A Doll's House

The significance of this text to the world is that it was the first literary work to show a woman taking control of her life by leaving her family. This was an extremely radical idea because the family was a woman's pride and joy, and her biggest contribution to marital life. The idea that a woman could leave her husband and children was virtually unheard of before Ibsen's book. This is why the door slam when Nora leaves her family is referred to as "the slam heard round the world". Another interesting thing this play does is allow us to view the victimized protagonist negatively for gaining her end means. That is, to gain power and ultimately her freedom, she walks out on her family. For this, we can choose to view her negatively.

The last scene of this play is the most famous. In this scene, the relation to the title is shown. When Nora talks about her childhood, and about how she is unhappy in her marriage, she says that her papa "called [her] his doll child, and played with [her] just as [she] used to play with [her] dolls" (66). When Torvald asks her what that has to do with their marriage, she responds that she "was simply transferred from Papa's hands to" Torvald's (66). The actual title "A Doll's House" can be taken in two different ways. It can be taken as a house belonging to a doll, because Nora is a doll living in her own house. Alternatively, it can be taken as a doll's house, meaning that all houses are simply homes where dolls are placed, and manipulated. The title can either show an ownership, or complete lack of it thereof. 

Nora as a protagonist can also be viewed in two different ways. She can be viewed as an unaware, simple housewife who makes a snap judgement at the end of the story without truly understanding what she is doing. Or, she can be viewed as an intelligent woman who has finally found her desired way out of her dreadful marriage. Nora does successfully save the spending money Torvald gives her to pay off her secret loan for three entire years. It takes some mental agility to come up with such a scheme, and to keep it hidden from her husband who makes money his business. A Doll's House is a text that changed the way theatre of the times was viewed, and opened new thematic doors for playwrights to explore in later years.

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In the beginning of this act, Wilde addresses the fact that, in Victorian speech, insults, or other pertinent information, are often veiled under vast verbal ornaments. For example, when Cecily comments on the eloquence of a statement made by Algernon, Gwendolen replies that "In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing" (44). This property of proper Victorian speech can make conversations very circuitous, and in a seemingly long conversation, almost nothing may actually be said. This tendency for formalities and fluff in speech also plays into how Wilde emphasizes unimportant things, and throws away important topics as if they were comments on the weather. He is making fun of the Victorian need for unnecessary formalities in speech. To continue the dramatization of trivial things, Gwendolen and Cecily throw fits over Jack and Algernon's false names, and agree that they must undergo the "fearful ordeal" of simply changing their first names.

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As I was reading, I couldn't help but notice the hilarious side story going on between Miss Prism and Chasuble. Their banter and masked flirtation regarding marriage gives rise to some hilarious quotes about the institution. Ms Prism states that "No married man is ever attractive except to his own wife", and that even this only depends on the "intellectual sympathies of the woman" (26). Based on this, and her later statement that men "who live entirely for pleasure usually are [single]" (27), We can begin to view Miss Prism as a sort of shrewish, bitter woman. She clearly loves Cecily, but she must have had a bad romantic encounter in her past to make such blatant snipes at single men and the institution of marriage.

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Jack and Algernon seem like obvious parallels to Darcy and Bingley. Algernon is the smarter of the two, poking fun at Jack for flirting with Gwendolen, who, situation-wise, is the parallel to Jane. In turn, Jack makes fun of Algernon saying "How unromantic [he] is!" (3). Jack is the sighing lover type, smitten with Gwendolen, whom Algernon seems only slightly partial to. Algernon is the basic stereotype of a rich young man with nothing to do but eat cucumber sandwhiches and have tea. The institution of marriage is also mercilessly mocked in almost every other line. In the opening scene, when Algernon is talking to his butler, Lane, Lane remarks that his first marriage was "the consequence of a misunderstanding between [himself] and a young person (1). The last brilliant bit of classist humor in this first section comes with Lane's exit. Algernon comments on Lane's oppinion of marriage, saying that "if the lower orders don't set [a] good example, what on earth is the use of them?" (2). This type of candid humor appears very often throughout the play, and depicts the upper class as irresponsible and childlike.

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Pride & Prejudice can, in many ways, be considered the basis for all modern day romantic comedies. The relationship between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy sets a precedent for all posterity. The bulk of their relationship is built on their purported dislike for each other, until Darcy finally recognizes his implacable love for Elizabeth. Elizabeth then takes about a third of the story to overcome her own personal prejudices and barriers, finally accepting that she loves him too. However, some especially poignant comparisons between their story and the modern day books and movies we know so well come in the conversation after Elizabeth finally professes her love for Darcy. Darcy states that "If [Elizabeth's] feelings are still what they were last April, [that she] tell [him] at once, [but that] one word from [her would] silence [him] on the subject forever" (312). In modern day romantic comedies this can be translated as "I still love you, but if you still don't love me back just tell me right now and I'll never say another word about it". This line, or something like it, appears in almost every romcom ever made. Elizabeth and Darcy then go on to discuss when each of them fell in love with the other; another conversation present in every romance. This shows that Elizabeth and Darcy really are the basis for many modern stories.

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When Mr. Bennet learns of yet another impertinent and nosy letter from mr. Collins regarding the marital fate of one of his daughters, he responds with humor, as is expected of his character. When Elizabeth explains to her father the nature of the letter, he responds by saying that "Mr. Darcy never look[s] at any woman but to see a blemish, and probably never looked at [Elizabeth] in his life!" (309). Clearly, Elizabeth and Darcy's un-affair had a convincing non-romantic pretense. Either that, or Mr. Bennet is incredibly unobservant, which, from the outcome of Lydia's story, isn't a guess that seems too far off the mark. However, if taken in that direction, this can be taken as another iniquity on Mr. Bennet's parenting. It seems as though everyone in their area knows of Darcy and Elizabeth's unconvential relationship. With the amount of times Darcy has shown up to the Bennet household, often unannounced, it is astonishing that Mr. Bennet could have absolutely no knowledge of their encounters.

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 In this section of the reading Lydia and Wickham come home to visit the family before heading north. Lydia is completely unaware that her very presence affronts her family, particularly Mr. Bennet, who did not want her to visit in the first place. Lydia talks of her marriage as if it is of the most propitious circumstance. When Lydia moves to find all the sisters husbands, Elizabeth withholds any aprprobation or appreciation of the offer, stating instead that she "thank[s] [Lydia] for [her] share of the favour, but [does] not particularly like [Lydia's] way of getting husbands" (269).

Lydia is completely oblivious to the gigantic amount of trouble and embarrassment her marriage has caused the Bennet family. Lydia's character was always starry-eyed and slightly air-headed, but this turn of events sets her character as impetuous and naive. This is the first time we find a genuine mal-characteristic in a Bennet sister, and starts to give the reader a new perception of the family. This "inappropriate" marriage may also foreshadow another seemingly inappropriate one.