Henrik Ibsen a Dolls House - 859 Words

In the play A Doll House, by Henrik Ibsen, the convention of marriage is examined and questioned for its lack of honesty. The play is set in the late 1800s, which provides the backdrop for the debate about roles of people in society. Ibsen uses the minor character, Dr. Rank, to help develop the theme of conflicts within society. This, in turn, creates connections with the plot. Dr. Rank s function in the play is to foreshadow, symbolize, and reflect upon the truth of life and society and to break down the barrier between appearance and reality. One function of Dr. Rank in the play is to foreshadow events to come. Upon Rank s introduction in Act I, the reader is immediately given insight into the conflict Nora will face with Krogstad.†¦show more content†¦This can clearly be seen in what happens after the statement Nora makes about receiving Rank s calling cards telling of his coming death, That when those cards came, he d be taking his leave of us. He ll shut himself in now and die (1604). It is with this extremely symbolic statement that the reader can see the connections between Rank, the death of a society which does not allow honesty in marriage, and the end of pretending by Nora. Almost immediately after Nora makes the statement about Dr. Rank, she decides to perform a final examination of her life and lets the letter from Krogstad be revealed. It is through the symbolism of Rank that the reader sees the deterioration of society as it was known by the main characters. Another function that Dr. Rank serves is that of reflecting upon the true personalities of Nora and Torvald. Rank s friendship with Nora and Torvald is thought to be the same, yet they are independently different. Nora is able to talk more seriously with Rank then she is with Torvald. This aspect of Rank s friendship with Nora becomes evident in her statement: You see, Torvald loves me beyond words, and, as he puts it, he d like to keep me all to himself. For a long time he d almost be jealous if I even mentioned any of my old friends back home. So of course I dropped that. But with Dr. Rank I talk a lot about such things, because he likes hearing about them. (1585) From this statement the reader is able to understandShow MoreRelatedDoll’s House by Henrik Ibsen1126 Words   |  4 PagesHenrik Ibsen wrote the book, Doll’s House, in the late 1870s about the life of the common woman in Norway during the 1870s. The book gave society an inside of look of the life women in general. Woman during this time were oppressed and men were contemptuous towards women. Women that opposed their husband were considered mentally insane and sent to a mental institution. The book is about a domesticated woman named Nora. Nora lives in a house with her husband and their three kids. Nora main job toRead MoreA Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen1725 Words   |  7 Pagessuffrage, took place from 1848-1920. 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For this section of the work I will be carefully discussing with you the issues of; * Social events Read More A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen Essay1111 Words   |  5 PagesA Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen The play â€Å"A Doll’s House† by Henrik Ibsen is about a wife that is hiding a big secret from her overprotective husband. The play takes place on Christmas Eve till the day after Christmas. Nora Helmer and Torvald Helmer have been married for 8 years, yet Nora is hiding something from Torvald that she thinks would ruin everything if he found out. It opens up with Nora coming home and decorating the house for Christmas and making preparations. They have 3 children: