FARYAL WASEEM

DRAMA 2
SYMBOLS IN
DOLL’S
HOUSE
SYMBOLISM
What is symbolism?
What are symbols in a Doll’s
house?
How do these symbols relate to
the culture and context of the
play?
SYMBOLISM
 DEFINITION:

“Symbols are
objects, characters figures or
colors used to represent abstract
ideas or concept”.
THE TITLE ITSELF A SYMBOL

“A Doll’shouse”
 Women’s situation during that
era
 Women treated as the dolls
SYMBOLS IN DOLL’S HOUSE
 CHRISTMAS TREE
 NEW YEAR’S DAY

 MACROONS

 DOLL

 HIDE AND SEEK

 NORA’S COSTUME

 MASQUERADE BALL

 PET NAMES

 THE MAILBOX

 DR.RANK

 FIRE PLACE

 CLOSING DOOR
CHRISTMAS TREE

Symbolize:

 Re-birth and renewal

 Family happiness and unity
 Nora’s web of lies
 Emotional state of Nora
 Nora’s expectations

 Nora’s fear

 Nora as a pretty decoration that brightens the

Helmer’s home.(her personality)
TEXT

 “Hide the Christmas tree away carefully Helene.

The children must not see it till this evening
when it is decorated”(1)

 “The Christmas tree, stripped, bedraggled and

with its candle burn out”(35)
NEW YEAR’S DAY

 SYMBOLIZE:

 A symbol of new hope

 New beginning

 New Year’s resolution

 A new journey and inspiration to start over

 A second chance

 “Don’t wait for the perfect moment, take a

moment and make it perfect
TEXT

 “He is to take up his work in the Bank at the New Year

,and then he will have a big salary and lots of
commissions. For the future we can live quite differently
—we can do just we like”

 “I am not afraid of you any longer. As soon as the new

year comes, I shall in a very short time be free of the
whole thing”(act 1)
MACROONS

 SYMBOLIZE:

 Disobedience

 Nora’s inner passions

 Secrecy

 Hide macaroons as hide forgery

 Nora’s evoluation of independence

 Shows Nora is not a perfect doll

 Indication of rot at the center of their marriage,

foreshadowing Nora's rebellion
TEXT

 “Torvald enters and Nora quickly hides the

macaroons” (ACT 1)

 “Torvald had forbidden them. He is worried in

case they ruin my teeth”(19,20)
DOLL

 SYMBOLIZE:

Nora’s life
Dependency
Puppet in the hand of her father and
then husband
Male domination
TEXT

 -“….Papa called me his doll-child, and he

played with me just as I used to play with
my dolls. And when I come to live with
you -….. I mean that I was simply
transferred from papa’s hands into yours”
(1328)
HIDE AND SEEK

 In the middle of the ACT 1 Nora and her children play a

game hide and seek
 Symbolize:

 Avoidance of reality, refusal to grow up

 Secrets that she is hiding from her husband

 Nora’s occasional playfulness

NORA’S COSTUME

 SYMBOLIZE:

 Nora’s willingness to be pretend to

something
 Puppet in the hands of her husband

 Change dress at the end of the play shows Nora’s

embarkation on a new life
TEXT

 “Helmer: Aha! So little miss independent’s in trouble

and needs a man to rescue her, does she?
Nora: yes Torvald. I cannot get anywhere without your
help” (page 194)
MASQUERADE BALL
 SYMBOLIZE:

Hypocrisy
Nora’s secret
Mouse trap/web
Hide her true feelings
Nora dance this dance alone
Life lies
PET NAMES

 SYMBOLIZE:

 Demonstrates Torvald's "possession" over Nora

in their marriage, how Torvald keeps her as a
child (bird, squirrel, skylark)
TEXT

 “My poor , helpless, bewildered little creature’(226)

 “The squander bird's a pretty little creature but she goes

through an awful lot of money. Its incredible what an
expensive pet she is for a man to keep”(page 174)
THE MAIL BOX
 SYMBOLIZE:

Secrecy
Nora fate is sealed
Letter cannot be unsent Nora’s lied cannot be
untold
Foreshadowing that Nora’s attempts to
conceal the truth won’t work
DR.RANK

 SYMBOLIZE:

Falsefriendship
Love is lust
Present writer
FIRE PLACE

 SYMBOLIZE:

 Represent the wealth and comfort and relaxed lifestyle

 Care free actions of Torvald

 No responsibilities

 Torvald’s selfishness
CLOSING DOOR

 SYMBOLIZE:

 Represent transitions
 Boundaries between the characters

 Escape

 Nora opens wide gate of life for women

 Nora’s freedom in the end