The Lark’s Lonely Twittering: An Analysis of the Monologues inA Doll’s House

Abstract

In this article we examine Ibsen's use of monologues in A Doll's House. The use of monologues in this play has been criticized, and by some characterized as old and conventional, while others have considered this a futile device. However, previous scholars and critics have neither agreed on the number of monologues, nor about where in the play these monologues appear. Our close reading shows that there are as many as nineteen monologues in the play, several in each act, and that three of the characters express themselves in monologues. We find surprising dramaturgic patterns in the use of this device, and this indicates that Ibsen's use of monologues in A Doll's House has a more important function than the literature about A Doll's House until now has found. Our intention in this article is not to give a new interpretation of A Doll's House, but to examine Ibsen's use of monologues in the play, to reflect on the questions of why Ibsen made use of this device, and to consider what aesthetic functions this device might have.

Religious Obligations and Moral Dilemmas: A Feministic Perspective of Ibsen’s Play a Doll’s House

“…Hence, he disagrees with Nora who wishes to have "inherited many of papa's qualities" because according to him women cannot have manly traits (Ibsen, 1910, p. 9). Nora challenges her husband who manipulates religious discourse to inflict his power by questioning the validity of patriarchal religious discourse which turns women into inferior, domestic creatures (Arntzen & Braenne, 2019). Her challenge is important in that she defies both the patriarchal authorities represented by her domineering husband and the religious authorities that restrict female autonomy.…”