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I wasn't able to attend seminar today but I wanted to bring up a valuable piece from A Doll's House. In reference to the question about social norms and the truth, I found this evidence: "'Yes, someday, perhaps, after many years, when I am no longer as nice-looking as I am now... when Torvald is no longer as devoted to me as he is now; when my dancing and dressing-up and reciting have palled on him." Nora is responding to the question of whether she will tell her husband about her secret or not. She knows her duties as a wife and she feels she can't be truthful with her husband. He will only love her as long as she follows the rules of genders and her role of being a wife. At this moment, it's more important to Nora to maintain her reputation.

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4 minutes left-work to summarize ideas from the nest of texts

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4 minutes left-work to summarize ideas from the nest of texts

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How does society affect the ideas and actions of the characters? How do social norms promote and/or inhibit the truth?How does freedom, and the expression of an awakening make an impactDo responsibilities affect our views on individual freedom? Sources: Ibsen plays & 4 poems

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How does society affect the ideas and actions of the characters? How do social norms promote and/or inhibit the truth?How does freedom, and the expression of an awakening make an impactDo responsibilities affect our views on individual freedom? Sources: Ibsen plays & 4 poems

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Do people have a responsibility to seek out the truth no matter the impact on themselves, others, society, etc?

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Nora fought throughout the entire play. For example in Act 1, it was revealed that she hid macaroons from her husband. Women were supposed to be petite and loyal to their men in their lives.

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Nora says to her husband- "Our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll-wife..." We see that Torvald has treated Nora as nothing more than a doll/play-thing. He admires her beauty, dresses her up in costumes, and gets her to dance for him (she is literally is his doll). The readers see that Nora's family has this facade on, where everything is just for show. But in her awakening, she realizes that this cannot be what she abides by for the rest of her life. She reveals that she didn't love Torvald, and that she must educate herself (all the while avoiding her "ex-husband" and her kids...

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Bird symbolism is also used in the Awakening so it is a very universal sign of freedom and hope which is why is pops up so much in literature of testimony

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A testimony does not have to be recognized in order for it to be authentic. For example, Hedda always rebelled, no one pronounced the rebellion. In Act 1, the pistols represent how distinct her testimony is. For the very beginning, she was different; different from her husband, different from other women. Her husband was afraid of the gun, while Hedda mocked his fear by not putting it down.

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Nora feels in her heart what she believes is the most important thing for her, education. Prior to her leaving, Nora explains to Torvald what she must do for her best interests. "I have to try to educate myself," she says, "You can't help me with that. I've got to do it alone. And that's why I'm leaving you now" (Ibsen 192). Torvald responds by saying that she has no right to neglect her duties to her husband and children. Nora explains, "I have other duties equally sacred...Duties to myself. I believe that, before all else, I'm a human being, no less than you-or anyway, I ought to try to become one" (Ibsen 192). This is also an example of testimony, the hidden truth is that you must follow your heart and strive for what completes you.

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Margaret's and Rawan's points about Hedda keeping her maiden name are interesting in that Hedda resist's society's pressure of becoming a complicit and domestic wife, but also maintains both her maiden name, but her father's pistols and domineering heredity.

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How do the facades the characters put on affect how they interact with the other characters, and how they see themselves?

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There can still be hope when you have freedom. For example in the poem "America", Claude illustrates that America is “Stealing (his) breath of life”. America is seen as the land of the free, African Americans are in fact not free.

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In response to Tyler, I believe that yes, Hedda did want to outdo others just to make herself feel powerful. Because in one of the scenes, Hedda said that she wanted to have control over someone's destiny and how entertaining it may be. Like I said before, as a woman she had no power over her destiny (very limited) so she needed that reassurance that she had at least had it over someone else

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I think that because of Hedda's social status and the restrictions it brings, she grows a desire to perhaps for the first time have a control, if not of her wife, but at least someone else's. In that sense, society created a person like Hedda.

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Do you guys believe that Hedda's attempt to outdo others through her need to shift power in her favor, contribute to her committing of suicide?

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In terms of the poems

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I think Rawan's point is very interesting, that the title is Hedda Gabler or her maiden name. I feel this shows how Hedda is very powerful and doesn't just roll over when confronted with other people. She stands strong, even if she has evil or malicious intentions.

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Make connections to tie in the several poems.

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In response to Sam
I think at the time she was content with her marriage and life at the beginning of the book

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I agree with Margaret when it comes to power struggles. Niether Hedda or a Doll's House would work gender swapped. A man would not have to undergo these same struggles (in that time period) to become powerful. Men wouldn't necessarily have to be manipulative and jump through hoops - they would be able to use easier, conventional means to climb the social ladder.

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The manipulation is present in Hedda, for George claims to Mrs. Elvsted that Hedda feels a "burning love" for him to approve Hedda's rebelling attitude/actions towards the social norms.

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For Nora to be satisfied, I think she needed to do something herself for herself.

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Could all of the manipulations in the plays could be a part of their awakenings and possibly what they see as their responsibility in order to expose the truth and obtain more levels of personal freedom in their lives?

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Maybe not "happy" as she did have debt to Krogstad however at the very least content/satisfied

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Well Nora was happy prior to the events of doll house!

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In response to Jenny, I think that there was a sense of calm before the storm. For example, when the Christmas tree arrived at their house, Nora was excited. She portrayed the typical housewife role: ”Candles here-and flowers there.” (pg 68)" She wanted the house to look picture perfect, much like what she wanted her life to appear to look like.

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Was there a meaningful difference between Edna's suicide and Hedda's suicide-- even though they both were suffocated by societal expectations, was one more powerful than the other in relaying their frustration and communicating their testimonies?

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In response to Margaret, I found that the plays categorize the characters not only by gender but also by class/order. Hedda is in the upper bourgeoisie where wealth was inherited and social customs were restricted. Even though she is poor, Hedda still considers herself a part of the upper.

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Margaret's point about Hedda, in her attempt to be the perfect housewife, supporting her man and his wishes despite the fact that his wish is death, she is exposing the flaw in dependency and restricting the individual freedom of our peers. If Hedda were to have more independence and develop her independent mind, she may have been able to bolster the family rather than eventually leave it from the pressure she felt.

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In the awakening, Etna still feels dependent on a man (not her husband) while in Doll House/ Hedda both women are escaping the influence of men

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I feel that the time period affects the role of women more in these plays. However, I think both these plays are more than just commentary on the idea of women. How do the plays separate and categorize characters besides by gender?

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I don't believe it has to do with the place the plays take place. I believe it has more to do with the time period of the plays and the poems. Women didn't always have the same rights as men when talking about America, it took the women's movement to spark that change. So, does the country or the time period affect the role of women more?

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"it dawned on me that for eight years I've been living with a stranger" "Helmer: But there's no one that gives up honor for love. Nora: Millions of women have done that" - A Doll House            "All the same, I'm in your power. Tied to your will and desire. Not free. Not free, then! No--I can't bear the thought of it. Never!" -Hedda Gabler