A Doll's House

Classics for Your Collection: goo.gl/U80LCr --------- A Doll's House (also translated as A Doll House) is a three-act play in prose by Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having been published earlier that month. A doll's house. What image comes to mind when you hear those words? A "perfect" family? A peaceful, innocent domestic situation? Friends dropping in? Preparations for a holiday celebration? Play-time! Yes, Nora and Torvald seem to have the perfect life. Certainly, they have weathered some challenges in life but they have survived. Here we see them with a lovely home, two servants, three playful children, friends, and enough money to celebrate Christmas in the traditional way. Nora plays with the children while Torvald chats with a friend in his study. Another friend arrives unexpectedly. There are fond memories of "the old days". How pleasant! But ... enter one more character - a childhood friend, a disgruntled colleague, a jilted lover, a partner in crime (all wrapped up in one person) - and the situation deteriorates quickly. Beneath the calm surface swirls an overwhelming tangle of secrets, fears, suspicions, deceptions, and expectations. Ignorant of her own complicity, Nora attempts to manage the situation but the tangle is too complex. The unravelling is beyond anyone's control. Nora is panic-stricken, anxious, and agitated; she distracts herself by "waiting for a wonderful thing to happen" after the Boxing Day costume party, after she dances her famous tarantella for all the party-goers. In the end, though, the " wonderful thing" is not what anyone expected - neither Nora nor Torvald nor the reader/audience. Play-time is over. The doll's house is a house of mirrors. The distortions are revealed for Nora to see. How will she respond? The play is significant for its critical attitude toward 19th-century marriage norms. It aroused great controversy at the time, as it concludes with the protagonist, Nora, leaving her husband and children because she wants to discover herself. Scroll Up and Grab Your Copy! Timeless Classics for Your Bookshelf
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