Order 1235339: Research paper about a play

Lecture VIII: Critical Interpretations of A Doll’s House and Writing the Research Paper

To this day, critics are not in agreement in their interpretations of Nora’s actions

in A Doll’s House. Was she manipulative or passive? Was her leaving necessary? Should

she have left her husband and children? Indeed, the slamming of the door often

dominates class discussions. What will happen to Nora later? This is speculative, of

course, but could Nora possibly change her mind? Could Torvald change?

And to a student of the 21st century trying to interpret A Doll’s House, one has to

look carefully at the mores of the Victorian Age, a time of rigid patriarchy in which

women did not vote, did not attend college (with only a few exceptions), did not control

their own money, and were expected to submit to the rule of their husbands and fathers.

Had Nora taken her children with her, could she have earned enough money to care for

them, and could she have cared for them while she worked?

Is it symbolic that Nora dances the tarantella (in medieval times, a victim of a

spider bite [a tarantula] “dances herself to death”)? And in so doing, Nora is supervised

and coached by her husband, Torvald. It is also significant that Nora is forbidden to eat

macaroons by her husband.

Reflecting the 19th century view of Nora, Clement Scott writes in an 1889 critical

essay rather pejoratively of Nora. Scott accuses Nora of being an unnatural woman,

ignoring her maternal instincts and focusing only on herself. Indeed, it is this selfishness

that Scott focuses on, as he sometimes resorts to name-calling. Keep in mind that the

play A Doll’s House was shut down by the police when first performed in New York—it

was considered too shocking and a bad example to ladies!

To contrast, more modern critics focus on Nora as a modern, feminist heroine.

Katherine M. Rogers writes in a 1985 work of criticism with a much more positive view

of Nora. Rogers asks us to consider how the romantic gender roles that exist even today

cause people not so much to live in a real relationship but to imagine themselves as

“damsels in distress” and “knights in shining armor.” To Rogers, this way of thinking can

lead only to disappointment and disillusionment, which she believes is the cause for the

dissolution of Nora’s marriage. In other words, Rogers contends that Nora expected

heroic behavior from Torvald—and could not deal with her own disappointment in his

failure to “rescue her” in a time of trouble; to Nora, Torvald did not live up to his end of

the bargain, so nothing was left of the marriage.

Talk with your classmates about the critical commentaries in your text by August

Strindberg, Emma Goldman, Joan Templeton, and Susanna Rustin. Also, consider the

“Memorandum” written by Ibsen himself on October 19, 1878.

On the research paper—

1. Topics #1 and #2 ask you to analyze a character. In analyzing a character, your

first task is to develop three aspects of that character (to be listed in the thesis). Begin by

listing as many character traits as possible. For example, if we look at Krogstad, could

we say he is unscrupulous, determined, and uncaring? What other characteristics could

we attribute to him? In a body paragraph, could we find several passages from the play

to illustrate Krogstad’s being “unscrupulous”? Further, could we add some comments

from critics on that point? So, an outline for a research paper analyzing Krogstad (and

note that this is NOT one of your topics) could look like this:

Krogstad: A Character Analysis

I. Introduction

Thesis—Krogstad is shown by Ibsen to be unscrupulous, determined, and

uncaring.

II. Krogstad is an unscrupulous character.

Illustrate with AT LEAST three quotes from the play—and introduce each quote

to place the quote into perspective.

Add a few quotes from critics to augment the discussion.

III. Krogstad is a determined character.

Illustrate with AT LEAST three quotes from the play—and introduce each quote.

Add a few quotes from critics to augment the discussion.

IV. Krogstad is an uncaring person.

Illustrate with AT LEAST three quotes from the play—and introduce each quote.

Add a few quotes from critics to augment the discussion.

V. Conclusion

State what you think Ibsen intended in creating this character—in terms of Ibsen’s

vision for the play.

2. Topic #3. In this topic, you are being asked to analyze four critical articles about A

Doll House. Use articles from scholarly journals found in databases such as JSTOR.

Your thesis should reflect FOUR points that you are going to focus on in your paper

(a key phrase anticipating each of the four articles). TOPIC #3 will have FOUR body

paragraphs, one on each article.

Review of the 500-word theme: I. Paragraph I—Introduction—100-125 words (or 5-12 sentences)

• Lead-in (mention the title of the work, the author’s name, and the date of composition)

• Provide a brief synopsis (2-3 sentences, with the gist of the work) • Thesis statement—list the points to be developed in the body of the

paper (three aspects of one theme seen in the play) II. Paragraph 2—First Body Paragraph—100-125 words (or 5-12

sentences) • Follow the topic sentence with support—quotes from the play

and from articles. III. Paragraph 3—Second Body Paragraph—100-125 words (or 5-12

sentences) • Follow the topic sentence with support— quotes from the play

and from articles. IV. Paragraph 4—Third Body Paragraph—100-125 words (or 5-12

sentences) • Follow the topic sentence with support— quotes from the play

and from articles. V. Paragraph 5—The Conclusion—100-125 words (or 5-12 sentences)

• Mirror the introduction—restate the thesis, restate the major points without being repetitive

• End with an important thought, a provocative idea, a quote