A Doll's House By
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Gonzaga Players Henrik Ibsen THEATRE (20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) FEBRUARY 26th TO March 2nd, 2013 Celebrating 12 Years of Gonzaga Henrik Ibsen was a major 19th-century Norwegian playwright, theatre direc- tor, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of realism" and is one of the founders of Modernism in the theatre. His major works include Brand, Peer Gynt, An Enemy of the People, Emperor and Galilean, A Doll's House, Hedda Gabler, Ghosts, The Wild Duck, Rosmersholm, and The Master Builder. Several of his plays were considered scandalous to many of his era, when European theatre was required to model strict morals of family life and pro- priety. Ibsen's work examined the realities that lay behind many façades, revealing much that was disquieting to many contemporaries. It utilized a critical eye and free inquiry into the conditions of life and issues of moral- ity. The poetic and cinematic play Peer Gynt, however, has strong surreal elements. Ibsen is often ranked as one of the truly great playwrights in the European tradition. Richard Hornby describes him as "a profound poetic dramatist— the best since Shakespeare". He influenced other playwrights and novelists such as George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Arthur Miller, James Joyce, and Eugene O'Neill. Many critics consider him the greatest playwright since Shakespeare.[3] Ibsen wrote his plays in Danish (the common written language of Denmark and Norway) and they were published by the Danish publisher Gyldendal. Although most of his plays are set in Norway—often in places reminiscent of Skien, the port town where he grew up—Ibsen lived for 27 years in Italy and Germany, and rarely visited Norway during his most productive years. Born into a merchant family connected to the patriciate of Skien, his dra- mas were shaped by his family background. He was the father of Prime Min- ister Sigurd Ibsen. A Doll’s House http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Ibsen By: Henrik Ibsen Directed by Matthew Burnham A Doll’s House: Summary Congratulations to the members of the Gonzaga Act one Players who competed in the 2013 Sears Drama A Doll's House opens as Nora Helmer returns from Christmas shopping. Her husband Torvald comes out of his study to banter with her. They discuss how their finances will improve now that Torvald has a new job as the vice president of the bank. Torvald expresses his horror of debt. Nora Festival at St. Marcellinus S.S. behaves childishly, and he enjoys treating her like a child to be instructed and indulged. Soon, an old friend of Nora's, Christine Linde, arrives. She is a childless widow who is moving back to the city. Her husband left her no money, so she has tried different kinds of work and now hopes to find some work that is not too strenuous. Nora confides to Kristine that she once secretly bor- rowed money from a disgraced lawyer, Nils Krogstad, to save Torvald's life when he was very ill, but she has not told him in order to protect his pride. She told everyone that the money came from her father, who died at about the same time. She has been repaying the debt from her housekeep- ing budget and also from some work she got copying papers by hand, which she did secretly in her room, and took pride in her ability to earn money "as if she were a man." Torvald's new job prom- ises to finally liberate her from this debt. Nora asks Torvald to give Kristine a position as a secretary in the bank, and he agrees, as she has experience in bookkeeping. They leave the house together. Krogstad arrives and tells Nora that he is worried he will be fired. He asks her to help him keep his job and says that he will fight desperately to keep it. Nora is reluctant to commit to helping him, so Krogstad reveals that he knows she committed forgery on the bond she signed for her loan from him. As a woman, she needed an adult male co-signer, so she said she would have her father do so. However the signature is dated three days after his death, which suggests that it is a forgery. Nora admits that she did forge the signature, so as to spare her dying father further worry about her (she was pregnant, poor, and had a seriously ill husband). Krogstad explains that the forgery be- trayed his trust and is also a serious crime. If he told others about it, her reputation would be ru- ined, as was his after a similar "indiscretion," even though he was never prosecuted. He implies that what he did was in order to provide for his sick wife, who later died. Act two Christine arrives to help Nora repair a dress for a costume party she and Torvald plan to attend the next day. Torvald returns from the bank, and Nora pleads with him to reinstate Krogstad in his po- sition, claiming she is worried Krogstad will publish libelous articles about Torvald and ruin his ca- reer. Torvald dismisses her fears and explains that, although Krogstad is a good worker and seems to have turned his life around, he must be fired because he is not deferential enough to Torvald in front of other bank personnel. Torvald then retired to his study to work. Next Dr. Rank, a family friend, arrives. Nora proposes asking him for a favor, to which Rank reveals that he has entered the terminal stage of tuberculosis of the spine (a contemporary euphemism for congenital syphilis)[8] and that he has always been secretly in love with her. Nora tries to deny the first revelation and make light of it but is more disturbed by his declaration of love. She tries clum- sily to tell him that she is not in love with him but that she loves him dearly as a friend. Dr. Rank, a family friend, arrives. Nora asks him for a favor, to which Rank reveals that he has en- tered the terminal stage of tuberculosis of the spine (a contemporary euphemism for congenital syphilis)[9] and that he has always been secretly in love with her. Nora tries to deny the first revela- tion and make light of it but is more disturbed by his declaration of love. She tries clumsily to tell him that she is not in love with him but that she loves him dearly as a friend. Desperate after being fired by Torvald, Krogstad arrives at the house. Nora convinces Dr. Rank to go in to Torvald's study so he will not see Krogstad. When Krogstad confronts Nora, he declares that he no longer cares about the remaining balance of Nora's loan but that he will preserve the as- sociated bond in order to blackmail Torvald into not only keeping him employed but promoting him as well. Nora explains that she has done her best to persuade her husband but that he refuses to change his mind. Krogstad informs Nora that he has written a letter detailing her crime (forging her father's signature of surety on the bond) and puts it in Torvald's mailbox, which is locked. Summary provided by: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Doll’s_House Sears Drama A Doll’s House: Henrik Ibsen Nora tells Christine of her predicament. Christine says that she and Krogstad were in love before she married and promises that she will try to convince him to relent. Torvald enters and tries to retrieve his mail but Nora distracts him by begging him to help her with Festival the dance she has been rehearsing for the costume party, feigning anxiety about performing. She dances so badly and acts so childishly that Torvald agrees to spend the whole evening coaching her. When the others go in to dinner, Nora stays behind for a few Act three My Narrator Christine tells Krogstad that she only married her husband because she had no other means to support her sick mother and young siblings and that she has returned to offer him her love again. She believes that he would not have stooped to unethical behavior if he had not been devastated by Norm Foster her abandonment and in dire financial straits. Krogstad is moved and offers to take back his letter to Torvald. However, Christine decides that Torvald should know the truth for the sake of his and Nora's marriage. After literally dragging Nora home from the party, Torvald goes to check his mail but is interrupted by Dr. Rank, who has followed them. Dr. Rank chats for a while so as to convey obliquely to Nora Cast that this is a final goodbye, as he has determined that his death is near. Dr. Rank leaves, and Tor- vald retrieves his letters. As he reads them, Nora steels herself to take her life. Torvald confronts her with Krogstad's letter. Enraged, he declares that he is now completely in Krogstad's power—he Lacey Alanna Avila must yield to Krogstad's demands and keep quiet about the whole affair. He berates Nora, calling her a dishonest and immoral woman and telling her she is unfit to raise their children. He says that from now on their marriage will be only a matter of appearances. Miles Steven Griffin A maid enters, delivering a letter to Nora. The letter is from Krogstad, yet Torvald demands to read the letter, taking it from Nora. Torvald exults that he is saved as Krogstad has burned the incrimi- nating papers.