ADH Context Flashcards
(7 cards)
What newly emerging concept for women was taking over
The ‘New Woman’ idea coined by Sarah Grand.
This encapsulated resistance to patriarchy, the rise of the suffrage movement.
Women were challenging gender roles through clothing and social interactions. There was also striving for education and participation in the workforce.
Nora and Torvald are part of this new group
The rise of the upper-middle class.
The Industrial Revolution and urban economics allowed for this.
A poem related to ADH
Coventry Patmore’s The Angel In The House.
This poem reveals the desired woman in the Victorian era. This highlights Nora’s eventual shortcomings to this ideal.
Dr Rank’s illness and its significance, as well as Darwin’s theory
Dr Rank’s illness is inferred to be inherited syphillis from his father. During Victorian times it spread a lot. This feeds into the concept that just as diseases can be inherited, so can sin and characteristics.
Darwin’s theory Nature vs Nurture also focuses on this. Are characteristics inherited or learned. This is a fascination that Ibsen explores in ADH.
The dance Nora does, what’s it’s significance
The Tarantella. It’s meant to get rid of poison after a tarantula bite. This suggests that Nora is poisoned, which is why she practices so hard to get it right.
Who’s Nora’s real life counterpart
Laura Kieler.
Her husband was sick, like Torvald, so they moved to Italy in hopes that it’d cure him. Kieler felt obliged to pay it back, so she did exactly as Nora. When her husband found out, he became overtly controlling and following a mental breakdown, she was sent to a mental asylum.
She was also from Norway, a novelist and alive for the release of the play.
Kieler was a friend of Ibsen’s.
What type of play is ADH considered
A realistic drama. Ibsen was a pioneer of modern theatre.
Realist drama means to reflect reality and society plainly, lacking romanticisation and idealisation.
