The Play: A Doll’s House by Henrik IbsenWomen are generally loving and self- sacrificing. Validate this statement basing your illustrations on the play ‘A Doll’s House’ by Henrik Ibsen (20mks)
Introduction
In today’s society, a person who claims to love you or really concerned about you would go to any level to show how much they care. Nora and Mrs. Linde clearly brings out this in the plays, A Doll”s House. Nora, proves her true love and concern when she risks by forging her father’s signature in order to acquire money for the sake of her husband’s health. She goes against societal expectations and provides financial support to Helmer when he fell ill and takes him to Italy to recover. This clearly portrays her love towards her husband. Nora sacrifices her comfort, a good and comfortable life and good clothes too in order to look for money and save as much as she can to pay the loan. She does odd jobs like embroidery and crocheting, she also saves some money given by Torvald and buys herself cheap and simple clothes with an aim of saving for the payment of the loan. Torvald also reminds her how she shut herself up for three weeks during the last Christmas Holiday making ornaments. This clearly portrays her love and sacrifice for her family. Mrs. Linde also sacrifices her happiness when she abandons Krogstad whom she really loved for a richer man. She did this in order to get money to take care of her sick mother and younger siblings. Later on the old man dies leaving her Childless, poor and lonely. This is real sacrifice for the sake of love. Christine Linde also sacrifices her honour and pride when she approaches Krogstad and apologies to him for her actions. She explains her reason for leaving him and asks him if they can come together as she feels empty and has no one to mourn for and no one to care for. Krogstad accept their proposal. This clearly brings Linde as a selfless person who is able to sacrifice for the sake of love and concern. Ann sacrifices her comfort in order to take of Nora and later Nora’s Children. Anne leaves her own daughter behind and moves in with Nora’s family to become Nora’s nurse. Nora had no mother and Ann fitted in the gap with lots of love. Even Nora wonders how Ann had the heart to give up raising her own child in order to work but it is clear that Anne had to make this sacrifice in order to fend for her own family. She gladly takes care of Nora’s children and contends herself with letters from her daughter on important occasions such as her wedding. In conclusion, it is clear that a person who loves and is concerned about another becomes selfless and goes to any extent to prove this as brought out in the essay.
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Question:
“Woman characters in the play are selfless.” Justify the validity of this statement using “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen.
Marking Scheme
Introduction (2MKS)
Many people in the community exhibit the virtue of being selfless. In a Doll’s House the following characters are selfless A marriage founded on falsehood and secrets is bound to fall apart. To what extent do you agree with the statement? Draw your illustrations from the play A Doll’s House.
Marriage should be founded on mutual trust between the wife and husband. Any sort of secret r insincerity between them is bound to bring irreparable damage to the marriage once the truth comes in.
Nora has many secrets and falsehoods that she keeps behind her husband. She secretly borrows a loan from Krogstad to fund her husband’s trip to Italy for his recovery. She has kept this matter a secret from him for eight years and is not ready to reveal it to him any time soon.
The secret is finally revealed when Krogstad writes a letter t her husband that exposes the forgery. Helmer reacts angrily to this discovery and Nora angry that he does not understand her,decides to walk out of the marriage.
Nora also is not sincere on how she uses the money she gets from Krogstad. She saves most of it to repay Krogstad’s loan. She says that she has survived on cheap clothes and also keeps borrowing money from him to service the loan.
All this is discovered at the end of the play. They react differently to the discovery making their marriages to break.
Nora cheats Krogstad that there was nobody who had visited him when he was way while krogstad has just left the room where he had been pleading with her to speak to her husband to prevent the sack.
As she cheats him thus,her husband has just met with him as he leaves the house. Nora’s speaking to krogstad and refusing to admit it reveals a very serious weakness in the marriage. It shows mistrust and underscores the dark secrets that Nora has been keeping behind her husband. Finally, some of these actions contribute to the dissolution of the marriage.
Nora cheats her husband that she has forgotten the dance practice and dances poorly so that she can compel her husband to help her practice. The truth is that she had not forgotten how to dance but wants to buy time so that her husband cannot open the letter box.
She and Christine have agreed to keep him as much as possible from his letters so that she can speak to krogstad first. Nora instead should just be open with her husband and tell him the truth. She increases tension in their marriage and is the one show suffers most. Finally,the truth comes out and the marriage breaks. It is important for a couple to be sincere with each other no matter the seriousness of the matter. This can help prevent far – reaching damage to their marriage. DOLL'S HOUSE BY HENRIK IBSEN DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
The Character Sketch asks
topIcS For dIScuSSIon and eSSay
FILM CRITICISM
Students can consider the following questions as they read/view
more and more questions;
RESOURCES ON THE DOLL'S HOUSE BY HENRIK IBSENFeatured Resources include:
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