A Doll's
House
Henrik Ibsen
Ibsen
wrote A Doll's House in 1879. It is widely regarded as his masterpiece,
and as a landmark in the development of theatrical realism, which strives
to portray life accurately rather than presenting idealised visions of
it. A Doll's House is about everyday, unexceptional people.
The play opens on Christmas Eve, in the living room of Torvald and
Nora Helmer's house. For many years, the family has had to be careful
with money, and Torvald chides Nora for her extravagant Christmas spending.
Torvald is playful and affectionate towards his wife, as well as strict and moralistic. Over the next few days, as they are visited by old and new friends, and by colleagues from the bank where Torvald works, we discover the tensions within their marriage, and the secrets that threaten to undermine it.
Nora's quest to make sense of her life and her surroundings is an odyssey of anxious self-discovery, and throughout the drama A Doll's House demonstrates Ibsen's deep concern for women's rights, and for human rights in general.
2007: 120 x 210;
185pp
ISBN 978 1 77922 067 7
Territory: World