Summary A Doll's House Quote Bank with Quotes, Critics, Analysis, Sources
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Course
Comparative and contextual study
Institution
OCR
A consolidated quote bank for Ibsen's A Doll's House, including a variety of direct textual quotes, sources, analysis, and critics. The bank is organised into main character archetypes and 10x key themes, corresponding to the themes in my Rossetti quote bank for easy comparison. Each section has a ...
English Quote Bank (Ibsen)
Characters
Torvald Helmer (8 quotes)
Quotation Source Relevance/meaning
‘My little lark’ and ‘my little Torvald A1 Diminutive and infantilising;
squirrel’ (and in A2 ‘little Miss Nora is never addressed by
Obstinate’) name unless being
reprimanded by Torvald
‘There can be no freedom or Torvald A1 Respectable middle-class
beauty about a home life that must avoid debt: Torvald’s
depends on borrowing and debt’ aversion from moralistic,
sensitive male hubris
‘How painful and humiliating it Nora A1 Fragile male ego must be in
would be for Torvald, with his control, first concern is for
manly independence’ Torvald’s emotional frailty
‘Torvald is so absurdly fond of Nora A2 Controlling, possessive and
me that he wants me all to maybe emotionally abusive;
himself’ uninhibited
‘Torvald can’t bear to see Nora A2 Superficiality; pathetically
dressmaking going on’ unregulated emotional
responses
‘Why shouldn’t I look at… all the Torvald A3 Superficial and possessive,
beauty that is mine, all my very sense of sexual entitlement,
own?’ depersonalized
‘He treats his wife like a juvenile, Declan The hypocrisy of Torvald,
and then complains when she Kiberd, critic who cannot even empathise
acts like a child’ with Nora and betrays her
expectations
‘Compels her to become the full- Unknown Torvald’s toxic masculinity
time female fetish of his and oppression of affluent
possessive dreams’ gender roles
Nora Helmer (8 quotes)
Quotation Source Relevance/meaning
‘Nora: (playing with his coat Nora A1 Uses sexuality for financial
buttons and without raising her profit, plays into stereotype
eyes to his)’ to deceive
‘Imagine that a rich old Nora A1 Escapism, dissatisfied with
gentleman had fallen in love with Torvald, money-centric
me’ worldview
‘Your squirrel would run about Nora A2 Plays into femininity,
and do all her tricks if you would manipulating Torvald
be nice’ without him realising via
agreement with degrading
role
‘Nice? Because you do as your Torvald A2 Inferiority of women:
husband wishes?’ expected to be
unquestioningly obedient
‘You have never loved me. You Nora A3 Marriage based on flawed
have only thought it pleasant to stereotypes; Nora devoid of
be in love with me’ any genuine expression-
betrayal
, ‘I must stand quite alone if I am Nora A3 Transcends ignorance,
to understand myself’ attempts to gain genuine
worldly knowledge
‘Nora’s real antagonist is not Steinberg, Ibsen’s criticism of society:
Torvald but society itself, insofar critic Nora’s situation can be
as it restricts her desire for self- generalised and duplicated
realization’ for many housewives
‘Nora is a rehabilitated Eve who Baruch, critic Feminist interpretation of
has the courage to leave the Nora as a role model and
garden in search of knowledge’ adventurer, a paradigm of
individuality
Christine Linde (6 quotes)
Quotation Source Relevance/meaning
‘Had to provide for my two Linde A1 Pragmatic and self-
younger brothers… I did not think sacrificial decision,
I was justified in refusing his compelled to accept due to
offer’ bourgeois fixation with
wealth
‘I only feel my life unspeakably Linde A1 Juxtaposes Nora in taking
empty’ satisfaction from
domesticity
‘You are still very like a child in Linde A2 Internalised misogyny,
many things’ Linde agrees with façade of
innocence
‘Life, and hard, bitter necessity Linde A3 Difficulties of being a New
have taught me that’ Woman in a man’s
bourgeois society
‘A woman who has once sold Linde A3 Immense emotional impact
herself for another’s sake, of self-sacrifice, as
doesn’t do it a second time’ experienced universally
(Ibsen’s mother)
'Christine Linde acts as a catalyst Sally Ledger, Linde exemplifies the New
for Nora's rebellion’ as a New critic Woman, though the
Woman antithesis of Nora, she has
autonomy over her goals
Nils Krogstad (5 quotes)
Quotation Source Relevance/meaning
‘Prepared to fight for my small Krogstad A1 Importance of stable
post in the bank as if I am income for bourgeois,
fighting for my life’ desperation (similar to that
of Ibsen’s family)
‘For their sake I must try and win Krogstad A1 Not inherently evil, worried
back as much respect as I can in about sons and inherited
the town’ sins
‘Most of us think of [suicide] at Krogstad A2 Mental strain of disgrace in
first’ bourgeois society; suicidal
ideas
‘We couldn’t wait for you, Nils; Linde A3 Criticism of toxic values of
your prospects seemed hopeless society which harm both
then’ sexes (bourgeois)
'Krogstad is a mere pawn of the Eric Bentley, Krogstad exists as an
plot' critic external pressure on the
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