A Doll's House English A1 Higher Level Paper 1
A spectacle is an event that is memorable for the appearance it creates. The appearance in Henrik Ibsen’s play is created due to three factors: first, the idea of the play, second, the dramatic structure which imposes a clear order on human behavior and makes it understandable and predictable, and finally, the dramatic techniques used to convey the message. The idea of the play itself makes it spectacular since nothing can be more fascinating than the emergence of a new individuality and a new state of mind in front of the spectator’s eyes. The main character, Nora, lives in her husband’s doll house, leading the life of a doll wife. When her husband falls ill, she borrows money illegally by forging her father’s signature to save her husband’s life, and consequently finds herself in an ambiguous position. Unfortunately, she cannot comprehend the severity of her decision to commit an illegal deed as well as to lie to her husband about it. This situation leads to her epiphany about the realities of the world, ruining the doll’s house. What makes this play fascinating is that contrary to audience’s expectations, Nora musters her energy to stop acting as a disobedient child and decides to discover and educate herself in order to find her individuality. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, she emerges as a new person from her false life in a doll’s house. What the audience remembers in “A Doll’s House” is the message of the play that was very controversial in the times of Ibsen. The message that a woman can go against societal morals and conventions in Ibsen’s times would be a very notorious topic to discuss, let alone put in a play to be performed in front of hundreds of people. The play was even banned for a long time. Another factor that makes the spectacle of the drama unforgettable is the clear dramatic structure that Ibsen imposes on the action and behavior of people in the play. The structure of the play has a clear beginning, in which Ibsen