A Doll's House

By Prasert rattanang

From other reviews, or your own familiarity with Ibsen's famous—and in 1879 scandalous—play, you'll know the basic story and characters of "A Doll's House." It remains a classic, well worth being performed by superior actors. The latter are in abundance in this 1959 production: the incomparable Julie Harris as tormented Nora, Christopher Plummer as her self-preoccupied husband, Hume Cronyn (excellent) as Krogstad the catalyst—not quite a villain, but by his own admission a desperate man who takes desperate, damaging measures—Jason Robards, Jr., as Dr. Rank, Nora's unrequited lover, and Eileen Heckart as Nora's friend Kristine, for whose love Krogstad pines. For 1959—for any year, in fact—this is as fine an ensemble as one could imagine. George Schaefer, from television's golden age, produced and directed.

Reluctantly I've deducted one star for primitive production values. Viewers should know that this is a live production, videotaped as a kinescope. As a consequence the lovely set design is visually murky, the audio is indistinct, and various technical glitches mar the illusion: boom mic shadows on the set, intrusive cameras whose timings were off, visual compositions and cuts between cameras that are not as sharp as they could have been had the players been able to retake certain scenes. If you can disregard these things, you'll be rewarded by a splendid performance of a play whose issues continue to resonate strongly to this day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Prasert rattanang
• Release date: Jun 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005066864

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Contents

Contents

Henrik Ibsen

A DOLL'S HOUSE

ACT I

ACT II

ACT III

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Henrik Ibsen

A Norwegian playwright and poet Henrik Ibsen is considered as the father of Modern Theatre. He is also referred as the father of realism. After Shakespeare, he is considered as the second most influential and insightful dramatist and poet of the 19th century. Ibsen was born on 20th March 1828 in the city Skien, Norway. Henrik Ibsen was the eldest of his five siblings. He belonged to an affluent merchant family settled in the port town of Skien, which was well known for shipping timber.

Henrik father, Knud Ibsen (1797-1877) was a well-off merchant. His mother, Marichen Altenburg (1799-1869) was a daughter of one of the richest merchants of the Skien. When Henrik Ibsen turned eight his father went bankrupt and became alcohol addicted. This was the most shattering thing happened to his family. All through his childhood, Ibsen had been doomed and depressive that can easily be seen in his work which is as much a reflection of his own life. Even in most plays he had named his characters after his family and acquaintances like in his most surreal drama, Rosmersholm (1886).

At the age of fifteen, he was forced to leave his school. Then he moved to Grimstad and worked as an apprentice to a pharmacist. That was the time when he discovered himself as an author. He worked at the pharmacy for six years and in the rarely given spare time he started writing plays and painting. Then in 1850 he moved to Christiania (now Oslo) for the sake of getting admission into University of Christiania but couldn’t pass all the entrance exams. Quitting the idea of studies Ibsen fully concentrated on his writing. He completed and published his first verse drama, a tragedy, Catilina with the help of a friend. Nor the play did sell any significant number of copies neither it got accepted at any theatre for performances. In 1851, he got a job at the National Theatre of Bergen. The Burial Mound was his first drama to be staged and attracted few. In the following years he wrote numerous plays that went unsuccessful but his determination to be a playwright stayed strong.

Year 1858, Ibsen returned to Christiania to work as creative director at a local Norwegian theatre. Later in the year, he got married to Suzannah Thorese. The couple got blessed with one child, Sigurd Ibsen who also became an author and was a successful politician too. Ibsen’s family faced very hard financial crisis at that time. Disappointed from life in Norway, Ibsen went to Italy in 1864 and didn’t return to Norway, his hometown, for 27 years. Then in this self-imposed exile he wrote a drama, Brands, which gave him a breakthrough and financial success he was seeking for as a playwright. After critically acclaimed Brands (1865), there was no looking back for Ibsen. Some of his fine works include the Peer Gynt (1867) which made him famous in Italy. In 1868, Ibsen went to Germany. Here he dramatized his social and controversial plays such as The Pillars of Society followed by his remarkably famous, A Doll’s House (1879). Then he went to Rome again and wrote Ghosts (1881) and An Enemy of the People. Drama, Ghosts, includes the topics such as venereal disease and incest which even more triggered the controversy about Ibsen’s plays. He moved back to Germany after a few years, and wrote his most well known work, Hedda Gabbler (1890). This was the time when Henrik Ibsen became famous across the Europe.

In 1891, Henrik Ibsen went back to Norway as a noted but controversial literary hero. The first drama he wrote after his return was The Master Builder. His later plays became the sort of tourist attraction in Christiania. In 1899, he wrote When We Dead Awaken which proved to be his last play. In 1900, he suffered from a series of strokes but managed to live for few years after that. On May 23, 1906 he passed away.

A DOLL'S HOUSE

ACT I

(SCENE.—A room furnished comfortably and tastefully, but not extravagantly. At the back, a door to the right leads to the entrance-hall, another to the left leads to Helmer's study. Between the doors stands a piano. In the middle of the left-hand wall is a door, and beyond it a window. Near the window are a round table, armchairs and a small sofa. In the right-hand wall, at the farther end, another door; and on the same side, nearer the footlights, a stove, two easy chairs and a rocking-chair; between the stove and the door, a small table. Engravings on the wall; a cabinet with china and other small objects; a small book-case with well-bound books. The floors are carpeted, and a fire burns in the stove. It is winter.

A bell rings in the hall; shortly afterwards the door is heard to open. Enter NORA, humming a tune and in high spirits. She is in out-door dress and carries a number of parcels; these she lays on the table to the right. She leaves the outer door open after her, and through it is seen a PORTER who is carrying a Christmas Tree and a basket, which he gives to the MAID who has opened the door.)

Nora. Hide the Christmas Tree carefully, Helen. Be sure the children do not see it till this evening, when it is dressed. (To the PORTER, taking out her purse.) How much?

Porter. Sixpence.

Nora. There is a shilling. No, keep the change. (The PORTER thanks her, and goes out. NORA shuts the door. She is laughing to herself, as she takes off her hat and coat. She takes a packet of macaroons from her pocket and eats one or two; then goes cautiously to her husband's door and listens.) Yes, he is in. (Still humming, she goes to the table on the right.)

Helmer (calls out from his room). Is that my little lark twittering out there?

Nora (busy opening some of the parcels). Yes, it is!

Helmer. Is it my little squirrel bustling about?

Nora. Yes!

Helmer. When did my squirrel come home?

Nora. Just now. (Puts the bag of macaroons into her pocket and wipes her mouth.) Come in here, Torvald, and see what I have bought.

Helmer. Don't disturb me. (A little later, he opens the door and looks into the room, pen in hand.) Bought, did you say? All these things? Has my little spendthrift been wasting money again?

Nora. Yes, but, Torvald, this year we really can let ourselves go a little. This is the first Christmas that we have not needed to economize.

Helmer. Still, you know, we can't spend money recklessly.

Nora. Yes, Torvald, we may be a wee bit more reckless now, mayn't we? Just a tiny wee bit! You are going to have a big salary and earn lots and lots of money.

Helmer. Yes, after the New Year; but then it will be a whole quarter before the salary is due.

Nora. Pooh! we can borrow till then.

Helmer. Nora! (Goes up to her and takes her playfully by the ear.) The same little featherhead! Suppose, now, that I borrowed fifty pounds today, and you spent it all in the Christmas week, and then on New Year's Eve a slate fell on my head and killed me, and—

Nora (putting her hands over his mouth). Oh! don't say such horrid things.

Helmer. Still, suppose that happened,—what then?

Nora. If that were to happen, I don't suppose I should care whether I owed money or not.

Helmer. Yes, but what about the people who had lent it?

Nora. They? Who would bother about them? I should not know who they were.

Helmer. That is like a woman! But seriously, Nora, you know what