A Doll’s House is a play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It tells the story of Nora Helmer and her husband Torvald, a bank manager. Several years earlier Nora had forged documents to obtain a loan and is being blackmailed by Krogstad, a disgruntled employee of Torvald’s. The revelation of the forgery and subsequent blackmail causes a rift in their marriage that ultimately ends with Nora’s departure.
By analyzing questions, you can see patterns emerge - patterns that will help you answer more questions. Qwiz5 is all about those patterns. In each installment of Qwiz5, we take an answer line and look at its five most common clues. Here we explore five clues that will help you answer a tossup on A Doll's House.
DR. RANK
Dr. Rank is a family friend who is secretly in love with Nora. He is dying of syphilis.
KRISTINE LINDE
Kristine Linde is a childhood friend of Nora’s. She is widowed at the time of the play, but before her marriage, she and Krogstad were lovers.
SQUIRREL/SKYLARK
Torvald frequently refers to Nora as “my little squirrel” or “my little skylark”, emphasizing Torvald’s view of Nora as a child.
TARANTELLA
At one point in the play, Nora dances the tarantella with Torvald to distract him from discovering the letter from Krogstad which reveals her forgery.
SLAMMING DOOR
Torvald’s reaction to Krogstad’s blackmail infuriates Nora, as she realizes that Torvald will never view her as an equal. The play ends with the slamming of a door as Nora leaves Torvald.
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Quizbowl is about learning, not rote memorization, so we encourage you to use this as a springboard for further reading rather than as an endpoint. Here are a few things to check out:
* The Ibsen Society of America has extensive information about Ibsen's life and works.
* Interested in reading A Doll's House? Here's a link to the full text from Project Gutenberg.
* Looking for a nine minute LEGO version of A Doll's House? Look no further...
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