Introduction to Drama

Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 3.04: Tell Me What You Want, What You Really, Really Want

On second thought, we might cut it down to half a mile in these suckers…
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One of realism's biggest innovations was the creation of characters that acted like people, wanted things out of life (and other people), and had a super-lively inner life. That's right—we've finally entered a time in theater history where characters were finally allowed to be normal.

Of course, "normal" is a relative term. Some pretty crazy things are about to go down in A Doll's House. In this lesson, we're going to look more closely at the characters who inhabit this world and the choices they make. We have already formed some opinions, so we're going to throw a wrench into our assumptions and journey inside Nora, Torvald, Christine, and Krogstad. It's only right, considering Ibsen's interest in the complex inner lives of the characters he created.

That old saying goes, "You can't really know someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes." Well, we're going to walk a mile and then some—and we're keeping the shoes. Sorry, Nora.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 3.3.04a: Playing in the Doll's House

Now that we're familiar with the inhabitants of A Doll's House, let's look a little bit more closely, using Shmoop's super-duper study guide.

Nora Helmer

At first our protagonist, Nora, seems like a bit of a ditz. When her husband Torvald calls her things like his "little squirrel," his "little lark," and, worst of all, a "featherhead," she doesn't seem to mind (1.5–1.16). In fact, she seems to enjoy and even play into it. When Torvald first calls her a spendthrift, we're inclined to agree. So far, we've seen her give the porter an overly generous tip, come in with tons of Christmas presents, and shrug at the idea of incurring debt. Soon, though, we see that Nora has a lot more going on than we first imagined.

When Nora's old friend Christine arrives, Nora divulges a little secret. She's not just leeching off her husband. On the contrary, she saved his life. Unbeknownst to Torvald, Nora borrowed money so that they could afford a year-long trip to Italy. Doctors said that Torvald would die without it. Rather than being the spendthrift that both Torvald and Christine accuse her of, she's actually quite thrifty indeed. She's been secretly working odd jobs and even skimming money from her allowance to pay back the debt. Later on we learn that Nora was so determined to save her husband that she committed fraud to do so. This choice shows that Nora is both daring and tenacious. She values love over the law. When her secret is revealed we know that, beneath the ditzy character she plays for her husband, there's a whole other Nora waiting to come out.

This other, more capable Nora is eventually brought out into the open. The anguish of Krogstad's blackmail starts the process, but the final blow is Torvald's reaction when he finds out the truth. When the wonderful thing doesn't happen, when Torvald fails to attempt to sacrifice himself for her, Nora realizes that their relationship has always been empty. The love she imagined never existed. There was never any chance of the wonderful thing she'd hoped and feared. She tells her husband, "Our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife, just as at home I was papa's doll-child" (3.286). In the end, Nora has a sort of spiritual awakening. She walks out into the night alone but, for perhaps the first time in her life, she's on the path to becoming a fully realized, fully independent human being.

Torvald Helmer

Torvald gets a pretty bad rap most of the time. And we can see why. He's incredibly overbearing, treating Nora more like a child than a wife. He calls her silly names and scolds her for eating macaroons. Toward the end of the play, he even says that Nora is "doubly his own" because she has "become both wife and child" (3.257). When he gets her to do things like dress up and dance for him, we see Nora is actually less than a child in Torvald's mind. She's only a plaything—a doll, if you will.

Of course, Nora doesn't seem to mind Torvald's demeaning treatment at first. She even encourages it, saying things like, "Your squirrel would run about and do all her tricks if you would be nice, and do what she wants" (2.92). It's easy to judge Torvald from a modern standpoint, but his behavior really isn't that outrageous given the time period. Yes, it seems that Ibsen created in Torvald nothing more than what he considered a typical Victorian male. Torvald is a product of his society, just like Nora is. In a way, he is equally as imprisoned.

Nevertheless, Torvald certainly seems to relish the role of the all-knowing provider. He says things to Nora like, "My frightened little singing-bird. […] I have broad wings to shelter you under. […] I will protect you like a hunted dove that I have saved from a hawk's claws" (3.257). He feels he must guide his helpless wife through the perils of the world. It's almost as if Torvald has cast himself as the hero in his own melodramatic play. He tells Nora, "I have often wished that you might be threatened by some great danger, so that I might risk my life's blood, and everything, for your sake" (3.214). Of course, this is realism a la Ibsen, the opposite of melodrama; Torvald's harsh and selfish reaction to Nora's crime is anything but heroic.

Nils Krogstad

Nils Krogstad, the play's antagonist, uses some villainous tactics over the course of the play. He intimidates, blackmails, and threatens Nora in an effort to keep his job at the bank. After Torvald fires him, Krogstad takes it a step further, saying, "I want to get into the Bank again, in a higher position. […] Within a year […] It will be Nils Krogstad and not Torvald Helmer who manages the Bank" (2.83-2.285). Now, if this were a melodrama, Krogstad would most likely twirl his black mustache and cackle diabolically after such a statement. This, however, is realism; Ibsen's characters demonstrate a nuanced complexity absent in the characters of the popular melodramas of his day.

Krogstad is a prime example of these new, more textured, more realistic characters. For starters, his goal isn't evil for evil's sake. He's not plotting world domination or anything. Krogstad just wants to regain his standing in the community. He tells Nora, "I want to rehabilitate myself" (2.83). Ever since he got caught in a forgery scheme back in the day, everybody thinks he's a nasty, terrible person. Sure, he did commit a crime, but it was pretty small. Nora, our sympathetic protagonist, is guilty of the exact same thing. After the community turned its back on him, Krogstad was forced into the unsavory business of moneylending and blackmailing in order to support his family. In a way, it was the community's close-minded lack of forgiveness that created this monster. Here again we see the central motif of all of Ibsen's plays: the individual vs. society.

We get hints throughout the whole play that underneath Krogstad's villainous exterior, there's a respectable gentleman waiting to emerge. Whenever he deals with Nora, he's pretty courteous (for a blackmailer). One of the most poignant moments between the two is when they commiserate about their suicidal thoughts. He tells her, "Most of us think of that at first. I did, too—but I hadn't the courage" (2.271). She replies quietly, "No more had I" (2.272).

When Krogstad reunites with Christine, he is fully redeemed. If not for Christine's dissuasion, he would've even demanded his letter back unopened, so that Torvald would've never known anything. Instead he writes a new letter, telling the Helmers that he "regrets and repents" his actions, and willingly releases them from his clutches (3.249). It's interesting that our antagonist's final revelation is one of self-fulfillment, just like our protagonist Nora. Yes, it seems that when Christine reassuringly says, "Nils, I have faith in your real character," Krogstad is finally able to once again find faith in himself (3.58). D'aww.

Christine Linde

Christine is a tough, world-wise woman. This lady has been through a lot. She tells Krogstad, "I have learned to act prudently. Life, and hard, bitter necessity have taught me that" (3.32). In her younger days, she had to sacrifice love for the sake of her family. Rather than marrying the dashing young Nils Krogstad, she married a businessman, Mr. Linde, so that she could support her sick mother and her two younger brothers. In order to sever herself from her beloved Nils, she wrote him a nasty note saying that she didn't love him anymore (a little harsh, Christine). Now her brothers are all grown up and her mother is dead. Her husband has passed away, too. Mr. Linde's business went kaput after he died, and she's had to work a lot of crummy jobs. Still, Christine is finally free.

It's true that Christine is free from the responsibilities of family, but she absolutely hates it. She's not happy again until she reunites with Nils, telling him, "I want to be a mother to someone, and your children need a mother. We two need each other" (3.58). Hmm, now that's a pretty interesting thing for a woman to say, in a play that's often painted as being a feminist paean. Here we have a woman who is capable, intelligent, and self-sufficient. Christine is a liberated lady smack dab in the middle of Victorian Europe, and yet she willingly jumps back into the role of wife and mother. Is that regressive, or is that an empowering choice by a woman who knows what she wants?

What are we to make of Christine's decision to become a part of Krogstad's household? How does this fit into the overall message of the play? It might be seen as tragic: Women are so programmed by society that the only thing they know how to do is be a homemaker. On the other hand, it's not like Christine is making this decision from a place of ignorance. Unlike Nora, Christine is well aware of what life is like without men. The major difference between Christine's new relationship and that of the Helmers seems to be that Christine and Krogstad are entering into it as equals. Christine says to Krogstad, "Nils, how would it be if we two shipwrecked people could join forces? […] Two on the same piece of wreckage would stand a better chance than each on their own" (3.42–3.44). Perhaps the union of Nils and Christine is Ibsen's example of "the most wonderful thing of all," which Nora defines as "a real wedlock" (3.376–3.378).

Dr. Rank

Dr. Rank is often overlooked in analyses of A Doll's House. This is most likely because he doesn't do much. None of his actions directly affect the action of the play. He's in love with Nora, but that goes nowhere fast. Nora considers asking him for money, but then decides against it. Even Rank's impending death doesn't really affect the action in any major way. His supposed friends briefly lament him and continue on with their domestic squabbling. So, why is Dr. Rank in the play at all? Ibsen knew a thing or two about writing plays. He must have had some purpose for Rank, right?

The first function we see Dr. Rank fulfill is providing a little exposition on Krogstad. Rank tells Nora and Mrs. Linde that Krogstad "suffers from a diseased moral character" (1.247). The good doctor goes on to relate Krogstad's history as a criminal and blackmailer. This function doesn't seem to totally justify Rank's existence in the play, though. Another character could've just as easily got that information out to the audience.

Rank's talk of moral disease and his own affliction are often cited as symbolic. He has tuberculosis of the spine. This could possibly be meant to represent the diseased backbone of unenlightened society, a society where men and women don't live as equals. His death also could be seen as symbolic. It comes at the same time as the "death" of the Helmers' marriage. The two ideas are linked when the cards with black crosses come in the same mailbox as Krogstad's marriage-shattering letter.

It seems that Rank's most important purpose in the play is to reveal things about other characters. His relationship with Torvald reveals Torvald's superficiality. This is shown when Rank decides not to tell Torvald directly about his impending death. Rank tells Nora, "Helmer's refined nature gives him an unconquerable disgust at everything that is ugly; I won't have him in my sick-room" (2.152). The doctor knows his friend well and is well aware that Torvald has a childlike horror anything remotely unattractive. Statements like this show that Torvald may be the sheltered one in the Helmers' relationship.

Rank's relationship with Nora gives us one of our first big clues into the distance that truly lies between the seemingly perfect Helmers. Nora says that her husband "used to seem almost jealous if I mentioned any of the dear folk at home, so naturally I gave up doing so. But I often talk about such things with Doctor Rank" (2.44). It's pretty telling that Nora is only able to reveal her true self to Rank. Nora also admits to Rank that "being with Torvald is a little like being with papa" (2.217). This is a pretty major statement and, without Rank there, Nora never would have said it. All in all, it seems that the doomed Dr. Rank is really around just to help us learn more about the main characters. Ah well.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 3.3.04b: A Doll's House, Act II

Let's dive back into A Doll's House and read the entirety of Act II.

We're deep in the middle now, which means our protagonist, Nora, is going through a series of conflicts with the antagonist (and other people, too…Nora isn't the most socially graceful creature). There's blackmail, self-sacrifice, and some really bad dancing. Who can resist?

When you're done, check out Shmoop's summary of the act for a quick and dirty recap.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 3.04a: Creating a Character

The great acting teacher (and actor) Uta Hagen came up with a questionnaire for actors to use as they worked on fleshing out their characters. This isn't an analysis like the one we read in the lesson, which is more focused on the literary purpose of the characters.

No—Hagen's character analysis looks even deeper inside the characters, focusing on their desires, obstacles, hopes, relationships, and tactics as people.

In this exercise, we're going to complete two such character analyses. We're giving you free rein on which characters you want to focus on, but choose wisely—we're going really deep here.

Hagen's analysis involves answering nine questions. Not every response needs to be the same length, but be sure that the total word count of each analysis is 150 to 200 words, for a grand total of 300 to 400 words.

We've detailed the steps below. Answer each question in the voice of the characters you're taking on.

1. Who am I?
   
   • Include all details about your character. These may include (but are not limited to) name, age, relatives, likes, dislikes, hobbies, interests, career, physical traits (height/weight), education, religion, etc.
2. What time is it?
   
   • Focus on Act II for this question.
   • Include the day, month, year, time of day, hour/minute.
3. Where am I?
   
   • Focus on Act II for this question.
   • Take note of the country, city/town, neighborhood, room in house, location within room, items around the character.
4. What surrounds me?
   
   • What are the items around the character? Animate and inanimate objects?
5. What are the circumstances?
   
   • What happened just before this moment? What happened earlier in the day? What happened yesterday? What happened this month? What is the character feeling? Who is around? What is the character doing?
6. What are my relationships?
   
   • Detail your character's relationships to other people, objects, and events.
7. What do I want?
   
   • This is the biggie: Detail the character's want, their desire, their objective.
   • What do they want right now? What do they want on the whole?
8. What is in my way?
   
   • What's in the way of your character getting what they want? Include people, objects, circumstances, events, etc.
9. What do I do to get what I want?
   
   • Focus on Act II for this question.
   • Detail the physical or verbal actions your character uses in order to get what they want. Use action verbs.

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Note: Some of these questions will have very clear, textual answers (e.g., Torvald may be in his office, or Nora may be speaking to Krogstad at the beginning of an Act). Others you'll need to imagine using contextual information, or educated guesses (e.g., the play may not specify exactly what time it is, but you'll want to know this in order to really get into the character's skin). Still other questions may ask for answers that aren't definite, but rather up for interpretation—like the goals and objectives of each character.

When you're finished, upload your Uta Hagen–esque character analyses below.

Sample Lesson - Activity