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  • Essay / The Christmas season, the Christmas tree and the New Year in a doll's house, a play by Henrik Ibsen

    The importance of a doll's house decor during the Christmas season is because the Christmas season is easily identifiable and this can help the reader make inferences about what is happening through familiarization. In A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, Ibsen uses Christmas time, the Christmas tree, and the New Year to symbolize many different things. He uses the Christmas season to depict the marriage between Nora and Torvald, the New Year to depict a new beginning for all the characters, primarily Nora, Torvald and Krogstad, and the Christmas tree itself to represent Nora and her conflict interior as well as the materialistic nature of Christmas. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay The Christmas period also leads to the theme of materialism. Nora and Torvald focus on materialistic things, like money, the tree, and Christmas presents. Also, one main materialistic thing that is focused on throughout the book is Nora's clothes. She is dressed like a doll throughout the play and her clothes are a big materialistic object on which the focus is. Torvald is constantly concerned to make sure Nora is looking the right way and wouldn't have it any other way. The mood of the play is also introduced throughout the Christmas period. In the stage directions at the beginning of Act 1, it is mentioned that Nora is humming a tune and in a good mood. The Christmas period can be seen through this in that at this time of year people are often merry and happy. The reader can almost imagine Nora and/or Torvald wearing an ugly Christmas sweater. Ibsen uses the Christmas tree to symbolize Nora. This symbolism is very important because it gives information about Nora's character. Ibsen uses a familiar object and season to set the scene for a story. The story expresses that just like a Christmas tree, she is sometimes dressed up and for most of the story, she is empty inside. It is compared to a Christmas tree in the sense that it can be dressed up and taken down as simply as the tree. The tree is destroyed at one point in the story and this is relevant in that it is comparable to how forging the letter destroys Nora. Krogstad demolishes her as easily as Torvald dresses her. She doesn't care much for herself in that she's very child-like and depends on Torvald for much of this story. She is full of maternal responsibilities and she is not happy in her marriage. Her secret (the falsification of the letter) eats her alive and destroys her marriage. A motif demonstrated in A Doll's House is the unreliability of appearances. This is used to uncover some details about the characters, particularly Nora and her marriage. Nora seems serene and happy when she is not. She seems to be the perfect wife and she hides the biggest secret from her husband. Torvald's marriage seems good but it is full of secrets. In A Doll's House, this motif plays a big role. Not only for Nora and Torvald, but also for Christine and Krogstad. Krogstad is much more than what meets the eye. He begins in this story as a man in the throes of vengeance and he wishes only harm to Nora and Torvald's marriage. Christine shows him that he has more in him than that. In A Doll's House, Christine is used as a Christ figure. Just like Christ, Christine welcomes someone who is far from perfect, Krogstad. She is also a hard worker and self-starter. She has the motivation to help those who.