora's only role as being the subservient and loving wife. He refers to Nora as "my little squirrel" (p.1565), "my little lark" (p.1565), or "spendthrift"(1565). To him, she is only a possession. Torvald calls Nora by pet-names and speaks down to her because he thinks that she is not intelligent and that she can not think on her own.
In act one we see the way Nora behaves and the way Torvald treat Nora. In front of her husband Nora seams submissive and she also acts childish. When Nora goes to show him the things she had purchased for the children he hears her coming and he tells Nora “Is that my little lark twittering out there. Is that my squirrel rummaging around?” (Ibsen 794). Nora does not mind that Torvald has these pets name for her and she even calls herself these pets’ names. Nora tells her husband “Hm, if you only knew what expenses we lark and squirrels have, Torvald” (Ibsen 796). I believe that by Nora doing this she is giving Torvald the consent to continue calling her by pet names. In my opinion this is not a normal behavior for a marriage couple. But it seems like Nora did not care that Torvald treated her like a child or called her pet names, what was important to her was the money that Torvald was giving her.
In Japan, it is believed that illnesses can be cured by bathing in warm volcanic sand
Years ago when a women would get pregnant she would have a baby. Today accidental pregnancies are solved by a method called abortion. With this method the newly formed fetus is basically removed from the mother’s body and destroyed. Although the whole process of having an abortion seems not especially pleasant, they seem to be popular.