Much of the impact of Henrik Ibsen’sA Doll Houseis in relation to the cultural context and cultural norms of 1879 Norway. The significance of debt, the high value placed on reputation, and the strict realities of gender roles would have been fully understood by a contemporary Norwegian audience and thus Ibsen’s subversion of the norms and values of late nineteenth century Norway would have been seen as shockingly progressive. Our current cultural context, however, is much different. Debt is an unfortunately standard and expected part of the modern economy, reputation and scandal still influence some people, but many weather scandals with routine indifference, and the gender roles represented throughout the play are easily seen as sexist and antiquated. But the value of classic literature is not so that we can feel superior to a past we are only vaguely familiar with. So what, then, is the purpose of readingA Doll Housein 2020? What lessons do we still have to learn from this 141 year old text?
Using quotations and evidence fromA Doll Houseand any external sources you may need to support your position, develop a thesis that makes an argument for why we should or should not continue to read and study works likeA Doll Housein 21st century America. What lessons, if any, do we still have to learn and, if so, is reading this play an effective and meaningful way to learn them and why or why not?
If you need further help in understanding the play, read through the Wikipedia page forA Doll House:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Doll%27s_Houseor the SparkNotes page:https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/dollhouse/. Remember, though, these explanation pages are for clarification purposes and do not make effective secondary sources. However, if you use ideas that you learned from these sites or you use quotations from these sites (even though you shouldn’t), you must cite them properly or else it will be plagiarism.
Your essay should be 750 - 1000 words in MLA format. It must include a works cited page. If you need clarification on what MLA format is for either your essay itself or for the works cited, here is a link to OWL Purdue:https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html.