Education
A Doll's House - Henrik Ibsen - Episode 1 - Norway At It's Literary Best! Hi, I’m Christy Shriver and we’re here to discuss books that have changed the world and have changed us. I’m Garry Shriver and this is the How to Love Lit Podcast. Today we begin our series on Henrik Ibsen and his great play- A Doll’s House. Ibsen was born in Norway, a country that shines a bright light on our view of the world more than most of us realize because it’s such a small place geographically. . Haha- shines a light- is that a pun- Norway is, after all, the land of the midnight sun! Where in the summer, the sun literally shines at midnight. Well, there is that, but I was actually thinking about the tremendous influence of the Nobel committee and the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize the famous committee that grants every year since 1901 on December 10th, from Oslo City Hall. There they announce which human, in their estimation, on planet earth has conferred the greatest benefit on mankind. What an amazing designation. Oh, that’s pretty important too. I know this is a tangent, but why IS the Nobel Peace Prize selected by and given out by Norwegians instead of the Swedish people, since Alfred Nobel was Swedish and not Norwegian. That’s a really good question, and I’m not sure anyone knows- but it was definitely stipulated by Alfred Nobel at his death that although the other awards would be awarded in Stockholm, the Peace Prize would be awarded in Oslo, Norway and it has been ever since. Norway is a country that has established itself for many years at the top of the lists of “best places to live on planet earth”- a designation it won again in 2020. It has the highest life expectancy in the world, (82.4 average) in case you’re wondering, second place went to Ireland, btw. It’s population on average is one of best educated in the world, and the gross national income is ranked third behind Switzerland and again Ireland. Wow, and yet Christy, I wonder if you would like living there- let me remind you that the average temperature in the summer is 65 degrees Fahrenheit or 18 degrees Celsius. I know, growing up in tropical climates where the average summer temperature is in the 90s or high 30s Celsius, I would definitely have to buy a new wardrobe, but that’s not always a negative. Ha! No, I guess that’s true. Norway is also a land we generally think of for its striking outdoor beauty characterized by those magnificient fjords. Fjord is one of the few Norwegian words that almost everyone knows. It literally means where one fares through- and if you see pictures of them, that makes sense why. They are fairy-tale like, truly and can be hundreds of miles long. Of course, Norway isn’t the only place where they exist, but they have over 1700 of them and two are featured on UNESCO’s world heritage list. Garry, describe what a fjord is for those of us, which includes me, who have never seen them. Well, I’ve never seen them in person either..yet…but I will. They are long narrow inlets of water with steep cliffs on both sides that were created by glaciers thousands of years ago. They are astonishingly deep, often thousands of feet or meters deep. They say one of the best ways to seem them is on a cruise ship, so that’s my plan. Ha!! Sounds like a great plan. Of course, right after Fjords and the Nobel Prize, the next thing that comes to mind when we think of Norway is still not Ibsen but- Vikings. Oh Vikings for sure have put their mark on northern Europe, and many of us have a very specific image in our minds of raiding warriors arriving in those amazing ships that could move around 15-17 knots. And although, the Vikings are mostly known for colonizing and conquering, which could be viewed negatively, you would be happy to know that women’s rights date back to before the 1100s among vikings. Women had the right to divorce, own property and were protected by law from sexual harassment. Well, there you go, and I guess that’s a good Segway to the reason for our interest today in Norway- because after those things- when we get to famous Norwegians, it’s hard to find one more well known then their native son, Henrik Ibsen, who was also quite the feminist- although as we will talk about next episode- he fought that label as he fought all labels. Yes- I guess he did. But let’s jump back just a little before we talk about Ibsen specifically, to talk a little more bit about Norway, because this little country has made such an important impact on the world but it isn’t a country that necessarily and deliberately draws a lot of attention to itself. I guess that’s true. Are you talking about Lasse Matberg- the real live version of Thor- Instagram and basically the internet has gone nuts over. Okay- Christy- no drooling. I was thinking King Harald the fifth. Most of us don’t even realize it is a constitutional monarchy with a very active monarch, Harald V who is 84 years old is known as a symbol of consolation and support; he and his beautiful queen Sonja- enjoy an 80% approval rating. Which is incredible! Well, it IS incredible- I’m not sure even Disney World enjoys an 80% approval rating. Anyway, the modern, the highly educated and urbanized nation of Norway is not the Norway Henrik Ibsen grew up in- at least according to Ibsen. His world was much more rural -and to hear him describe it, backwards- although, that’s probably how people describe Memphis if they compare us to other more glamorous parts of the world. True, he was born in is the city of Skien in the Telemark region of southern Norway. It’s a port city. Today the municipality boasts a healthy 54 plus thousand residents and is famous for being the birth place of Henrik Ibsen. During Ibsen’s day it was one of the largest and oldest cities in Norway The Ibsen family was a solidly middle-class family apparently well respected and prosperous. Both sides of his family tree were well established, they had worked and made their money in the trade and shipping industry. Which was all well and good until something happened in his father’s business and the family lost everything. Apparently it was pretty bad and when Henrik was 15 he dropped out of school, moved out of the home and over 100 miles away to work as a pharmacist assistant for basically just his room and board. By age 18 he had fathered a child out of wedlock, which would ultimately be raised by his mother’s family, and although he supported the child financially until the child was 15, I’m not sure they ever even met. Well, so far, there’s nothing in the story you’re telling that would indicate to me that this is the man that is going to revolutionize theater as we know it and become the second most produced playwright in the world after William Shakespeare. Exactly, he did not have a charmed childhood, but I will say, even as a child he dreamed of greatness. His sister Hedvig told a story after he became famous about a conversation she remembered they had one day as they walked walked up Bratsberg hill in Telemark. He told his sister that what he wanted to do in his life was "to achieve 'the greatest and most perfect of all possible forms of greatness and perfection'." HA!! Well, I would laugh at that, but there’s a real sense that he came close to doing something akin to that with the theater. And so it goes to show you that should never count yourself out- even if you feel like you have no privilege in this life or have screwed everything up with what you do have. You’re never done til you’re dead! It’s a nice thought. But back to ibsen, it’s looking rough for little Henrik-at age 18- he’s got no education, a child to support and a couple of plays that he wrote in his spare time stashed away. So he decides to do what a lot of us do- he left the little town of Grimstad where he was the pharmacy assistant and moved to the big city- Oslo, although at the time the name of Oslo was Christiania. He’d been in the health care business so it’s not shocking he’d decided to go to university and get a degree in medicine. Unfortunately for him at the time, although maybe not for the world, he failed his college entrance exams. And even though you’d think that would be a low point, I’m not sure it really was because it was around this time he cut a break in a field that he enjoyed far more. So, I mentioned he had a couple of plays that he’d written in his spare time in Grimstad, well one of them got staged! So after all the missteps up to that point, by age 23 he’d had his first play performed- pretty incredible. After this a few more doors opened, and now instead of being an assistant to a pharmacist- he became – basically with zero experience, the assistant director to Bergen’s main theater. This, of course, is the moment his life changed forever because he clearly found his calling. He no longer wanted to be a doctor- he would become a playwright. But what is even more interesting is that he found himself at a particular historical junction for the history of Norway – as far as theater goes is not radically different than what we saw with William Butler Yeats. Norway, like Ireland had an interest in creating its own unique theater tradition. While Ireland had been colonized by the British; Norway had been ruled by Denmark for over 400 years. But now there is this movement to start a true Norwegian theater company that will produce Norwegian plays- that would help shape a unique Norwegian identity. Many of us don’t really understand that Norway had even been a part of Denmark for 400 years, which, of course, is quite a long time. And we certainly don’t understand how that affected culture, but of course it would. Denmark had asserted a lot of cultural and language influence. But at this point in the story, there was a real interest in establishing a Norwegian identity eparate from the Danish one, and so the interest in establishing an original Norwegian theater came along at this time fortunately for Ibsen. True, and although The Theater in Cristiania had finanicial problems and Ibsen wasn’t particularly super-successful at making a go of it- now that we know his style- he would never have been a good fit for creating patriotic pieces, but nevertheless, because He was involved in writing, directing, staging and producing over 145 plays- he learned a craft- and that is the legacy that created the opportunity for his art to take off on its own. He also met and married Suzannah Thoreesen in 1858 and shortly after, they had their only child, Sigurd, who btw- grew up to become the prime minister of Norway in Stockholm- another story but worth googling. Christy, I know you’ll probably point this out later but Suzannah was quite an independent and intelligent woman, and many credit her for Ibsen’s ultimate success. I know!! And I think we should talk about her, but I’ll table it, at least for the moment. The theater in Crisitiania went bankrupt; Ibsen was sued for incredible amounts of debt and he almost got himself thrown into debtors prison literally escaping the country. He swung a government writing grant and moved his family to Italy. Although he never stayed in one town very long, he would stay away from Norway and in this sort of self-imposed exile for 27 years. When he finally returned to Norway,-he would go back as a hero- a celebrity- albeit a controversial one. It’s amazing to me that although, his body was physically out of Norway, it seems Ibsen’s mind never left the place- even if he did insult it from time to time. His plays, including A Doll’s House, are set in Norway and what is even wilder, they are written in Dano-Norwegian- the common written language of Denmark and Norway. And they were published by a Danish publisher, Gyldendal. In fact, they were performed first in Sweden- not Italy or Germany where he was residing. True, it’s kind of a roundabout way to success and really an unlikely success it seems. Most People watching his performances were watched translated pieces- usually that doesn’t work well. But in his case, the emotion, the appeal translated cross-culturally- and really still does. Also, Ibsen was a far cry for a self-promoting influencer like we think of today. He was kind of Ibsen a shy and antisocial dude. He had no privileged family from a famous place to create buzz. He was from this relatively small and undistinguished town, writing in a relatively obscure language-but all of a sudden he emerged and became an icon. Like you said, today, his plays are the second most performed plays in the world- only behind William Shakespeare’s- as you mentioned- incredible. They are translated today in 78 different languages and performed all over the world. Nevermind the fact that he literally changed the way theater would be done from that point onward, and in fact is still done to this day. Okay, I’ve heard people say that before, but I’m not sure I understand what you mean. And even after reading A Doll’s House, I don’t understand how it’s revolutionary besides the content being obviously controversial for the period. In many ways, the plot and the characters seem so ordinary. And that, darling, is exactly the genius of it. Here’s what was going on. And think about Shakespeare for a moment. UP to that point, the theater had been a place where people went to get away from the world- and maybe it still is to some degree. The plays produced were otherworldly. They were about fairies and monsters; they were about kings- all the things Shakespeare writes about- perhaps the things Marvel studios gets excited about- obviously there is nothing wrong escapism- that’s a big part of performing arts. And In fact, that’s where Ibsen started, he wrote about Vikings , monsters and all those things we enjoy in commercially successful movies today. Except he chose not to stay in that vein. He studied his craft; he began to pay attention to some key changes in what they were doing in theater in Moscow, Germany and other parts of Europe. And those things appealed to him. So, he made a shift- instead of writing stories that took us out of the world- he would write stories that reflect the world. He would write the story of our lives. He began writing plays that were realistic. And when I use that word, I mean the theater movement called realism. The plays he’s most famous for start with the twelve he wrote between 1877-1899. Some people call them his sociological plays; other people just call them the Ibsen cycle. Either way, Ibsen began writing about middle class people- not kings, queens or fairies. He wrote about problems- real life and difficult problems, and he wrote in prose. He didn’t use iambic pentameter or verse of any kind. He wasn’t going to have his characters give long soliloquies or speak with all these cheesy asides. They weren’t going to expound on philosophy in obvious ways- although these plays are extremely psychological. The would be filled of short exchanges between characters. They would say the sort of things we say and do the sort of things we tend to do- whether we admit it or not. Now to us that seems normal or maybe even obvious because that’s how most of our television and movie experience is- but we got that idea from this movement. And what’s more, the staging was going to be different. And again this may seem fairly obvious to us, but it was new when it happened- with realism the stage is going to have a box set- that means there are three walls and the pretend fourth wall which faces the audience. The audience, or us watching, would pretend we are looking into someone’s lives. The drama would appear ordinary, maybe even bland, but the idea would be that the play would be psychologically driven- the plot would not be the thing- the interior lives of the people involved would be the thing. The protagonist would rise up not against dragons but against something much more complicated, more internal- the sort of things we rise up against- things like syphyllis- the disease Dr. Rank inherited from his father. Oh my, so what about A Doll’s House- Exactly, what exactly IS a Doll’s house about. BTW- even that title is controversial- in Norwegian it’s really a Doll House- which isn’t quite the same as a Doll’s House- anyway- When it came out- it absolutely rocked the world- almost as much if not more than syphyllis. It premiered in Copenhagen in December of 1879 to a packed house. The applause was incredible and every one left the theater scandalized. When it played in Germany, the lead actress, a famous actress, refused to perform the ending as written and forced Ibsen to rewrite the ending to her liking. She was a storng enough voice that she threatened she’d get someone else to rewrite the ending for him if he didn’t change it- and since there were no copyright laws back then, she got her wish. In Victorian England, the play was censored and forbidden to be performed, and America didn’t perform it until 1889- a full ten years later. The Americans are always slow. I know- aren’t we? So, are we going to just talk about what other people thought about it, or is it time to find out what the scandal is all about? Let’s do it. The setting is very simple. It’s set in an unnamed fairly average Norwegian town in an upper middle class home. The whole thing from start to finish only occupies three days of Christmas. It opens with apparent harmony and confidence- a happy feeling and we soon understand that this family is a lot like a lot of middle class families- the family is comfortable but not not conflict free- and conflicts revolve around money- Oh my- it doesn’t get more real than that One thing we have to bring up when we talk about live theater is that we have to remember that when it comes to plays- the creative experience involves more than the writer. A drama is more than a written text- much more. That’s the beauty of live performances. In fact every single performance of every single play by definition cannot help but be unique- even audiences affect how a performance goes. No actor will ever perform exactly the same two nights in a row. But beyond that, every actor who plays a role will interpret each character in his or her own way. For example, Kristine could actually be a good character or a bad character depending on how the actress understands her and portrays her. Every character will always be like that- bur especially in an Ibsen play. Even the details of the set will never be the standardized. Ibsen in his stage directions for A Doll’s House, says and I read that the set is, “a comfortable, tastefully but not expensively furnished room.” What does that look like? Every set will be different. Every director will choose different things to enhance- from the set to the costuming to the lighting. All of these collaborative choices affect how we understand and interpret what is going on. True- but isn’t there something of the intent of the creator and should that be respected- and make each performance mostly the same? It’s not that simple. Let me give you an example, in 2007, in Edinbough, the director cast Torvald the husband as a four foot tall man- on purpose for a thematic reason. In China, once the play was staged with a Western woman marrying into a Chinese family. All of this is allowed in the theater. So, this play centers around Nora. The character of Nora is widely considered one of the most challenging roles in the Western Canon and Deciding what to do with Nora is not a simple thing. Who is this woman? This will be a huge discussion between any director in charge and the actress charged with performing the role. Why is that? Again, she seems ordinary. And in a sense, that’s it exactly. She is ordinary. Her life could be my life. Her home could be my home. It is the fact that she seems ordinary that makes her so tremendously complicated. Because no human is ordinary, not really. No life, no matter how pampered, is care-free. Sooner or later we all innately understand this, but then we don’t know what to do with this understanding. Well, Ibsen isn’t going to answer that question for us. In fact, that’s exactly what is wants to NOT do. Ibsen famously said, that a dramatist should never answer questions- only ask them. And so, what we are left with is questions- and this play for the last 100 years has created nothing but arguments and questions as to who is this woman? So, let’s ask the most basic of all questions about Nora- What is so enamoring or interesting about an ordinary, upper middle class Norwegian woman named Nora? For one thing, if you’re an actress given this role, you may immediately notice that Nora never leaves the stage. The stage is the doll house and Nora is the Doll. Nora is always on display- she is always in view- she has no privacy- she has no breaks- and neither does the actress. Everyone comes and goes- but Nora never has the freedom to breath- and this is the point of it- there is total claustrophobia in this performance-based life of a doll- there is no privacy in this life- this actress, as Nora, will experience the thrill and exhaustion from start to finish of the life of a doll in a doll house. And how is a theater-viewer supposed to know to notice that? Well, you likely won’t- it’s one of those things you intuitively feel even if you don’t consciously think about it. To get back to your question though? For me, the first question I ask myself when I watch this play and honestly, I’m not sure I ever answer it- Do I like this woman? Then I find myself asking a series of rambling questions: Is Nora a good person? Is she a victim? Is it right to like a doll in a doll house, and if a person likes that life, who am I to judge or dislike her for it? Is it her exposure and lack of privacy that makes her unlikeable (because honestly, I usually land on the idea that I don’t like her really- but I know some people do- in fact Ibsen himself adored her) Oh my your mind runs wild! Why would living like this in your mind make someone unlikeable? Well, you tell me, do humans need privacy? Psychologically, that is. Does a lack of privacy not to mention autonomy- but let’s just stick with privacy- does that change a person in a negative way. Well, you know I feel about this topic. When it comes to development of children, it is Absolutely fundamental. Children need to have secrets. It gives them autonomy and where they find their humanity. Parents, the cliché is mothers but dads can be bad about this too, who read their kids cellphone, track their kids ever move, determine their children’s friend groups, and basically do their best to control their children’s every decision- even if their intentions were pure, almost always raise children who are dysfunctional. These are often the kids who have secret facebook pages, secret phones, secret boyfriends across the ocean years older, maybe even entirely secret lives. It is just absolutely critical. And so we meet Nora- and Ibsen does go a little into her personal history- maybe she’s emotionally stunted in her development for being so patronized and controlled, maybe she’s just deceptive and manulative by nature- maybe she’s both- I guess I see what you mean- Ibsen asking questions but not giving answers. Let’s read the first line of the play, “Hide the tree carefully, Helene. The children mustn’t catch a glimpse of it until this evening.” And there you have it- Nora’s entire world in the first word- there is something hide. As we look at Nora we see that she, like many of us, achieve privacy through deception. But what we don’t know and what the actress has to decide how to communicate to us is WHY is she doing this and what is she trying to achieve by all this? Is Nora role-playing on purpose in order to get the life she wants? Is Nora aware that she is a plaything for Torvald- his squirrel, his skylark? Is this pretending instinctual? When her deceptions become rather serious, does she even realize this? Is she aware of the difference between secretly eating macaroons and forgery- I’m really not sure. But even before we get there, the first scene for me really highlights a high level of deceit and inauthenticity. The first action on stage is Nora paying a porter twice the cost of the service which wouldn’t have stood out really except it’s not long after that we begin to understand that one of the themes of the play is the real cost of fiscal irresponsibility, what does it mean by this little detain in the opening act? I don’t know what it means, except to help us understand that Nora lives in an imaginary world. She pretends and overpaying is just a way to set all of this in motion. The second action of this play is this business with the macaroons. Let’s read this part of the text? For me it’s hard to read. It’s SO patronizing. HELMER. That is like a woman! But seriously, Nora, you know what I think about that. No debt, no borrowing. There can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt. We two have kept bravely on the straight road so far, and we will go on the same way for the short time longer that there need be any struggle. NORA. [moving towards the stove]. As you please, Torvald. HELMER. [following her]. Come, come, my little skylark must not droop her wings. What is this! Is my little squirrel out of temper? [Taking out his purse.] Nora, what do you think I have got here? NORA. [turning round quickly]. Money! HELMER. There you are. [Gives her some money.] Do you think I don’t know what a lot is wanted for housekeeping at Christmas-time? NORA. [counting]. Ten shillings—a pound—two pounds! Thank you, thank you, Torvald; that will keep me going for a long time. HELMER. Indeed it must. NORA. Yes, yes, it will. But come here and let me show you what I have bought. And all so cheap! Look, here is a new suit for Ivar, and a sword; and a horse and a trumpet for Bob; and a doll and dolly’s bedstead for Emmy,—they are very plain, but anyway she will soon break them in pieces. And here are dress-lengths and handkerchiefs for the maids; old Anne ought really to have something better. HELMER. And what is in this parcel? NORA. [crying out]. No, no! you mustn’t see that until this evening. HELMER. Very well. But now tell me, you extravagant little person, what would you like for yourself? NORA. For myself? Oh, I am sure I don’t want anything. HELMER. Yes, but you must. Tell me something reasonable that you would particularly like to have. NORA. No, I really can’t think of anything—unless, Torvald— HELMER. Well? NORA. [playing with his coat buttons, and without raising her eyes to his]. If you really want to give me something, you might—you might— HELMER. Well, out with it! NORA. [speaking quickly]. You might give me money, Torvald. Only just as much as you can afford; and then one of these days I will buy something with it. HELMER. But, Nora— NORA. Oh, do! dear Torvald; please, please do! Then I will wrap it up in beautiful gilt paper and hang it on the Christmas Tree. Wouldn’t that be fun? HELMER. What are little people called that are always wasting money? NORA. Spendthrifts—I know. Let us do as you suggest, Torvald, and then I shall have time to think what I am most in want of. That is a very sensible plan, isn’t it? HELMER. [smiling]. Indeed it is—that is to say, if you were really to save out of the money I give you, and then really buy something for yourself. But if you spend it all on the housekeeping and any number of unnecessary things, then I merely have to pay up again. NORA. Oh but, Torvald— HELMER. You can’t deny it, my dear little Nora. [Puts his arm round her waist.] It’s a sweet little spendthrift, but she uses up a deal of money. One would hardly believe how expensive such little persons are! NORA. It’s a shame to say that. I do really save all I can. HELMER. [laughing]. That’s very true,—all you can. But you can’t save anything! NORA. [smiling quietly and happily]. You haven’t any idea how many expenses we skylarks and squirrels have, Torvald. HELMER. You are an odd little soul. Very like your father. You always find some new way of wheedling money out of me, and, as soon as you have got it, it seems to melt in your hands. You never know where it has gone. Still, one must take you as you are. It is in the blood; for indeed it is true that you can inherit these things, Nora. NORA. Ah, I wish I had inherited many of papa’s qualities. HELMER. And I would not wish you to be anything but just what you are, my sweet little skylark. But, do you know, it strikes me that you are looking rather—what shall I say—rather uneasy today? NORA. Do I? HELMER. You do, really. Look straight at me. NORA. [looks at him]. Well? HELMER. [wagging his finger at her]. Hasn’t Miss Sweet Tooth been breaking rules in town today? NORA. No; what makes you think that? HELMER. Hasn’t she paid a visit to the confectioner’s? NORA. No, I assure you, Torvald— HELMER. Not been nibbling sweets? NORA. No, certainly not. HELMER. Not even taken a bite at a macaroon or two? NORA. No, Torvald, I assure you really— HELMER. There, there, of course I was only joking. NORA. [going to the table on the right]. I should not think of going against your wishes. HELMER. No, I am sure of that; besides, you gave me your word— [Going up to her.] Keep your little Christmas secrets to yourself, my darling. They will all be revealed tonight when the Christmas Tree is lit, no doubt. NORA. Did you remember to invite Doctor Rank? Read this part. Nora hides macaroons from her husband. He wants to control her to every level, but she does seem to like the pay off of being taken care of. We also see that he moralizes. We see that his pet grievance is debt. He is going out of his way to condemn it and she goes out of her way to supplant him. It’s a complicated co-existence. Who are we to judge here- Nora for being a liar? At this point, I feel sympathy for her. I would even say the way this reads to me is that this man, Torvald doesn’t want to control Nora, he believes he OWNS her. She is his property. His pet. He loves her, but as a pet- an expensive hobby- I’d say, Christy, don’t take offense to this, but he loves Nora in the way a guitarist might love his favorite Stratocaster. Oh dear- that’s getting close to home. But, they have worked out a deal. Do we let either party off the hook? She lies and deceives, but she has no concerns in the world but to be a doll. She loves stuff- she loves buying- she loves money- they have made a deal- she is a play thing- but she is also an expensive past time. And- again- we are smacked with life- these kinds of deals are made all the time. One of the more famous philosophical statements on that topic springs of course from the mouth of Marilyn Monroe when she sings, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” I’m really not sure Ibsen wants us to pass judgement on her- but he does seem to be questioning the deal they’ve made. Is this the deal we should be making? It seems obvious that Torvald and Nora do not have any real communication or human relationship with each other- they manipulate each other, play with each other, even enjoy each other, but they are not connecting on any real and human level. Is this comfortable life coming at the cost of their humanity? What is that cost? And to think that all that has happened is that she’s bought macaroons. I know- it’s in the subtext of those macaroons!!! BTW- when I hear someone talk about macaroons I think of this cooking show the girls and I used to watch when they were living called “Sweet Genius”. It was the first baking show I’d ever watched, and they were always making macaroons. We don’t have those really in Memphis, so when went to Paris and saw all those macaroons, we did exactly what Nora did and stuffed our mouth with them. Hahahaha! I can see you three, staking out the macaroon counters on the Champs Elysee- That’s exactly what we did!!!! They’re truly amazing and not easy to bake. I tried and failed. Well, I don’t think Nora bakes. And we see that Helmer disapproves of macaroons. But more than that- They don’t share a life like we would understand healthy couples to do. Yes- there is so much that is being introduced right here at the beginning- we meet the children and see that they are dolls too. There is nothing in this text to suggest Nora is a nurturing mother. We don’t see her building with them anything different than what she has built with Torvald- they have fun- but it’s all very distant. We also have a hint that this style of relationship is established by her father, perpetuated by Torvald but also extended to the next generation. The nurse seems to take care of the children. Nora plays with them when she wants to, but it’s established early on, and then it will be explicitedly stated in Act 3, that as Nora is to Torvald so the children are to Nora. Everyone plays a role it seems? And I’m not sure Ibsen is endorsing this way of life. Like I said, the man likes to ask questions and to not answer them. And so I guess we will for the next two episodes. Next time we will finish discussing Act 1 and move through Act 2. The final week, we will look at the concluding scene that has scandalized the world for 100 years. And yet, it is all so ordinary!!! And yet not- thanks for listening!.....