1. SYMBOLISM in A Doll’s House

2. SYMBOLISM in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House
Take an envelope.
Words or phrases without a sticker are images or ideas that can be interpreted as SYMBOLS in the play, A Doll’s House.
Words or phrases with a sticker are possible meanings of the symbols.
Your task is to match each symbol with its meaning.

3. Macaroons
Torvald forbids Nora from having these sweets, and without compunction, she lies about eating them in the opening act. What else might she be hiding from her husband?
Nora: You know I could never think of going against you (Ibsen 1.947).
Rank states that macaroons are “contraband” in the Helmer’s house, but he playfully eats them with her and Mrs. Linde behind Torvald’s back.

4. Torvald’s pet names for Nora
Lark, Squirrel, Spendthrift, Featherbrain, Helpless Thing
Such cute little animals– on first glance, maybe– but these names clearly represent that Torvald considers Nora (on some level) to be as helpless and cute as a cuddly little pea-brained furry animal.
Consider: does he use these names because of how she behaves or does she behave childish because he calls her these names?

5. “To hell and be damned!”
If Nora has “such a consuming desire to say so Torvald could hear” (Ibsen 1.958) but cannot say it to him because it is “quite shocking” (Ibsen 1.958) then it must symbolize something for the audience to figure out, right?
Ibsen leaves this up to the audience to interpret because there are numerous things Nora might want to swear at Torvald about. We know she is frustrated about aspects of her marriage just as women in the 1800’s audience probably were. They kept their thoughts to themselves in order to conform to society’s expectations of them.

6. Mailbox Keys
Nora cannot simply retrieve Krogstad’s letter from the mailbox before Torvald has the chance to read it.
How many sets of mailbox keys do the Helmers have? What is the implication of 1 set of keys?

7. Krogstad’s 1st Letter to Torvald
Nora desperately attempts to thwart Torvald from finding this out.
She refers to it as “this secret—my joy and my pride” (Ibsen 1.964)
She tells Mrs. Linde that if Torvald finds out it will “just ruin our relationship. Our beautiful, happy home would never be the same” (Ibsen 1.954).

8. Tarantella Dance
“Tomorrow you’ll see how beautifully I’ll dance, and you can imagine then that I’m dancing only for you” (2.986).
“Torvald wants me to go as a Neopolitan peasant girl and dance the tarantella that I learned in Capri” (2.978).
“Yes, take a good look. She’s worth looking at, I can tell you that” (3.1005).
“A dream of lovliness, isn’t she? That’s what everyone thought at the party, too” (3.1005).
“What’s important is, she made a success, an overwhelming success” (3.1006).

9. Taking off her costume P 1014 Helmer: What are you doing in there?
Nora [inside]: Getting out of my costume.
Consider the conversation that just took place between Torvald and Nora before the dialogue above.
What obvious costume is Nora getting out of? What other costume is Nora finally taking off?
Consider the conversation that is about to take place.

10. How does the play’s title
A Doll’s House symbolize the society of the1870’s?

11. The Slamming of the Door
When Nora slams that door, to what is she saying goodbye?