A Dolls House versus Hedda Gabler by https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx Compare away..... en-us 2020-03-24 15:53:30 UTC 2025-11-03 15:40:05 UTC hello@padlet.com 8 Which play do you prefer, why? anniegrahambrown https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473029151 2020-03-24 15:55:27 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473029151 7 What are the similarities between Hedda and Nora? anniegrahambrown https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473030097 2020-03-24 15:55:54 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473030097 2 What are the main differences between Hedda and Nora? anniegrahambrown https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473031113  ]]> 2020-03-24 15:56:26 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473031113 6 anniegrahambrown https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473032141 What are the main differences between Tesman and Torvald?]]> 2020-03-24 15:56:57 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473032141 5 What similarities can you draw between Torvald and Tesman? anniegrahambrown https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473032907 2020-03-24 15:57:20 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473032907 4 What themes do both plays explore? anniegrahambrown https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473034135 2020-03-24 15:57:45 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473034135 3 Who do you sympathise more with, Hedda or Nora, why? anniegrahambrown https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473040470 2020-03-24 16:00:33 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473040470 1 anniegrahambrown https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473045744 How would you define Ibsen's style as a writer? What key features can you find in both plays?]]> 2020-03-24 16:02:48 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473045744 A Doll's House anniegrahambrown https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473074152 Read this article to trigger your thoughts....]]> 2020-03-24 16:13:52 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473074152 Nora and Hedda anniegrahambrown https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473078930 2020-03-24 16:16:08 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/473078930 1 (Owen) https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476753743 Ibsen's plays seem to have a similar structure to Greek tragedies: a character suffers a fall from grace after figures/events from their past return to haunt them (other similarities are a short timespan of roughly a day, and the fact that both take place in one room).

Unlike traditional Greek tragic heroes, Ibsen's protagonists are not quite nobles, but occupy a precarious social position somewhere among the bourgeoisie - but both Hedda and Nora do both initally anticipate upward social mobility because of their husband's promotions.

The common theme in both plays seems to me to be women struggling to deal with a lack of control: Hedda is constrained by society's expectations, while Nora is more directly constrained by Korgstad's threats and by Torvald's overbearing influence. Both women rebel against this control, both in small ways (Hedda's micro-aggressions, Nora's sweets) and much larger ones (Hedda's manipulation of Eilert, Nora's manipulation of Rank, Hedda's suicide, Nora leaving at the end of the play etc.)]]> 2020-03-26 15:33:37 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476753743 2 (Owen) https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476770363
  • Nora seems to be much more selfless: throughout the play she is obsessed with providing for and protecting the reputations of her husband and children, at the expense of her own personal development. Conversely, Hedda makes a show of rejecting familial obligations
  • Nora is (at least at first) a deeply devoted mother, whereas Hedda despises the idea of motherhood; but Nora does seem to treat her children as playthings in a similar way to the way Hedda treats Eilert and Thea as amusement - although Nora is not aware that she is doing this, and does not do it maliciously. Nora also manipulates Dr. Rank in a similar way to Hedda's manipulation of Eilert.
  • At least in Morahan's performance, Nora is possessed of a playful, erratic, nervous energy, seeming as though she might unravel at any moment. Hedda may be unpredictable, but she appears to have a greater degree of control over her outward disposition at least, and rarely ever shows clear signs of nervousness, even up to the point where she kills herself.
    • ]]>     2020-03-26 15:41:05 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476770363     3 (Owen) https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476778756 I sympathise more with Hedda, because her issues seem almost inevitable. From a modern perspective at least, I think it is fairly clear that Nora and Torvald's relationship is toxic, and if they were real people, I would wonder how they had lasted 9 years of marriage without ever realising how weak the foundations of their relationship were. Hedda meanwhile, is constrained by circumstances largely outside of her control (her father's death forces her to find a husband) and the expectations of a society she has disdain for, but cannot bear to live outside of as Eilert and Thea do.]]> 2020-03-26 15:44:58 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476778756 3 (Owen) https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476779158 I sympathise more with Hedda, because her issues seem almost inevitable. From a modern perspective at least, I think it is fairly clear that Nora and Torvald's relationship is toxic, and if they were real people, I would wonder how they had lasted 9 years of marriage without ever realising how weak the foundations of their relationship were. Hedda meanwhile, is constrained by circumstances largely outside of her control (her father's death forces her to find a husband) and the expectations of a society she has disdain for, but cannot bear to live outside of as Eilert and Thea do.]]> 2020-03-26 15:45:08 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476779158 4 (Owen) https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476786672 The main two themes both plays explore are the burden of keeping a reputation and the oppression of women in the home; both plays are particularly interested in how these things relate to (and constrain) a sense of personal identity, as the pressure to conform prevents both Hedda and Nora from realising their true selves.]]> 2020-03-26 15:48:32 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476786672 5 (Owen) https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476796926
  • Both treat their wives more like ornaments than people
  • While Tesman is more devoted to his actual work, they are both devoted to maintaining their reputation
  • Despite Torvald's cynical, domineering personality, he is often just as out of the loop as Tesman: he fails to recognise Nora's unhappiness, and is not privy to her eventful conversations with Rank
  • They both unwittingly allow figures close to them (Korgstad and Brack, Rank and Eilert) to, respectively, manipulate and be manipulated by their wives.
    • ]]>     2020-03-26 15:53:00 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476796926     6 (Owen) https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476805924
  • While Tesman is optimistic to the point of naivety, Torvald is deeply cynical
  • Torvald assumes much greater control over his household: he is extremely controlling over Nora, to an uncomfortable degree
  • Torvald is much more romantically interested in his Nora than Tesman is in Hedda
  • Torvald also seems to have a much more genuine love for Nora than Tesman's for Hedda, although as is shown in the play, this love is built on weak foundations
    • ]]>     2020-03-26 15:56:45 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476805924     7 (Owen) https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476823261
  • Both Hedda and Nora delight in minor scandals (Nora's sweets, the way she acts when first telling Christine about the loan, flirting with Rank; Hedda's delight in Eilert's stories)
  • They both enjoy having power over others; Hedda knows this about herself from early on, but Nora doesn't realise this pattern in her relationships with her children and her friends until the end of the play
  • They are both rather materialistic: Hedda pressures Tesman to buy lots of new things, while the metaphor of the doll's house clearly paints Nora as obsessed with new toys. However while Nora is materialistic, she is not entirely selfish, as much of what she buys is for her family and not herself; she is also much more thrifty, as she is able to save money to pay off her debts while buying conspicuously so as not raise suspicion.
    • ]]>     2020-03-26 16:04:02 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476823261     8 (Owen) https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476834148 I prefer Hedda Gabler because I feel that the characters are a bit more multi-dimensional, and as a result the story has more resonance in the modern day. Torvald seems to me from the start to be a cynical misogynist, and so the deterioration of his and Nora's marriage seems obvious to me. While Hedda and Tesman's marriage also seems doomed, the specific nature of her downfall is less predictable, because Hedda herself is more complex and difficult to understand; furthermore, she is antagonised not by specific people but by her entire society.]]> 2020-03-26 16:08:32 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476834148 8 (Owen) https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476834557 I prefer Hedda Gabler because I feel that the characters are a bit more multi-dimensional, and as a result the story has more resonance in the modern day. Torvald seems to me from the start to be a cynical misogynist, and so the deterioration of his and Nora's marriage seems obvious to me. While Hedda and Tesman's marriage also seems doomed, the specific nature of her downfall is less predictable, because Hedda herself is more complex and difficult to understand; furthermore, she is antagonised not by specific people but by her entire society.]]> 2020-03-26 16:08:42 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/476834557 7 - Debbie https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/477554300 -They're both childlike but Nora is silly but Hedda is vindictive 
    - Like their fathers
    -They're both able to dig into lives to get information 
    -They both have a love of power and experience it vicariously through men 
    - Both in a triangle of sorts ]]>     2020-03-27 00:27:49 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/477554300     8- debbie https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478337122 I prefer Hedda Gabler because there’s more tension and scandal but I wish it had the dancing and more light and realistic that were in a dolls house. ]]> 2020-03-27 13:13:08 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478337122 6- debbie https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478337697 Tesman is a laughable character and adds comedy to Hedda Gabler , Torvald seems to fit his wife in the beginning of the play , they compliment each other. 
    Tesman doesn’t show his scale of emotions he’s usually cheerful open but Torvald shows a wider range from sensual to anger and remorseful.

    ]]>     2020-03-27 13:13:28 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478337697     5- debbie https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478340127 Torvald and Tesman are both workaholics and paternalistic , outwardly care for their wives but don’t know their wives true struggles. 
     BUT 
    Torvald is like Hedda in his assured and steely nature and his aversion to ugliness.
     
     
    ]]>     2020-03-27 13:14:49 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478340127     4- Debbie https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478342987 Both plays explore themes of 
    -      Marital struggles 
    -      Blackmail 
    -      Escapism 
    -      Pretence 
    ]]>     2020-03-27 13:16:22 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478342987     3- debbie https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478343954 I sympathize more with Nora as she always thought about others above herself and is a more accurate representation of the struggles of women. Hedda Gabler feels more like the fantasy that a woman like Nora would have, being able to be selfish and have power over all the men in your life then having the courage to kill yourself leaving behind everything.]]> 2020-03-27 13:16:49 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478343954 2- debbie https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478345049 Nora plays silly and bird-like whereas Hedda is cold and only animated when she needs to be.
    They both know the power of their sexuality – but Hedda acts oblivious to her affect whereas Nora plays into it with her husband but oblivious with Mr Rank 
    Hedda needs power to enrich herself and protect her status whereas Nora only wanted to help her husband. Nora’s power is that she hides her sacrifice, she’s much more selfless than Hedda.
    ]]>     2020-03-27 13:17:13 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478345049     1- debbie https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478346061 -      Ibsen loves having strong female characters. Hedda and Nora both drive the narrative of both plays. Having open houses and a triangle element makes the home environment complicated. He looks at power through a female’s perspective and clearly establishes the socio-political context that constricts them. Both females seek an escape from their environment and eventually choose to leave their marriages and homes. 

    ]]>     2020-03-27 13:17:44 UTC https://padlet.com/anniegrahambrown/hsd2t4ngnwvx/wish/478346061