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    A Dolls House Act One Questions

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    maia mariano

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    A Dolls House Act One Questions

    Uploaded by

    maia mariano
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    19 views1 page

    A Dolls House Act One Questions

    Uploaded by

    maia mariano

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 1

    A Doll’s House Act One

    Pre-reading activity:

    Pre-reading activity
    In pairs, list as many connotations as possible for the term ‘doll’s house’. Try to divide them
    into positive and negative ideas. It may be useful to visit a website such as
    www.dollshouse.com to get ideas if you have never had a doll’s house!

    1. A Doll’s House may be described as a ‘well-made play’: a style of 19 th century play with
    clear-cut protagonists and antagonists, artificially logical plots, often involving some
    ‘skeleton in the family cupboard’, and usually happy endings. These plays often used
    stock characters and lines of business. Oscar Wilde used these devices in The Importance
    of Being Earnest, while Ibsen and Shaw often used the basic form of the well-made plot,
    but used more realistic and problematic characters. During your reading of the first act,
    note any possible ‘skeletons’ which may be developed later in the play. What
    expectations are raised?

    2. Look at the language Torvald uses when he speaks to Nora. How does this develop the
    concepts you have already discussed when thinking about the term ‘doll’s house’?

    3. How is money made central to characters’ concerns in this act?

    4. How important is Nora’s deception over the macaroons in helping us understand her
    greater deceptions?

    5. Consider ways in which Nora’s behaviour towards Kristina reinforces our view of her
    that has been established by her husband.

    6. How does the first act provide social commentary on the lives of middle class women in
    the 19th century? What dramatic effects are created by the discussion between the two old
    friends?

    7. Nora says: ‘It would ruin everything between us. Our whole marriage would be wrecked
    by it!’ Return to this quotation when you have read Act 3 and decide how right she was.
    What dramatic effects are obtained by its placement here?

    8. The first act introduces us to a banker, a doctor and a lawyer. How does Ibsen use these
    characters from respected professions to comment on society?

    9. Evening falls during the course of this act. How does the reappearance of Krogstad tie in
    with the changes on stage?

    10. Compare the opening and closing lines of this act. How far have we moved from the
    simplicity of the Christmas preparation scene?

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