ADH critics Flashcards
(11 cards)
1
Q
‘the illusion of…
A
…bourgeois contentment’
2
Q
What contemporary scientific and philosophical discoveries/theories influenced the play?
A
- Determinism/deontology
- Darwin: Evolution by natural selection
3
Q
How does Nora’s repression manifest itself?
A
- Self-absorption: her petty arrogance/childish boasting with Christine.
- Small acts of hedonism: eating macaroons secretly, teasing Torvald, flirting with Rank, daydreaming of a ‘rich old gentleman who would rescue her’
4
Q
What is the importance of clothing in the play?
A
- Helmer and Rank are well dressed, a symbol of status.
- Krogstad and Linde represent a degree of harshness.
- Nora’s tarantella dress represents fantasy, and her street clothes at the end are plain and thus represent her transition.
5
Q
What did Erik Bogh say about the play?
A
It is ‘so simple in its action and so everyday in its dress’
6
Q
What do Nora’s actions signify in terms of gender roles/separate spheres?
A
- She conflates the idea of separate spheres, signs herself into a man’s world by forging her father’s signature.
- ‘it was almost like being a man’
7
Q
What system is inextricably linked with Helmer’s ego/masculinity?
A
- The financial system
8
Q
What do women have to do in order to earn money?
A
Sacrifice something.
Linde: love
Nora: truth
Anne-Marie: her child
9
Q
How is the concept of separate spheres shown in the opening stage directions?
A
- doors everywhere.
- Office closed off, Nora creeps up to it
10
Q
What stage direction in the opening of act 2 shows the disintegration of their relationship?
A
- The Christmas tree has become ‘stripped and dishevelled’ - it is exposed, like their marriage will be.
- The candles in the tree are ‘burned to their sockets’.
11
Q
A
