ACTION ANALYSIS

AND
JOURNAL
By Eftychia Spyridaki
MFA Theatre Directing Student
Student Number :
20424376

Synopsis:
On Christmas eve, Nora and her husband Torvald are ready to celebrate Christmas along
with Torvald’ s promotion in the bank that will put an end to the previous years of financial
hardships. Both main characters’ opposing views on financial responsibility are established:
for Torvald, there can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing,
whilst Nora reveals that she would not care about debt or her reputation if Torvald died. A
childhood friend of Nora’s, Christine comes to visit, they talk about how their lives have
changed. After offering to help Christine, Nora reveals that she got a loan in order to pay for a
a restorative trip to Italy for her once severely ill husband Torvald. Krogstad, the man who
secretly lent the money to Nora, arrives to talk to Torvald. He eavesdrops him and Dr Rank,
Torvald’s best friend, gossiping about him and his reputation for being caught up in a scandal
years ago; he leaves the house without meeting Torvald.
Torvald meets Christine and states that he is willing to give her a position at the bank where
he is manager: his plan is to replace Krogstad with Christine.
Krogstad, who knows that Nora has forged her father’s signature to obtain the loan, threatens
to tell Torvald about her actions if she does not help him regain his job at the bank.
Nora fails to persuade Torvald not to fire Krogstad. Torvald fires him immediately instead of
waiting until the new year.
Nora considers asking Dr Rank for help, but changes her mind when the doctor confesses his
love for her. Krogstad decides to expose Nora and drops a letter about the loan and forgery
into a locked litter box outside of the house.
Nora confides in Christine that Krogstad is her money lender; Then Christine who was in a
relationship with Krogstad when they were younger, reaches out to convince him to recall the
letter and expresses a desire to begin a new relationship with him, even though she chose
another man over him. Krogstad offers to recall his letters to Torvald, but Christine prevents
him from doing so, believing honesty will bring understanding in Nora and Torvald’s marriage.
In the play’s climax, Torvald reads Krogstad’ s letter, revealing the loan and forgery. He calls
Nora immoral and further characterizes her viciously when a new letter from Krogstad arrives,
revealing he's forgiven the loan. Ecstatic that his reputation will not be damaged, Torvald
instantly forgives Nora. Nora then realizes that her husband’s true character. She leaves her
family, decides to educate herself and make her own way in the world. Torvald sinks into a
chair and despair his face buried in his hands; the play famously closes with the slamming of
the door that Nora closes.

Logline : When everything that is hidden in the Helmer’s household is revealed, that is the
end of the Helmer household.

Seed: Comfortable lies vs uncomfortable truths

generic vs unique
society norms vs individual identity

Theme:
A mutual, theoretical contract, between husband and wife, implemented by society, that
breaks: According to this contract, a woman can only be a wife, daughter and a mother. A
doll(to be played with), a dog(to be trained), or a bird(to amuse with its singing). She is
considered inadequate to decide on any other issues, other than those concerning the
household; during times of crisis, she is considered and is expected to be incapable of
handling issues without her husband's approval. Once this contract is questioned by an
individual, then comes the time when every woman can discover and operate according to
her unique identity, not only within the marriage, but within society as well.

Trigger event:
Krogstad’ s dismissal is the event that puts Nora’s ‘’trusting’’ relationship with Torvald, as well
as Torvald’ s reputation at stake. In Act I, Nora would have not been blackmailed by Krogstad,
who has secretly lent her the money to take ill Torvald, on a restorative trip to Italy, if Krogstad
was not desperate to regain his job at the bank. It is because of his desperation combined
with Torvald’s promotion as a manager that he threatens her of informing Torvald on how Nora
has forged her father’s signature to obtain the loan for their trip to Italy, Nora becomes
increasingly distressed and from this point on, all of her actions are defined panicked.

Act One's Inciting event: When Krogstad reveals to Nora that he is fully aware of her
father’s signature forgery and then implies what terrible consequences would follow for her
and her husband after such a revelation.
I am now going to elaborate on that event using Kattie Mitchel’s ‘’tools’’ as requested :
Sudden/Gradual Event: This event is build on the antithesis of happy, untroubled full of
playfulness scene between Nora and her children playing hide and seek.

I am citing from "A Doll's House and other plays",translated by Deborah Dawkin and Erik
Skuggevik,p.129-131:
Entrance of characters :
Nora and her children are playing laughing and shouting. They play hide and seek Nora hides
under the table the children come but cannot find her at the beginning but in the end they lift
the cloth and they see her. Squeals of delight. Nobody hears Krogstad knocking on the door
until he appears he waits and he sees the game between Nora and her children.
A simple event(according to Katie Mitchell's definition of simple events) takes place when
Nora sees Krogstad and sends her children to go and play with the nanny in another room:
(p.130)
NORA: -so what do you want here?
KROGSTAD:To have a word with you
NORA:With?(to the children quietly) Go in to Anne-Marrie now. What?No, the stranger won't
hurt Mommy.When he's gone, we'll play again.
(...)
(p.135)
KROGSTAD:Listen Mrs Helmer,do you realize this is a dangerous admission? (...)
(P.136)KROGSTAD :...Very well.Do whatever you please.Butthis much I tell you :if I find
myself pushed out a second time,you'll be keeping me company.
Stage directions :He makes a farewell gesture and goes out through the hall, Nora
thoughtful for a moment then tosses her head
‘’What nonsense trying to frighten me I am not that gullible. She bussies herself with gathering
up the children's clothes, soon stops, ‘’But no but it's impossible I did it out of love after all!
The arrival of the children and then her denial to play with them is an element that constitutes
the event of Krogstads second arrival in the house not simple, but complex, as his arrival not
only triggers Nora's distress and her actions from this point on, but has also an impact to her
treatment of the children which changes radically after he leaves.
(p.136)
THE CHILDREN: (in the doorway to the left) Mommy, but you will play with us again now?
NORA:No,no,not now
THE CHILDREN: Oh but Mommy, you promised..
NORA:Yes,but I can't right now. Go inside;I've got so much to do.Go in,go in,my dear,sweet
children.
(She hurries them gently back into the room and closes the door after them.Sits in the
sofa,picks up some embroidery and does a few stitches but soon stops)No!

The inciding incident of Krogstad’s arrival and discussion with Nora leads to the crux
event(the main event ) of Nora trying to convince Torvald not to fire Krogstad, but ending up
failing to do so.

During the second act: The crux event(the main event) is the Tarantella dance and it can be
characterized as a complicated event as it takes place for various reasons and serves not
only as a distraction for Torvald not to reach for the letter box, but also as an expression and a
physicalisation of Nora fulfilling a purpose of a doll which is to amuse with her skills and
beauty (p.161-163)
I will now cite again from "A Doll's House and other plays",translated by Deborah Dawkin and
Erik Skuggevik tracing Kattie Mitchell’s tools in the play.
This is a sudden event.
Stage Directions,beats,pauses:
Helmer sits down at the piano Nora grabs the tambourine from the box as well as a long
multi-colored shoal which she drapes around herself hurriedly.then she leaps into the middle
of the room stands waiting and.
Nora:Now play for me
Helmer plays and Nora dances Dr Rank stands at the piano behind Helmer and looks on
Helmer :slower slower
Nora:I can't do it differently
Helmer: not so fiercely Nora
Nora: it has to be this way
Helmer: (stops) no! No! this really won't do!
Nora laughs and swings the tambourine :wasn't that what I told you? (...)
Rank sits down at the piano and plays Nora dances increasingly widely
Helmer has placed himself by the stove and issues her with corrections regularly throughout
the dance she seems not to hear her hair comes down and falls over her shoulders she takes
no notice but goes on dancing. Mrs Linda comes in she stands by the door dumpstruck
Nora: see what fun this is Christine.
Helmer: but my dear sweet Nora you're dancing as if your life depended on it
Nora: and so it does
Helmer :Rank stop this is sheer madness. Stop I say
Rank stops playing and Nora suddenly stands still
Helmer goes over to her :I'd never have believed this you really have forgotten everything I
taught you.
Nora throws down the tambourine : There now .you see for yourself.
During the third act the play climaxes with Nora’s departure and this constitutes a simple
event that is the outcome of the trigger event.

JOURNAL

What do I see :
A House spinning around,not well lit.
Preparations for Christmas.
Costumes from Ibsen’s era.
A woman who eats maccaroons as if she is cheating her husband.
How do I feel:
I feel that I am a culprit, I see and I am learning Nora’s secrets whose husband is not aware
of.
I see a woman changing her voice to higher notes when she encounters her husband and
almost moaning like a lion when she feels she is endangered.
What do I notice about other people’s responses:
What do I see:
They are culprits too and they laugh whenever Nora seems to ridiculously focused on
opulence but also when they know that she is lying or when she is teasing like a child.
I see that after Torvald’s rannt about dishonest women in relation to their children she is
obviously avoiding them in a brutal, rude way which manifests itself to the nanny.
I see a round house circling when time passes becoming darker and darker until the moment
Nora experiences her personal revelation when the light is more than it ever was in their
bedroom with Torvald. The sound of the closing door is also very evident in the end just like
the well-lite bedroom that hosts Nora’s decision.
What do I take:
Clear choices on stage: scenery,evident choices in costumes according to Ibsen’s era,clear
light designing choices: half-lite house throught the whole play that maybe depicts the lack of
clarity in the relationships; clear ‘’temperatures’’ of each scene.
Statement based on the journal:
Nora’s distress manifests itself throughout the whole performance and via various acting
choices such as her voice which becomes more and more deep and ‘’growling’’ in each scene
she feels threatened. Her relationships can be traced if someone takes notice at the distances
she keeps with each character she encounters,with the most evident being her relationship
with Torvald: They are only touching during the first act, or when the want to have coitus.
The sense of touch is not a sense that is a big part of the relationship, this relationship lacks
the physicality and tenderness that their dialogues are often characterized with.