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How Does Ibsen Use Letters In A Doll's House

Decent Essays

Ibsen repeatedly uses letters in A Doll’s House to drive the plot, which function within the play as the subtext that reveals the true, unpleasant nature of situations obscured by Torvald and Nora’s efforts at beautification. Krogstad writes two letters: the first reveals Nora’s crime of forgery to Torvald; the second retracts his blackmail threat and returns Nora’s promissory note. The first letter Krogstad places in Torvald’s letterbox near the end of Act Two, represents the truth about Nora’s past and initiates the fragmentation of the web of lies and false images Nora and Torvald had built, ultimately leading to her leaving him. Nora says immediately after Krogstad leaves it, “We are lost,” showing she knew the letters disruptive effects,

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