ENG 1090 A critical review of “A Doll’s House” PDF

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ENG 1090 x 19th February 2021 A critical review of “A Doll’s House” What is the relationship between the Christmas tree symbol and Nora's character in a Doll’s house? Based on relevant preselected quotes from A Doll’s House, the analysis regarding the relationship between Nora’s character and the Christmas tree as a symbol is going to be made through in-book imageries and allusions to both components. During the first act, it can be seen how Nora wants to hide the Christmas tree before it is perfectly decorated when she says: “Hide the Christmas tree carefully, Ellen; the children mustn’t see it before this evening, when it's lighted up.”(Ibsen, 1879, p.2). This citation alludes to the fundamental circumstances of the family, in which appearances and lies are the owners of that pre-established family order. The quote is also a direct allusion to the moment in which the protagonist tells Torvald that no one will be able to see her until she is ready and with her dress on for the party: “Until tomorrow no one will see me in all my splendour.”(Ibsen, 1879, p.112). The “lighting up” of the tree is a metaphor used by Henrik Ibsen for Nora’s “getting ready”. The Christmas tree symbolism also helps the reader understand the psychological state of the protagonist. At the beginning of the second act, the omniscient narrator provides the reader with specific imageries regarding the tree: “...next to the piano, stands the Christmas tree, stripped, and the candles burned out...” (Ibsen, 1879, p.49). The narrator then proceeds by saying that Nora is alone in the room pacing restlessly from one side to the other. This is how her emotional state is projected to us. After the bad news received, we are presented with a restless and crumbling Nora, just like the tree alluded to at the beginning of the act. Finally, it could also be interpreted that the state of the tree during the second act is a symbolism used to indicate the disintegration of the web of lies that Nora had built throughout her marriage with Torvald. The precious “decorations” that she uses to cover and hide her true personality and ideas are slowly falling apart and reality will soon emerge in the Helmer family. A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen link: https://www2.hf.uio.no/polyglotta/public/media/libraries/file/10/A%20Dolls%20House-%20Hen rik%20Ibsen.pdf...