Stage Productions and Interpretations of

A Doll’s HouseFabian ArdayaAlisa AtkinsNick Gustoff

Rishi JainSarah Nelson

Kiran PendyalaKaela Walker

Original ProductionInformation• first performance

o December 21, 1879o Copenhagen, Denmark at The Royal

Theatre

• Setting is importanto suggests the title A Doll’s House (Ibsen

2186-2233), as it is always in a houseo home might be the doll’s house, where

Nora is trapped in her unrespected role as a wife until she leaves at the end (suggesting the end of her role as someone else’s “doll” (Ibsen 2230)

Nora, played by Betty Hennings, in the first

production

Original Production...Cultural/ Contextual Considerations• Nora not thought of highly by husband due to time frame• Ibsen wants to show how women were not treated with

much respect or seriousnesso husband calls her animal or pet names, like “squirrel”

(Ibsen 2186) and “songbird” (Ibsen 2229)o Nora refers to herself as being treated like a “doll-

child, and he played with me the way I played with my dolls” (Ibsen 2230) low status for women

• Shows progression of women’s mindsets as they gained more independence; realizing the change they can make as well as ability to take decisions for themselves.

1880 Alternate EndingInformation• Some German theatres produced an unauthorized fourth

act in which Nora returns to Torvald, begging him to take her back (he feeds her a macaroon and does).

• Ibsen changed ending for North-German theatres so an altercation would not be made by someone elseo Nora does not leave in this versiono Instead, Helmer makes Nora visit her children, saying

they will be “Motherless” (Ibsen, no page)• Ibsen hoped not to use this version, calling it a “barbaric

act of violence” towards his playo wished not many theatres would perform ito only changed it because the lead actress, Hedwig

Niemann-Raabe, would not act the last scene as it was, saying she would never abandon her children

1880 Alternate Ending...Cultural/ Contextual Considerations• change in location of the performance of the play resulted

in a change in ploto possible that German culture would not accept ending

as it was• cultural conflict with lead actress

o being of a different culture or background, she could not accept the play’s ending

Chinese Production of A Doll’s House

Information

• Director of Chinese version is Wu Xiaojiang

• Settingo 1930s in China

• Characterizationo Nora is again a young Norwegian wife, this time married

to a wealthy Chinese man

• Formato Nora’s character uses English while all other characters use

Chineseo Theatre projects English/Chinese translations on both sides of

the stage

• Comic Reliefo character of Krogstad provides comic relief by mixing lots of

Pidgin English into his Chinese

• Themeo play reflects troubles with inter-cultural and inter-racial

relationships common to see Western men with Chinese girlfriends or

wives, but it is much rarer to see Chinese men with Western girlfriends or wives

shows the complexities of a foreign woman with a Chinese man

• in this version, Nora leaves because she feels she is not fit to be with a Chinese man because she is too Westerno compare to “Maybe - if your doll gets taken away” (Ibsen

2232) leaves instead to escape hollow marriage

Chinese Production of A Doll’s House...

Cultural/ Contextual Considerations• being in China, play had to reflect more of the Chinese

culture than a European one• In keeping the Norwegian woman alongside the Chinese

man, it also reflects the clash of cultures; a Western, more liberal culture that was beginning to open doors for women against a Chinese, conservative culture where men are the only voice for the family and treated with all respect.

• Not only shows clash of feminist beliefs, but also shows culture change for a modernizing (and Westernizing) China.

Dollhouse (2003/ 2007)Information• produced by Lee Breuer• aspects of play:

o Uses puppets of couples in the background

o Takes place in a dollhouseo Uses dwarves for the male

characters Lee Breuer: “The patriarchy is in reality

three feet tall, but has a voice that will dominate six-foot women. Male power isn't dependent on physical size. At the same time we're exploring the metaphor from the woman's point of view, the way maternal love is lavished on these child-size men, which only infantilizes them further.” (“Welcome to Lee Breuer’s Dollhouse”)

Dollhouse (2003/ 2007)...

Cultural/ Contextual Considerations• Version used to show how roles hold both men and women

back, not just womeno Ibsen’s version: “But you neither think nor talk like a man

I could join myself to” (Ibsen 2232) Nora realizes her husband will not promote her, just

hinder her Interpretation for Dollhouse could come from this

line, as it shows how her husband is not really a respectable man either

2011 A Doll’s HouseInformation• Performed at the Williamstown Theatre

Festival o More modernized; described as if it

was in the 1960s, including records and a paper shredder

o Clear how women had a bigger role in this production

o Nora having to deal with not only being a mother but also juggles having a job.

• still contains idea of women’s lack of equality as wives

2011 A Doll’s House...Cultural/ Contextual Considerations• updated time period to show more of how the story would apply and play

out in a later setting o message rather consistent, although details are changedo reflects the desires of the later Feminist movement, working to gain

more respect and independence in the workplace as opposed to earlier issues such as women's suffrage

A Doll’s House Short Film (2012)

Information• Directed by Carrie Cracknell• Modernized version of A Doll’s

Houseo changed because of changes

in women’s status• Differences:

o Nora has a job has to balance work,

taking care of her children, and being a wife

• tries to show how women have to balance these roles, while their husbands do not

A Doll’s House Short Film (2012)...

1:10-2:10 & 6:15-6:50 from The Guardian

A Doll’s House Short Film (2012)...

Cultural/ Contextual Considerations• Nora in present day would have different problems than

in 1800so newer technologies and further advancement for

women• stays with theme of original of how women are not

treated as equalso “...take this letter; go out with it at once. Get hold of a messenger and

have him deliver it. Quick now” (Ibsen 2210) Helmer rejects any authority of Nora when sending the letter to

Krogstad (to fire him) in front of her

Sequels and Parodies (Nora’s Return, How Nora Returned Home Again: An Epilogue, A Doll’s House Repaired, and Breaking a Butterfly)

Information• In most: Nora is remorseful but stays, or leaves and is

punished• In A Doll’s House - And After, Torvald becomes an alcoholic

and the children commit suicide.• Mile Fabre’s La Maison d’Argile (The House of Clay) features

Nora’s children, grown up, who hunt down their mother and confront her.

• A feminist/socialist sequel to the play was written in 1979, entitled What Happened After Nora Left Her Husband; or Pillars of Society o Nora takes odd jobs, including factory worker, mistress,

prostitute, political figure, and ends up with a pro-Nazi businessman.

• Breaking a Butterflyo new version of A Doll’s Houseo performed on in 1884o In London at Prince’s Theatre

Sequels and Parodies (Nora’s Return, How Nora Returned Home Again: An Epilogue, A Doll’s House Repaired, and Breaking a Butterfly)...

Cultural/ Contextual Considerations• Nora’s suffering extended in some versions, altering the

endo continues: “Oh, the freezing black water! The depths - down - Oh,

I wish it were over” (Ibsen 2227) Nora suffers because of what has happened as a result of her

forgery. These newer versions do not seem to show her revelation about her imprisonment in her marriage as in Ibsen’s version.

• Nora’s experiences also attempt to overcome her place as a woman in society - her independence and determination is seen as an act of feminism in many versions. o These sequels serve as an attempt to overcome the patriarchal views

in the original story, not by changing the story necessarily, but by showing how better off Nora is without her husband.

Works CitedInformationAll About Henrik Ibsen. National Library of

Norway, n.d. Web. 19 October 2013.

IMBD. IMBD.com, Inc., 2013. Web. 19 October 2013.Ibsen, Henrik. “A Doll House.” The Norton Introduction to

Literature: Ninth Edition. Ed. Alison Booth, J. Paul

Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays. New York: W.W Norton &

Company, 2005. 2186-2233. Print.

Feldman, Adam. "Jonesing for Nora: A Short History of A Doll's

House Sequels." Time Out. N.p., 5 Apr. 2011. Web. 22 Oct.

2013.GradeSaver. GradeSaver LLC, 2013. Web. 20 October 2013.

The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 2013. Web. 19 October 2013.

“A Study Guide for Educators: A Doll’s House.” American

Stage Theatre Company. American Stage Theatre

Company, n.d. Web. 20 October 2013.

Vincentelli, Elisabeth. “‘House’ Needs Work, but You’ll Rave

for Rabe.” New York Post. NYP Holdings, Inc., 2013.

Web. 20 October 2013.

“Welcome to Lee Breuer’s Dollhouse.” The Village Voice

News. Village Voice, LLC, 2013. Web. 20 October

2013.

PicturesAll About Henrik Ibsen. National Library of

Norway, n.d. Web. 19 October 2013.

IMBD. IMBD.com, Inc., 2013. Web. 19 October 2013.

The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 2013. Web. 19 October 2013.

“A Study Guide for Educators: A Doll’s House.” American

Stage Theatre Company. American Stage Theatre

Company, n.d. Web. 20 October 2013.

Vincentelli, Elisabeth. “‘House’ Needs Work, but You’ll Rave

for Rabe.” New York Post. NYP Holdings, Inc., 2013.

Web. 20 October 2013.