A dolls house - Note Book Entry

Rebekah Barrasso 2-23-09


The opening scene of Isben's A Doll's House is the better interpretation of Nora. The Director, Patrick Garland has the scenery and house appear bright, festive and wealthy. The music playing as she enters the house is festive but also seems suspenseful. In this clip Nora played by Claire Bloom, comes across as sneaky. For example, as she enters the house she immediately went to Torvald’s door and put her ear to it to listen and then as she walks away she puts a macaroon cookie in her mouth and hides the package in the piano. The actress portrayed Nora as sneaky by the look she has on her face as she listens at Torvalds door. It was a look of being sneaky not curiosity.

This clip also portrays Nora to be thoughtless and greedy about money. As Nora and Torvald sit and discuss the holidays, Nora states that they should borrow money now for the Holidays because she feels that after the New Year "he will be making an enormous salary” his new job at the bank. Torvald explains to her that if they were to borrow money now and on New Years Eve a tile from the roof was to fall on his head and kill him how would the person they borrowed from ever to get paid back? Nora quickly says “who cares about them, they’re strangers". Just as Torvald says at one point in the scene Nora is "thoughtless".

Another scene in this clip shows Nora being sneaky is when her and Torvald were near the Christmas tree putting the gifts under it. The director gives the impression of this being a festive moment with Christmas music playing in the background while Torvald asks Nora what she would like for Christmas. At first Nora says "nothing, I don’t want anything really" but almost rehearsed she quickly says "If you really wanted to give me something, you could give me money Torvald". The actress, Claire Bloom portrays this moment as being greedy by answering Torvald first with an innocent kind look and then her face lights up with excitement and quickly changes her answer asking for money as her gift.

While Reading the novel I get the impression of Nora being a tad bit immature. While watching the movie clip of act one the actor Julie Harris plays a very well imitation of Nora’s character. While Julie Harris acts as Nora in the scene she makes these little gestures that come across as the childlike Nora that I seen in both the book and movie scene. For example in the clip of act one as Torvald shows her money and she wiggles her nose and make a little meow nose. As she shows her the 20 dollars she jumps up and down and over to him. When we beings to pull more money out she again make the little meow gesture and she gets 40 dollars out of him. She plays as if she was his daughter not a wife.

While reading more in to the book and breaking down the conversations I seen something that is interesting. When going over the book and watching the clip of act one I feel that Nora needs Torvald. They have a curious relationship. I see that Nora basically needs Torvald. Being a woman in the late 1800s in Norway woman can not do much with out a man. Woman can not get a loan with out a Father or husband signature. They can not work unless they are widowed. Looking closely at the way they act with one another and the thing they say to one another you can see Torvald controls her.

At the end of this scene Torvald asks Nora if she "visited the confectioners while in town". Nora again comes across as sneaky as she tries to lie to Torvald, denying it and swearing that she "would never dream of doing anything you didnt approve of". The actress playing Nora keeps a serious and again, innocent look on her face as she says this lie showing that Nora is sneaky and decieptful. She seems to be more concerned with not disappointing Torvald that she did sneak and eat macaroon cookies, than she is about disappointing him with her carelessness and greed with money.