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A Doll’s House pt. 2 Report

My first mistake was reading A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen moments before reading A

Doll’s House part 2 by Lucas Hnath. My second mistake was trying to take A Doll’s House part

2 seriously.

A Doll’s House part 2 by Lucas Hnath is the “Sequel” to Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. The

play begins with the leading lady- Nora, whom ends Ibsen’s play by slamming the door behind

her as she leaves her unsupportive husband, Torvald, to reexamine his life- reentering the stage

through the same door she had fought so hard in Ibsen’s play to exit from. She then must

convince Torvald to sign some divorce papers. We learn that Nora is a “feminist” novelist.

(Remember that this is 1892, fifteen years after she left the home.) She has some conversations

with the maid and her daughter, both chastize her for leaving the house all those years ago. No

one is the same as they were in Ibsen’s play, and none of the dialogue is in any way similar to

that of Ibsen’s.

I’d like to side step a moment and just discuss the probablity of Nora becoming a

“feminist” novelist. One must first acknowledge that no such thing existed in the time. The word

“Feminist” wasn’t first used in the Netherlands until 1872 and it didn’t enter the British

vernacular until the 1890’s. Remember that Nora comes home in 1892, having left in 1877. The

likely hood of her being a novelist is very low. There is very little research into literary works by

women in the 19th century and women in poetry wouldn’t become popular until the early 20th

century. Women were still looked down upon, even in the Netherlands. The choice for her to be

a novelist sounds cheap and thoughtless.

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Torvald felt weaker than he did in Ibsen’s play. Nora’s leaving had important meaning

because Torvald wasn’t a push over like he is in Hnath’s play. Nora going out that door is made

completely pointless when she comes back through it. This play feels like a slap in the face to

theatre history by a cocky young writer. I’m offended enough for the entire theatre community.

I worry for the sequel plays to come.