The Christmas Tree By Henrik Ibsen

We are introduced in Act I with Nora returning from Christmas shopping. Ibsen utilizes this time for dramatic purposes of the Christian holidays and to show the struggle between a middle class marriage. Nora plans on

The main symbols Ibsen used are the Christmas tree, the macaroons, the tarantella dance, and Nora’s costume. The title of the play, A Doll’s House, conjures to mind the image of a toy set with dolls, where the children control how the dolls act. In the play, Ibsen draws the parallel to that image by describing Nora as a doll controlled by Torvald through what Torvald

A Doll 's House by Henrik Ibsen, is a play that has been written to withstand all time. In this play Ibsen highlights the importance of women’s rights. During the time period of the play these rights were neglected. Ibsen depicts the role of the woman was to stay at home, raise the children and attend to her husband during the 19th century. Nora is the woman in A Doll House who plays is portrayed as a victim. Michael Meyers said of Henrik Ibsen 's plays: "The common denominator in many of Ibsen 's dramas is his interest in individuals struggling for and authentic identity in the face of social conventions. This conflict often results in his characters ' being divided between a sense of duty to themselves and their responsibility to others." All of the aspects of this quote can be applied to the play A Doll House, in Nora Helmer 's character, who throughout much of the play is oppressed, presents an inauthentic identity to the audience and throughout the play attempts to discovery her authentic identity.

“A Doll House” by Henrik Ibsen, is a play that follows Nora Helmer and her husband Torvald Helmer through the holiday season and the fall of their marriage. Within the two acts there are many figurative language devices used to help further the story along, however, there are a few in specific that stand out. The play’s foreshadowing, symbolism, and irony all contribute the most to the play’s overall development of Nora’s self affirmation.

In Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House, the Christmas tree parallels with Nora’s development, her mental state, and position in the household. The tree can be recognized as an object placed in a house to please the eyes and adds beauty to a home. Torvald objectifies Nora, seeing her as a plaything carrying no purpose other than to look at and be pretty. As the play continues and Nora develops into a mature character and becomes aware of her repression, the Christmas Tree begins to visibly deteriorate and wither. The Christmas tree emphasizes Nora’s rebirth and realization of her own dissatisfaction with life and must act against Torvald. The disintegration of the tree also parallels the disintegration of the decorations (pretty dresses) Nora uses

The Christmas tree in itself is symbolic and it means the play takes place during Christmastime. Ibsen uses Christmas tree to mainly construct the character of Nora. The Christmas tree symbolizes the feelings of

Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House” a nineteenth century play successfully uses symbolism to express many characteristics of Helmer’s life, together with the way that the main character Nora feels towards her marriage at the end of the play. Ibsen’s use of symbolism to convey about the social setting, including the harsh male-controlled Danish society, seen mostly in Torvald in the play and the role of women, signified mostly in Nora. These symbols act as foretelling before the tragic events at the end of the play, as they show the problems which lead to the demise of the Helmer’s ‘perfect’ family life.

The author Henrik Ibsen used the play to elaborate on the irony of the 19th century culture of restriction of individual freedom and excessive adherence to ‘societal norm’ at all cost without paying attention or having recourse to the core values and norms that brings about individual happiness and freedom. Torvald Helmer tried to elucidate the abnormality of seeking individual freedom instead of societal norm when he inquired from his wife; Nora “…And you don't consider what people will say”. The society in Ibsen’s “A Doll House” is seen higher than the individual person, for one to fit in he or she must strictly adhere to what the society demands and not what the individual wants. Nora was quick to express her frustration on the demands of the society when she replied Dr. Rank thus “What do I care about tiresome Society?”. Even the eating of Macaroons was also forbidden by Torvald and Nora’s Father, Dr Rank could not hide his feeling upon the sight of Macaroons at Torvalds house when he inquired from Nora “What, macaroons? I thought they were forbidden here”, Nora who is also held by the claws of societal conformity had to lie to justify the possession of macaroons. The irony was played out when the same Dr. Rank enjoyed the macaroons after Nora placed it in his mouth. Ibsen’s setting of the play also portrays a society where a woman cannot be seen to go against not only the orders of her

In Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”, the Christmas tree is a centrally important stage property used to symbolize Nora’s duplicity, reflect the disintegration of the facade of the perfect marriage as well as the fate of the Helmer family, and mirror Nora’s self-image. The state of the Christmas tree transitions from a plain fir tree at the beginning of Act I, to a decorated Christmas tree towards the end of Act I, then finally to a dishevelled tree at the beginning of Act II. Such transition in its appearance on-stage symbolises significant changes that happens in the Helmer household over the Christmas season. The decoration of the Christmas tree symbolizes Nora’s duplicity as being both a seemingly compliant housewife, and a tactfully manipulative

Nora and Krogstad’s first encounter in Act One of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, is significant to the plot as the main source of conflict is revealed whilst the central theme of deceit is enhanced through the use of dramatic irony. Throughout their conversation, Ibsen uses language devices to explore the characterisation and parallels between Nora and Krogstad and to foreshadow and detail Nora’s awakening at the end of the play.

The fact that the play is set during the holiday season is in itself significant. Christmas is a merry occasion that takes place towards the end of one year before transition to the next one. Likewise, Nora's safe domestic life as she has always known it is about to change. In the event that Krogstad reveals everything to her husband, her relationship with Torvald would never be the same. The days before the revelation are the final "happy days" of their marriage, after which Nora plans to escape the wrath of her husband either by committing suicide or

Throughout the dramatic play titled “A Doll House”, Henrik Ibsen’s creation of the character Nora changes immensely from the beginning to the end of the work. Some people may argue and question the intentions of Nora, and describe her as a despicable and selfish woman; however, I see her as a courageous and selfless woman, who longs to be treated as an equal to men. Nora’s sacrifice for her husband at the beginning unravels throughout the entirety of the play, and reveals a boundless transformation of Nora into strong woman, who thrives off of the idea of becoming an equal, self-sufficient lady as she makes the brave decision to leave her family to better herself.

The play A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen is set in the Helmer household during Christmas time. The play tells a tale of Nora and how she was treated by her husband, Torvald. The play tells of many things that Nora has done for Torvald. In the end, something Nora did came back to hurt her and this experience helped her see how Torvald has been treating her. In this short essay, I will show that if Nora chose to stay that it would not be possible for Nora and Torvald to have a true partnership.

The Victorian Era refers to the period of time in Great Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria. It was modeled after an idealized idea of her life based on some specific mores and values. People that lived in the Victorian era were very hypocritical. Everyone was expected to have a perfect family and perfect life. In reality, it was just a façade masking the real issues beneath. Women were expected to have a thorough education in music, singing, dancing, and taking care of the household. They were deterred from being too educated because it was considered unfeminine. Once they find and marry their husband, women would stay home, raise the children, and look after the home. Nora, the main character of A Doll’s House is expected to be a perfect wife and mother. She goes against these expectations and harbors a secret that could change her life for the better. In A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen uses Nora’s secret to give her agency that women during the Victorian era usually did not have, to go against societal expectations of women.

Agents of socialization help in dictating what is an acceptable form of gender role. The stage that is already set from birth within a family. Placed in the world then carried on with the world, reinforced by the way that society portrays what is passable, thus maintaining the overall picture that certain roles appear allocated to a certain gender type. As with Nurture – which is the experiences, values, environment in addition to upbringing that defines who we are - along with socialization which is the lifelong process by which through social interaction, we learn our culture, develop our sense of self, then become functioning members of society. The symbolic interactionism in the book A Doll’s House written by Henrik Ibsen looks at the behavior of people along with the effects that affect such behavior, such as the inequalities in marriage.