A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen

Symbolism in Ibsen 's A Doll 's House

Like most modern playwrights , Ibsen too depends heavily on symbolism to convey his message and maximize its depth and reach . Though his plays are otherwise completely realistic , the use of symbols assists him to achieve a concentration of meaning in his plays that no straightforward narrative is capable of . As M .A . Franc comments in her book Ibsen in England , there are few who dare combine realism with poetry and symbolism , and Ibsen is one of these few (134 ) Consequently , if one reads Ibsen

's plays , A Doll 's House for instance , only on the superficial level of dialogue and actions , one gets only half of what the playwright intends to communicate . An analysis of the symbols used in A Doll 's House thus helps us to explore the true expanse of Ibsen 's imagination and delve into the subtle intricacies of his vision . In this play , Ibsen introduces numerous symbols through the dialogues of the various characters , their actions as well as the stage settings . An in-depth appreciation of the playwright 's symbolism adds new dimensions to the understanding of the text

To begin with , one notices the use of symbolism in Ibsen 's presentation of Nora , the central protagonist of the play . Everything that is associated with Nora is childish . Torvald refers to Nora as his little lark twittering , his sweet little songbird , and my squirrel etc . All these animal and bird imageries have something in common - they are...