Marriage True Marriage English Question

Henrik Ibsen’s pioneering 1879 play, A Doll’s House, is remarkable for many reasons, including its unity of place (all of the action takes place in the apartment home of the Helmers—Nora and Torvald) and its unity of time (each of its three acts takes place on three related days: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas—all with implications for a new year). Additionally, this play has come to be known for its final closing scene, perhaps the most famous dramatic “sound of a door slamming” on a marriage.

In fact, just before closing the door on her marriage and saying her final “Goodbye” at the end of A Doll’s House, Nora Helmer tells her now ex-husband (in response to his pleading question) that their only hope would have been for both of them “to change so much . . . that our life together would be a true marriage.” These final words call into question the marriage that she and Torvald have displayed for us on stage throughout the play. Thus, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House can be viewed as a kind of marriage text, a play which raises many questions about marriage—through character, dialogue, images, plot, conflict, and resolution.

For your writing assignment, I want you to write a critical analysis of what Henrik Ibsen says about love and marriage in A Doll’s House. What questions does he raise about love and marriage (“true marriage” or otherwise)? And how does he answer these questions in the play? In writing this essay, please consider all love and marriage relationships, including those of Mrs. Kristine Linde and Nils Krogstad as well as of Nora and Torvald Helmer, and perhaps even of Dr. Rank as well. What do you think Nora (or, more accurately, Ibsen through her) means by “true marriage”?

You should spend thoughtful time to write this critical analysis essay. It should be no more than 700-1000 words in length and should thoroughly explore the theme of love and marriage in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House. Keep your focus on the play itself as an artistic expression of the theme (and not vice versa—having a theory of love and marriage and using the play to support it). And make sure that your essay is complete, coherent, and thorough, that it has a clear thesis, good organization and solid support for that thesis, and that it uses examples and details. Be sure to proofread and edit so that it has absolutely minimal errors in grammar, sentence structure, and usage.